Amiga CD Football (CD32)

Title           Amiga CD Football (CD32)
Game Type       Sport
Company		Commodore Electronics Ltd
Players         1 or 2
Compatibility   CD32
Submission      Courtesy of Sean Caszatt

Review
I'm a huge football fan.  As a result, I love playing football on
videogame systems.  Not being much of an athlete, I can't say that I know
what actually playing the game is like.  I have played a lot of football
on videogame machines and computers, so I do know what I like about those.

AMIGA CD FOOTBALL is a game I've been waiting to play ever since I knew
that it was in the works.  I saw a report of the original CDTV version in
a magazine and I waited for it to be released.  That was a long time ago.
Now that it's here, it doesn't look like much was changed since it was
announced for the CDTV.

Upon starting the game, the player is presented with a CDXL animated
"assistant coach."  He points out the three different types of play
available: Arcade, Coach and Commissioner and provides some humorous
comments about the game.

The arcade option is similar to most videogame football offerings on
other consoles.  The user calls the plays and then controls the players.
The coach option allows the user to call the play, but the computer
controls the players.  This gives the game a more strategy oriented feel.
The commissioner option isn't really a game.  It's more like a glorified
demo mode.  Simply pick the teams and then watch the game.  The user
doesn't call plays and cannot control the players.

After selecting the type of game and selecting your team and opponent, a
pseudo-sportscast begins.  Various commentators give their opinion about
the teams, the weather conditions and possible strategies the players
might try to use.

Then, finally, the game begins.  After the kickoff, the player is
presented with the appropriate play selections.  There are a wide variety
of plays available to both the offense and the defense.  The plays are
color coded as to what type of play they are.  Orange indicates a running
play/defense and green indicates a passing play/defense.  Grey plays are
special-teams plays like punting and field goal attempts.  To make the
play-calling during a two-player game, playbooks for both the offense and
defense are included.  In the playbooks, each play has a number that can
be entered via the controller to keep the other player from knowing
exactly what play is being selected.

So, how does AMIGA CD FOOTBALL stack up to the competition?  It's a solid
football game that does show it's age a bit.  Graphically, it's on a par
with the 16-bit football games.  After playing my fair share of football
on the Super Nintendo and the Genesis, there's nothing that AMIGA CD
FOOTBALL offers that beats those systems.  It cannot hope to compete with
something like JOHN MADDEN on the 3DO.  It's roots are firmly planted in
the 16-bit CDTV and that's not something that will sit well with those
CD�� owners looking for a game to brag about.  I loved the passing game
and the large selection of plays.  Unlike JOE MONTANA '94 on the Sega
Genesis, the whole play selection and execution process is something that
can be mastered in just a few downs.  You can concentrate on the game
rather than fumbling with the controls.

The CDXL animation is used well and looks fairly good.  It's rather
grainy in some instances though and there's some fringing on some of the
graphics.  (The crowd scenes following a touchdown and the "assistant
coach" are the worst cases of this.)  The voices during the game can get
annoying after a few games, but they can be switched off.

If this game had been released on the CDTV, it might have actually sold
some CDTV's.  Three years ago, I'd have purchased a CDTV to play this game.
I wouldn't say this is a game I'd buy a CD�� to play, but I'd surely buy
the game if I owned a CD��.

Alphabetical list.