Unnecessary Roughness

Unnecessary Roughness is a video game in the sports genre and published by Accolade, Inc. originally released in 1993. It is currently playable on DOS.

The first in a long series of American soccer games ending with the '96 version, Unnecessary Roughness, released in 1993, is an ambitious soccer game that unfortunately suffers from an SVGA engine too demanding for most computers of the time, and the bad luck of having been overshadowed by the huge (but deserved) success of Patrick Cook's phenomenal classic, Patrick Cook's Front Page Sports: Football Pro, which was released around the same time.

Unnecessary Roughness features a staggering amount of gameplay options that will please both arcade-inclined gamers and armchair coaches. You can choose to manage any team from the 1993 NFL season, leading them in game after game on their way to the Super Bowl. Field goal practice mode is available, as well as a single player game for those times when you just want some fast-paced action. On the gridiron, the players are well animated, and look much better in SVGA than the players in FPSFP. The controls are intuitive: using the gamepad for game control and the keyboard for field goals seems to yield optimal results. Although the game lacks many of the 'deep' features of FPSFP or Tom Landry Strategy Football, such as a full drafting module, it makes up for it with an excellent 'build game' mode, which allows you to create new leagues, teams, plays and game manuals from scratch. In-game commentary by famed commentator Al Michaels also adds a lot of atmosphere to the game, and his comments are often appropriate and humorous.

Overall, Unnecessary Roughness may not boast the realism or long-term play value of FPSFP, but it does stand out on its own as one of the more fun soccer games that strikes a good balance between realism and fun, with an emphasis on delivering furious action on the gridiron. Fortunately, the series receives more recognition with each new installment, with the 1996 version being the latest and greatest. Highly recommended.

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