Total Soccer is a game of European rules football that was both published and developed by LiveMediaUK. It was designed specifically for Windows, and is a later soccer release, hitting the markets in the late nineties. It is an action based game that plays from the top down perspective, very similar to the Sensible Soccer series. It does not feature any official licensures, so the user can only play as a handful of teams from a few countries, but with Total Soccer’s emphasis on game play, the user will not need deadly accurate statistics for three hundred divisional players to enjoy it.
Fiorentina, PSG, Flamengo, Ajax, and the Boca Juniors are a few of the possibilities available for play. Although there are a limited number of teams available for play, there is a lot to do with the ones that you can choose. The gamer can play a single game, or launch into a campaign that is a little bit more substantial and time consuming. As with most games of this nature, that is a good way to really invest in your team, become close to them, and achieve a more realistic sense of belonging, as with an actual team. Aside from this, the user is able to practice dribbling, take free kicks (with some very cool individual maneuvers, such as curve
balls, with these penalty shots), and overall just enjoy the play of the game of soccer. The game play is very straightforward, and primarily the user will be able to pass and shoot while in the field. All the complexities and button mashing are saved for other games.
The ability to customize the shots and make, for example, the curveball, is one of the greatest things that sets Total Soccer apart from its competition. That, and its ease of play, are both great selling points. A shallow learning curve is always wonderful when getting into a new sports game. There are other perks that make this a fun play, such as the ability to zoom in and out on the pitch and play the game in multiple resolutions. The AI is also actually quite good and challenging for such a simple game, so the user had best not expect to be a guaranteed champion with every play. Realistic elements also add flavor to the game. For example, it is perfectly possible…and likely…that the ball may get away from you while dribbling. The ball does not just stay glued to your feet. You will actually have to develop some skills to make plays.
Overall, this is a truly decent play and surprisingly addictive, given its simplicity…or perhaps because of it. Total Soccer is a must play for all footie fans.
