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Soccer Slam Review
Mark Simons
00/12/0000
Crazy cartoon soccer action FROM Sega with their latest GameCube title.
Soccer Slam is an interesting title, weāve seen āextremeā interpretations of sports before the Blitz series as well as games such as NBA Street, however weāve not seen out and out over the top arcade soccer game for quite some time. This is probably down to the fact that Europeans and Japanese prefer the realistic approach to the beautiful game as seen in the exquisite International Super Star Soccer / Pro Evolution games. The over the top, totally arcade orientated gameplay of Soccer Slam is a result of the game being developed by Visual Concepts who are best known for their high quality American sports games produced for Sega. Given that serious soccer simulations fail to sell well in America it makes sense for them to produce something that works well as a videogame rather than playing a good game of soccer, thus ensuring they reach a large an audience as possible.
The matches in Soccer Slam take place on small pitches with only four players on each team, including the keeper. This results in an extremely faced paced game that is unrelenting in the action, you donāt have to worry about niceties such as, well, most of the rules of soccer. With not referee on the pitch you will never get picked up for a foul, indeed it seems that rough play is encouraged as you can do things such as clothesline or punch the opposition. This sort of shameless over-the-top gameplay is what Soccer Slam is all about. Performing moves such as one-twos, volleys and first time shots is not about creating glorious chances; itās about building up your power meter, which allows you to pull off the two integral special moves.
Killer Kicks and Spotlight kicks are activated via the L button and are integral to the gameplay, as well as being shining examples of how far removed from reality the game is. Killer Kicks are performed by passing the ball high in the air, then a shaft of light will appear and if you catch the ball in the shaft of light the camera will slow down ā“ matrix style ā“ and move to behind the player. This is sort of like Max Payneās bullet time, but for soccer. The audio is all but drowned out and you have time to place your shot accurately as everything is in slow motion. Once you have placed your shot you let rip with an almighty volley, which is very satisfying. Spotlight kicks are essentially the same but are activated by giving the ball to a player who is already in a spotlight, which appears every now and again. These two moves are cool to watch and satisfying to perform, you may not score every time but that is not an issue as if you hit the keeper with a hard shot you take off some of their armour, thus pounding the keeper with fast paced shots will make it easier to score.
The core gameplay of Soccer Slam is very enjoyable and it is especially suited to multi-player but it also doesnāt scrimp on the one-player modes. Naturally there are the standard exhibition and tournament modes but the main part of the game is the Quest mode. You pick your team from one of the five on offer, each team is made up of individuals who are somewhat stereotyped but amusing and full of personality. Each team also has an element behind them, for instance fire with El Fuego and water with Tsunami and so on for Volton, Toxic, Spirit and Subzero. The elemental nature just affects the look of the team, as well as some of the effects that occur when you perform special moves. It doesnāt add anything to the gameplay but it is rather cool to have these teams that are slightly more than just different kit colours. Each of the three outfield players in the teams is a unique individual with a personality and look that is instantly recognisable. Each character hails from a different country and a bit of light-hearted stereotyping results in some amusing and varied characters that you wouldnāt necessarily expect in a soccer game. From huge Mexican wrestlers to a petite, sassy, fast-paced German girl the characters sport different animations and attributes that you need to utilise smartly in order to perform well.
The Quest mode sees your motley crew play ten games against various teams with wins giving you power ups such as shin pads, earrings and even rocket packs. There are nine power-ups to get for each team, which works out ā“ nicely - at three per outfield player, which means that by the end of the Quest you have a fully powered up team, which is able to beat the best in the game. You can also unlock cool stuff such as artwork and cheat codes as well as new even more impressive stadiums. In between matches you have little challenges, not unlike the excellent World Circuit mode in Virtua Tennis. These revolve around skills that you need in the game, such as one-twos, shooting and the special moves, not only being fun diversions but improving your game as well.
Whilst the one player mode is well thought out and very enjoyable multi-player is where itās at. The fast paced, violent, humorous gameplay is perfect multi-player fodder and if you have a few friends this becomes a riotous experience. Whilst Pro Evolution on the PlayStation2 becomes a battle of soccer brains, this becomes a battle of soccer brawn and simple underhand cheating as well as ridiculous shots. This is very good multi-player game, easily accessible but with enough depth to reward prolonged play.
Graphically Soccer Slam is rather impressive, the small pitch and limited player numbers has allowed for some rather detailed character models and a lot of emphasis on the stadium design and a fully polygonal crowd which not only looks very impressive but adds immeasurably to the atmosphere. There are some impressive lighting and particle effects thrown in to beef up the special moves as well as nice little touches such as deteriorating pitch conditions. The main thing that strikes you though is the consistency and detail that has gone into the style of artwork.
Soccer Slam has achieves a very good consistent cartoon style with some very impressive animation that accentuates the excellent characterisation and coupled with the audio provides a memorable experience. Technically it could do with a few more polygons here or there, or perhaps some higher resolution textures, but the style makes up for this and makes the game appear more than the sum of its parts due to the consistent nature. Itās also worth mentioning that the game never ever strays from 60 frames per second, no matter whatās going on. This is important in a fast paced game such as this and it ensures that the pace is always high and feels frenetic. The sense of pace is helped by the rapid loading times and the fact that if you donāt want to you donāt have to wait for replays or character and team introductions, you can cut straight to the action.
