Kick Off 97

Kick Off 97 is a video game in the sports genre developed by Anco Software Ltd. and published by Maxis UK Ltd. originally released in 1997. It is currently playable on DOS.

Kick Off '97 is a disappointing entry in Anco's solid Kick Off line - a good example of how bad a game can be without a good designer at the helm (in this case: Dino Dini, the creator of the early Kick Off titles).

Soccer game expert Greg Booker of Games Domain explains why you should steer clear of this game: 'After the obligatory but uninspired intro sequence, we're treated to a polished-looking interface that bears some resemblance to the Actua Soccer series, with a player performing various actions with a ball. The option to customize team and player names, appearances and kits and save them to disk is offered, along with the usual competition options, exhibition friendlies and a practice mode.

There are four camera views, including a top-down angle that is very reminiscent of the first two Kick Off games, and the game is relatively playable from that angle. Controls consist of the usual four directions and two buttons that perform different actions depending on the context. All the usual headers, throws and passes can be performed, and the action is fast-paced.

The gameplay is fairly fluid, but defense is tricky, as once the opponent gets a breakaway, one wrong turn and you're left in their wake. The control system works pretty well, but it's not as well organized as, say, the PSX version of Olympic Soccer. . . . The fast-paced action makes it difficult to get past the defenders by spinning and spinning, and in that sense is somewhat reminiscent of its pinball forebears.

At this point, we come to Kick Off 97's artificial intelligence, or rather lack thereof. Particularly horrible is the way in which, I suppose, less powerful teams have been disadvantaged: for example, Faroe Islands vs. Brazil. . . . . . the Faroe Islands striker approaches the penalty area, draws the goalkeeper, goes around him, dribbles the ball towards the goal, then towards the far post and then past and over the goal line for a goal kick!!!!! Further on, a Faroese midfielder has the ball, unmolested by any Brazilian, inside his own half, and what does he do? He passes the ball to someone inside his own penalty area, who in turn passes it to his goalkeeper, who immediately loses the ball completely and scores an own goal.

Then there is the error where, in the style of the 1966 World Cup Final, there is a contested goal, except in this case the ball does cross the line but the goalkeeper returns it and the goal is not given! I could be generous and say that this is a deliberate simulation of the linesmen not being attentive, but in view of the other problems, I doubt it.

Anyway, sadly, I can't find much to recommend Kick Off '97, as far as I can see, it's a game living off the reputation of its predecessors and in need of a major revamp - perhaps Anco and Maxis could convince Dini to get back together with Screech to produce the next version, maybe then we'd have a game befitting the name.

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