Actua Soccer: Club Edition

Actua Soccer: Club Edition is a video game in the sports genre developed by Gremlin Interactive Limited and published by Gremlin Interactive Limited originally released in 1997. It is currently playable on DOS.

Actua Soccer: Club Edition is another excellent entry in Gremlin's underrated Actua Soccer series.

Chris McMullen of Games Domain says it all about this game: 'You can play any of the twenty Premiership clubs and, unlike Premier Manager 97, Gremlin's other soccer title, you control the players yourself. Choose your team and play league, friendly or training matches, the latter giving you the chance to practice your footballing and penalty kicking skills. And you will definitely need to practice. Remember that if you lose a match, it's your fault.

As in most soccer games, you only control one player at a time, usually the one closest to the ball, which works well for most of the game. And if you wish, you can, by pressing both buttons, pass through the other players. You can also change the formation of your team and substitute a player. It's hard to tell if the more skilled players perform better during the match, but you can call up a screen that gives you their stats, passes, tackles, etc.

The graphics are also exceptional. Gremlin has used motion capture technology, which is basically sticking ping pong balls to people and filming them, to make the players look more realistic. And it works: the players move smoothly and fluidly, and at an acceptable speed in SVGA mode. There are different camera angles to choose from, although I stuck with the 'far' option to get the best view of the action. There's also the obligatory replay option, so you can watch you get pounded. Oh, and if you feel like being too liberal with fouls, you can check how closely the referee is watching. Unfortunately, though, you can't bribe him to turn the other cheek while you're stepping on the opposing goalkeeper. Who says violent games are bad for your health?

After all, it's a game of two hal... sorry, I'm starting again. In the end, I can't blame Actua Soccer: Club Edition. It's fast, fun, playable and realistic. It's chock-full of fancy moves and outdoes Fifa 97 in virtually every aspect. You'll be playing for a long time before you get close to mastering the game. If you can get someone else to play against you, it will be even better. Even if you wouldn't dream of standing around for ninety minutes on a freezing day, it's worth a look. And if you have even the slightest interest in soccer, you can't miss this'.

It is possible that we have multiple downloads available when different versions exist.