Non-realistic soccer games are a turnoff for most people. But when you combine the addictive retro qualities of the likes of Sensible Soccer and Kick-Off then you are really off to a winner. Stirfry Games has taken the monetary investment from Blitz 1UP and took an impressive Xbox Indie Arcade title and turned into a more polished and refined experience. For those akin to a beautiful graphical quality SFG Soccer is it going to appeal to most people. However it is in its simplistic playing style and editable functionality that gives it an addictive factor. SFG Soccer Football Fever improves upon every aspect of the Xbox Indie title apart from the multiplayer elements. Unfortunately the PC iteration doesn’t support online multiplayer but with that drawback in mind it is not a big enough excuse to not recommend buying this title.

The game has a multi-season 64 team career mode complete with custom team and player editors, league play-offs and an RPG style skill improvement system. New to the Windows version also includes features requested by fans including individual player statistics, higher difficulty settings, league leaders, and the ability to edit and share your league easily using external programs such as Microsoft Excel. There are three different control method methods which include the obligatory keyboard controls, game pad controls and perhaps most interestingly mouse controls. This is where the game comes into its own, playing SFG soccer using the mouse controls adds a refreshing dynamic to the gameplay never seen in other soccer games on the market, sure the players have big heads and graphically it leaves a lot to be desired but playing with the revolutionary mouse controls changes the whole way you think about football games.

Once used to the controls you will never want to go back to playing soccer games of this nature on a game pad ever again. Career mode is enticing with its four leagues and if you don’t want to your league stats to be affected you can also play in the practice arena. There are the standard kick-off modes and the ability to edit any player name, any team name and any kit. For those with wild imaginations it will provide a real hilarity which hasn’t been seen since Sensible Software put silly team names in Sensible Soccer. The mouse controls take place by moving cursor over a particular area where you want to shoot the ball, passing, tackling and shooting are all preset to the two mouse buttons so no additional complicated mouses are required to play this game mode. Also the fact that this game is an indoor soccer variant it means matches a fast paced have no rules and can be as short as two minutes per game. This means that a whole season can be completed within 45 minutes an alluring feature to have in this fast paced world.

Overhead Kick!

As stated graphics are not great. In fact they could be compared to Winona Ryder’s creased up mot. Audio is surprisingly good with crowds sounding particularly authentic though the sounds of the players weeping with bone crunching tackles are a little bit lame. This game is never meant to be complicated, it’s never meant to compete with the FIFA’s or Pro Evolution Soccers of this world, but what it does do is offer up a fresh alternative at a fraction of the price and best of all made by an independent. The game retails at around £6.50-£6.99 and I’d have to say it is worth every penny, the fact that everything can be customised adds a sense of value to the purchase. Scoring using the mouse controls are particularly satisfying so are the flore of statistical data at your fingertips. If you are a fan of Kick Off and loved a little slice of Sensible Soccer. SFG Soccer: Football Fever is the modern day equivalent and that is a testament in its own right.