On the Ball logo Amiga Computing Gold Award

Jonathan Maddock laces up his boots and takes a look at Ascon's World Cup Edition.

INTRODUCTION

The football management simulation is now more popular than it's ever been. For proof, you need only look at your local computer store shelves and you'll find plenty of examples of the genre.

One thing that you could possibly fault in the football management game is the lack of talent in the graphics department. I know most of these products don't often require high-class pixels to make them playable, but why isn't there a game where you've got the graphics to match the gameplay.

Somebody at Daze must have been thinking the same thoughts because their latest licence, signed from German developers, Ascon, could well become the first football management game that looks as good as it plays.

System reviewed On The Ball: World Cup Edition last issue and it managed to grab itself a fair score, but it was lacking that certain something to make it a classic. This time with the introduction of the domestic league and cup competitions, On The Ball: League Edition might just sneak a winning goal in extra-time, but then again one bad tackle and it could get its marching orders off the field of play.


 

SOUND

On the musical front, there is a choice between four tunes which can be accessed from the main screen. They're not the most awe-inspiring musical masterpieces you've ever heard, but they do the job adequately enough and there is always the option to turn them off.

The only other sound occurs when you're watching an actual match and all you hear is the crowd noise. There isn't anything as extravagant as a chant, but the pitch of the noise rises when either team has a shot or scores a goal.

Overall the sound isn't that good, but football management games have never required a decent soundtrack, so I shouldn't worry about it too much.

85%

 

GRAPHICS

The actual standard of the various static screens within the simulation is unbelievably high, but where the game really scores is when you watch an actual match. You get a wealth of animations and could be forgiven for thinking that you were watching an episode of Match of the Day rather than playing a football management simulation.

The animations are used to show the various high-points within the actual match. You are treated to nerve-racking penalties, 30-yard free-kicks, unbelievable saves and more importantly, a varied amount of goals, both good and bad.

To accompany the animated action there is a running commentary, à la John Motson, which gives you all kinds of information on how the game is going.

At the end of the day, On The Ball has got the best graphics ever seen in a football management simulation and for that reason alone it should be applauded. A500/A600 should note that your version of On The Ball isn't as colourful as the A1200 version, but apart from that it is fine.

85%

 

OPINION75%

On the whole the League Edition of On The Ball is far better than the World Cup Edition. You're going to get more long-term satisfaction from it simply because you get to do more and, more importantly you get to play more games of football.

On The Ball isn't quite as in-depth as Premier Manager or Championship Manager, but it beats them for graphics and it is highly playable. The more you play On The Ball, the more you will get into it, but it's not a game that will become the benchmark for the genre.



On the Ball logo

Ascon released On The Ball: World Cup Edition on the Amiga to coincide with the tournament based in the real world. Amiga Format reviewed it in issue 63, where it earned itself a more than respectable 80 per cent.
"Beneath A Steel Sky" for football fans, we reckoned.

One of its main charms was the aesthetically pleasing front end. Rather than use boring function boxes to issue commands, OTB employed adventure-style hot spots. For example, a scanned water-colour painting of the manager's office constituted the main control interface. When you wanted to leave the office you just had to click on the jacket hanging on the coat rack.

Financial control
OTB: League Edition, has a similar front end. If you want to find out about the club finances, click on the safe in the office. Or, conversely, if you need to upgrade your ground or re-turf the pitch, click on the pitch outside the window. It all makes logical sense and soon becomes intuitive to use.

Several other features such as animated training regimes, holding of press conferences, real-time adjustment of team tactics, cinematic representation of the football highlights, and player psychology helped OTB: World Cup Edition stand head and shoulders above the general management competition. It was a joy to play and ranks as one of the best football management games currently on the market.

So why can't the same thing be said about OTB: League Edition? It's got the same style of presentation. In fact, some of the screens are almost identical to the original. You could be forgiven for thinking that you were playing the same game.

Yet, the feel and approach is completely different. Not in a good way though. You can't help but form the impression that this game is a stripped down, not as much fun, version of the original. A lot of the atmosphere seems to have disappeared into a vacuum of mouse clicks and figure calculation.

Finances and numerical statistics play a large part in the game. At the beginning, you have to make a forecast on your expected financial turnover, based on gate receipts, sales and transfers, shops, and youth schemes. Until you become accustomed to the game, you'll get this bit wrong.

Peer pressure
Performance on the field directly affects financial performance and turnover from the terraces. This also directly affects your performance in the face of your peers, the fans, the public and, more importantly, the board.

But, aside from all of these financial shenanigans, the game simply boils down to a weekly team selection on who can offer most to the team. The rest of the game doesn't offer as much fun as the World Cup Edition. There's no half-time team talk, no multiple choice press conferences, no physiotherapists to be consulted, no animated training sequences and n real urge to remain playing.

On The Ball: League Edition is not all bad. As footie management games go, it's pretty good. But ultimately is only a pale shadow in the radiance of its World Cup brother. If you've got the World Cup Edition, don't even give the League version a look in.



Der Meister aller Klassen

Anstoss logo Amiga Joker Mega Hit

Heimlich, still und leise werkelte Ascon neben dem Historienprojekt "Elizabeth" an einem Fußball-Manager vom Allerfeinsten - und wir lassen die neue Sport-Bombe hier exklusiv für Euch platzen!

Ja, dieses Game ist wahrlich ein Ausnahmefall - das in mancherlei Beziehung: Weil Anstoß einerseits bereits Ende Oktober Anstoß hat, das Programm andererseits jedoch noch nicht in seiner absolut endgültigen Version vorliegt, haben wir es einerseits schonmal vorab für Euch getestet, verzichten der Fairness halber andererseits jedoch auf eine ausführliche Bewertung. Mehr über diese ungewöhnliche Situation im nachstehenden Kästchen...

Daß dieses Game aber auch für sich genommen ein positiver Ausnahmefall ist, bestätigt als allererstes schonmal das originelle Spielziel: Hier dreht sich für ein bis vier Teilnehmer alles um die ganz konkrete Vorgabe, als Trainer eines Bundesligavereins innerhalb von zehn Jahren zum Teamchef der Nationalmannschaft aufzusteigen! Ist doch schwer in Ordnung, schließlich ist Bundes-Berti auch nicht mehr der Jüngste.

Dennoch ist es kein Zuckerschlecken, in die Fußstapfen von Herrn Vogts zu steigen (ging ihm je mit denen von Kaiser Franz auch nicht anders...), weshalb es durchaus passieren kann, daß man lange vorher wegen Ungeschicks vom Vorstand gefeuert wird oder gar in die Zweite Liga absteigt. Kein Grund zur Panik, bekommt hier doch jeder eine zweite Chance bei einem anderen Erstligisten, hat dann aber natürlich weniger Zeit zur Verfügung und muß verständlicherweise mit den fragwürdigeren Vereinen vorlieb nehmen.

Der zweite Auffällige Unterschied zur Genrekonkurrenz liegt in der geradezu gigantomanischen Präsentation - rein optisch ist dieses Spiel unter allen Wirtschaftssimulationen absolut konkurrenzlos! Das fängt bereits mit den schicken Grafikbildschirmen an, wo man durch Anklicken der Möblierung in diverse (Unter-) Menüs gelangt.

Am Büroscreen etwa führt das Klemmbrett auf dem Schreibtisch zur Mannschaftsaufstellung, der Tresort weiht Euch in die Geheimnisse der Finanzen ein und immer so weiter. Der eigentliche Hammer aber hängt woanders: Die Matches in Anstoß kommen einer TV-Übertragung näher als in jedem anderem Monitor-Spektakel, das wir jemals gesehen haben!

So werden die Begegnungen genau wie in der Glotze von "Fernsehkameras" aus neun verschiedenen Perspektiven verfolgt, wobei die Animationen der teilweise riesigen Spieler einfach umwerfend wirken. Mehr noch, diese immer wieder neu kombinierten Szenen werden durch Scrolltexte begleitet, die stets einen korrekten Kommentar zur jeweiligen Lage liefern. Ganz zu schweigen von Dingen, die dem Manager hier plötzlich und unverhofft widerfahren können; etwa, daß er nach dem Gewinn eines wichtigen Pokalspiels aus heiterem Himmel ein Interview geben muß.

Bei den Multiple Choice-antworten ist dann freilich Vorsicht geboten, denn wer unbedacht Spielerschelte übt oder seinem Vereinsvorstand auf die Zehen tritt, muß mit Konsequenzen wie sinkender Mannschaftsmoral oder (fast noch schlimmer) sinkender Beliebtheit bei den Entscheidungsträgern seiner Karriere rechnen.

In ähnlich umsichtiger Weise wäre mit anderen öffentlichen Auftritten von Pressekonferenzen bis zu Einladungen ins Sportstudio umzugehen, was sicher bereits erahnen läßt, daß Ascons sportiver Meilenstein auch in Sachen Komplexität ganz neue Maßstäbe setzt.

Eine Ahnung, die sich allüberall bestätigt: Vor dem Anstoß geht es bei Anstoß nicht etwa nur darum, für die kommende Begegnung elf Kicker auf die Beine zu stellen, nein, da wäre zusätzlich ein Elfmeterschütze festzulegen, und wer die geeigeneten Persönlichkeiten im Team hat, kann auch den Libero und/oder einen Spielmacher bestimmen.

Von der Stärkenverteilung auf Angriff, Sturm und Mittelfeld lassen sich wiederum im Vergleich zu den entsprechenden Werten des Gegners Rückschlüsse auf die erforderlichen Trainingseinheiten ziehen (insgesamt sind elf verschiedene Bereiche von der Abseitsfalle über Tackling bis hin zu Spezialprogarmmen für einzelne Kicker realisierbar), und die hängern ihrerseits mit dem fantastisch umfangreichen Statistik-Material zusammen.

Wer dort etwa feststellt, daß seine Jungs prinzipiell nach der Halbzeit kaum noch zu gebrauchen sind, sollte vielleicht etwas für deren Kondition tun, und falls sich ergibt, daß in den ersten zehn Minuten besonders häufig ins Schwarze getroffen wird, spricht nichts dagegen, die Athleten von Anfang an und ohne Rücksicht auf Veluste stürmen zu lassen, um etwas später eine moderatere Strategie einzuschlagen.

Ja, da staunt Ihr, was? Dabei handelt es sich bei all dem nur um einen halbwegs repräsentativen Ausschnitt des Gebotenen, alle Features dieses Super-Hits gebührend zu würdigen, würde fast schon ein Sonderheft füllen. Stichworte wie Finanzkalkulation, Verhandlungen mit Sponsoren, Sonderereignisse en masse, Prominenten-Tip oder Replay-Funktion belegen das locker, wenn auch nach wie vor unvollständig.

Bliebe erstens noch zu erwähnen, daß er rasante Titelsound den abwechslungsreichen Effekten und Musikstücken nicht nachsteht und daß die Maus mit ihren sauber durchdachten Icons und Menüs prima zurechtkommt. Bliebe zweitens zu klären, ob die Stratego-Kicker nunmehr einen neuen Deutschen Meister haben - und bliebe drittens festzustellen, daß diese Frage wohl nur mit einem herzhaften "Jawoll" beantwordet werden kann! (jn)



Anstoss logo Amiga Joker Mega Hit

Vor zwei Monaten machten wir Euch mit einem Vorab-Test den Mund wäßrig, nun ist der Traum jedes Fußballmanagers digitale Wirklichkeit gewurden - und das auf allen Amigas gleichzeitig!

Die Standard- und die spezielle 1200er Version unterscheiden sich bloß grafisch, das Gameplay ist völlig identisch: Bis zu vier menschliche Trainer müssen versuchen, innerhalb von zehn Jahren den Job von Berti Vogts zu ergattern.

Man sollte also aus den 20 anfänglich vorhandenen Kickern durch gezieltes Training, geschickte Transfers und eine clevere Finanzplanung baldmöglichst ein Spitzenteam formen, das auch im internationalen Wettbewerb bestehen kann. Dazu stehen in einem Dutzend Untermenüs umfangreiche Statistiken und die üblichen Optionen zur Verfügung; alles ist direkt vom (Büro-) Hauptscreen aus zugänglich.

Aus rechtlichen Gründen tragen die Bundesligavereine hier nicht ihre originalen Namen, was sich mit dem integrierten Editor aber ändern läßt. In puncto Options-vielfalt wird das Niveau des "Bundesliga Managers Prof." um Haaresbreite verfehlt, speziell, was die (Einzel-) Trainings- und Werbemöglichkeiten angeht.

Handhabungstechnisch warten übersichtliche Menüs und eine gelungene Maussteuerung, die Installation auf Festplatte sei jedoch dringend angeraten. Das entscheidende Plus von Anstoß ist aber die geradezu sensationelle Optik! Das gilt insbesondere für die animierten Spielszenen wobei der Chef im Falle eines Elfmeters sogar selbst Hand an die Maus legen darf.

Auch hier sind sich beide Versionen einig: Am 1200er bekommt man lediglich mehr und feiner abgestufte Farben zu sehen. Alles übrige stand schon in der Oktober-Ausgabe, nur eine exakte Prozent-Bewertung fehlte - und die folgt sogleich... (md)



On the Ball logo

But they're not, if the evidence is to be believed. On the ball, that is.

Oh dear. I really expected this to work. Having reviewed On The Ball (World Cup Edition) in AP41 and given it a massive 85% for its "great gameplay, lovely graphics and deep involvement", I find myself having to tell you why the football management game that I've been looking forward to all season doesn't quite seem to deliver the goods, Brian.

20,000
The League Edition of On The Ball doesn't have the charm of the World Cup version. It's a halfway decent football simulation, perhaps a little too hard, but one that reacts in a moderately realistic way to strategical changes you make.

And the lovely graphical interludes are still there, so that when you score a goal you're not just clocking up another digit, but get to see the cross drift in and one of your players go round a defender, or your striker wallop in the glorious 30-yard volley.

However, all the little plot devices that made the World Cup Edition such fun to play have disappeared and been replaced by the tawdry substitutes of finances and stadium renovation. Instead of giving your players a half-time talking-to (which meant you had to watch the first half carefully to make sure that you criticised or praised the right player_ you now choose which section of your stadium you want to upgrade. D-U-L-L.


Fascinating encounter? A platry 6,400

I was looking forward to the transfer market, but it's been bodged - you can only try to sell your players twice a season and when you succeed they nearly always refuse to leave the club, saying that they want to see out their contracts.

The random events have suffered as well. Gone are your players' romantic liaisons causing them form loss, in their stead you have some of the most ridiculous weekly events that I have come across in football management games. Events such as your "being recognised as one of a gang o hooligans at the last match despite wearing a mask" for example, or "raising £6,000 through autograph signings".

Other irritating inaccuracies include an over-sensitivity to immediately previous results when the game is calculating gates. ("It's a bit silly when making up attendance figures." - Ed) For example, I was playing Manchester United (not through choice, but from a sense of professionalism). We had lost the previous match which was a European Cup game 6-0. We were however playing at Old Trafford, against Spurs and we were TOP OF THE LEAGUE. What was the gate for this fascinating encounter? A paltry 6,400. I doubt if there's been a gate that low at Old Trafford this century. Next time we played at home we'd won the previous two games and the crowd was over 40,000. Not realistic.

LEAGUE
I talked to the nice man from Daze who brought this round and a tale transpired that would explain why this version isn't so good. It appears that they had this League Edition in this summer, but as there was no football being played in England, they decided that a World Cup Edition would do much better and so the League Edition was re-written, all the horribly financial bits were taken out and a topical World Cup storyline was implanted.

This obviously gave them the opportunity to tweak and improve all the bits they didn't like and create a game that was more fun all round. After all, the World Cup is more entertaining than League Football in real life too.

Unfortunately, the downside of this is that the League Edition now looks a bit old and not as polished as the World Cup game. It's still a decent game, but not one with the pizazz and razzmatazz of Ascon's previous offering.



On the Ball logo

Ascon have finally got around to producing a league version of their superb management title. Tony Dillon says, "Danke".

Some of you may have noticed that the World Cup Edition of this mighty football management game made it onto the shelves long before the original was ready. The same people might also notice that this version of the game isn't as advanced, user friendly or attractive as the previously-released edition. The few of you who take the time to think about this will probably find it all a little strange that the original was released after the sequel.

There is a reason for all of this, and it isn't just because the programming team are German. Well, actually it is. Anstoss, as it was originally titled, has been available in Germany for quite some time, and the German football league is set up quite differently to the UK league.

When it came to converting the German product for the UK, it was far easier and quicker to convert the World Cup edition, where all that was needed was a language change than it was to completely restructure the game. There you have it.

BACKGROUND
On The Ball is a football management siulation, where you have to take a Premier Division team and help them rise through the ranks, hopefully beyond National football and out into the European cups and the Cup Winner's Cup.

You start at the beginning of the season, and have to select the right team, give them the right training and tactics and hopefully all will work out well. You have limited control over the finances of the club, improving the stadium to increase capacity, negotiating with advertisers and team members and generally keeping an eye on everything you can. If you've played football management titles before, then you'll know what to expect.

The presentation of On The Ball is slick. All the screens in the game were originally watercolour illustrations, scanned in and retouched on the Amiga, giving a wonderful overall feel to the game.

Character has been used literally, but not quite as liberally as the World Cup Edition. A lot of the humour that appeared in the WC version is missing from this one -possibly the most amusing thing in the game is the little illustration of the ball in the tactic screen that shows you how hard or soft you are going to play.

MATCHING UP
The match is possibly the best part of the whole presentation however. You are shown a clock ticking away the time, as always, but whenever something of interest happens, the screen cuts to a watercolour animation of the happening, which can be anything from a foul to a close shave at the goalmouth.

There are about forty minutes worth of these animation on the three disks, and they do work well when it comes to creating a little tension in the closing minutes.

On The Ball is a competent enough management title, with more than enough in the way of statistics and options to keep the most ardent playing for weeks, but I can't help but feel a little let down by it all. This is a perfect frame for a management title, but all the gloss and shine of the World Cup Edition just isn't there.

You have very limited training and tactical abilities, you do end up seeing the same few screens over and over as you work through the league, and even the 'events' that can pop up after matches (little news items that bring either good or bad luck to the team) fail to stimulate after a while.
Sadly, On The Ball is let down by the fact that the sequel was so much better.



On the Ball World Cup Edition logo Amiga Computing Bronze Award

Taylor failed, but can you succeed? Dave Cusick tries to lead England to International Glory in Ascon's foray into the football management genre.

INTRODUCTION

A whole gaggle of football games have been released to capitalise on the football fever which inevitably follows the World Cup Finals, but so far they have all been action-based simulations as opposed to tackling the managerial side of things.

On The Ball aims to set that straight, offering up to four players and involving a detailed journey through the qualifying stages to the world cup finals.

It also features what the programmer describe as "Spectacular animated TV-style coverage" of the games, so that you can see your players in action and curse as they miss easy changes or concede disappointing last-gasp equalisers.

After the game you'll have to deal with the media, who will either tear you to shreds or hail you as a national hero. It's your task to make sure that your name is in the headlines for all the right reasons.


 

FLASHBACK

Without a doubt the two top managerial games are Gremlin's Premier Manager 2 and Domark's Championship Manager 93. Premier Manager opts for a fast and friendly approach, where you are given the task of taking over a humble conference team and making your way into the top flight of professional football.

Championship Manager is probably the most detailed game of its type ever conceived, boasting unparalleled attention to detail. It remains my personal favourite because you can immerse yourself in it for hours.

On The Ball tries to break the mould in several areas, not only in its use of the numerous in-game action sequences, but also in opting for a much less text-based approach than its rivals.

There are far fewer player statistics than in Championship Manager, as a system of assigning traits or characteristics such as "Goal poacher" to some players is employed which works well.


 

SIMULATION

Without ever actually having been an international football manager, I'm not really in the position to say whether or not On The Ball accurately reflects the day-to-day life of such a character. However, it does seem to include every aspect of the job, both on the field and off.

I can't think of another management game in which you get to plan out your player's days in this amount of detail, or where all manner of actions from endorsing products to imposing sex bans on the squad can be carried out.

The game sections themselves usually seem to reflect reality to some extent, although after a while you do become used to certain animations and as a result can predict goals before they are actually scored.
This doesn't really detract from the excitement however. You'll still have your heart in your mouth during penalties or free kicks from critical edg-of-box positions.

80%

 

ADDITIONAL INFO

Wednesday 13th October 1993 was the night on which football fans the whole nation over watched their national team miss the world cup boat. This was all the more shocking and disappointing, coming as it did only three years after a heartbreaking and indeed quite unlucky semi-final loss to the eventual winners of the 1990 World Cup, Germany.

Many fans agreed that had England beaten Germany in that fateful penalty shoot-out, they would have been able to beat Argentina in the final and lift the cup for a second time. But in the three years since England's second finest hour, much had changed.

After two impressive World Cup campaigns, Bobby Robson decided to return to club management. The FA appointed Graham Taylor, whose club credentials were impeccable.
With players such as Bryan Robson and Peter Shilton at the end of their international careers, Taylor decided the time was right for wholesale changes and took several controversial decisions, such as dropping Chris Waddle and Peter Beardsley.

He seemed unable to translate his club success to the international arena and adopted an alarming habit of playing men in roles other than their natural positions.

After playing On The Ball, you will either feel an affinity with Taylor - perhaps he faced an impossible task - or have an even lower opinion of him than when you started. This could largely depend on which difficulty level you play at.

After failing to quality for USA '94, Taylor resigned as England Manager. His three year tenure had been an often stormy voyage through the footballing ocean, and few were sorry to see him go in the end.

Now Wolves fans will be hoping he can find his earlier club management success. He shall be remembered as the man who not only managed England's way out of the World Cup, but also for the improper use of the English language that brought him notoriety through the medium of national television.

Indeed, that now immortal phrase which is adorning Fantasy Football League T-shirts the whole country over, accurately sums up for me the whole of Graham Taylor's international career: "Do I not like that?"


 

SOUND

Located on the desk in your office is a compact disc player, which you can use to select one or two tunes which tinkle away in the background during the off-the-field sections.

Both tunes are passable but not particularly awe-inspiring, and to be honest you may well be tempted to turn down the volume and stick some decent music on on the background while your play.

During the game, moments of drama are usually accompanied by suitable crowd sound effects. The closest you'll come to chants are the occasional "Eng-er-land" style messages which are interspersed with the commentary, but that doesn't matter too much because you'll be paying far more attention to the events on screen anyway.

52%

 

GRAPHICS

Few management games are as visually pleasing as On The Ball. The programmers have clearly poured a lot of time and effort into creating a realistic and stylish game throughout, and the graphics certainly go a long way towards capturing the correct mood.

The feel of every situation, from the quiet solitude of your hotel room office to the intense glare of a post-game press conference, is captured perfectly by the atmospheric visuals.

For most of the game you'll be looking at these beautifully drawn static screens, but where the action really comes alive is during training sessions and matches.

Here your players perform for you in a range of animated sequences. Despite the size of the players on the screen, these sequences are generally smooth and will certainly impress initially.

Of course, whether you'll still be so keen on them after you've had the game a few weeks remains to be seen, because it doesn't seem possible to skip these animations.

80%

 

OPINION75%

Accomplished and enjoyable though it is, On The Ball World Cup Edition still only simulates the qualifiers and finals of the World Cup.
International management is interesting enough, but for many there simply won't be enough involvement with the players on the almost personal level, such as that which can develop during extended sessions playing Championship Manager.

To be honest I can't help but feel that domestic league and cup competitions work better in a computer game. Also, something is definitely lost through the use of fictitious player names.
However, there's still plenty of depth; taking one of the footballing minnows to the finals is a real challenge on the higher difficulty settings.

You'll need a hard drive for the A1200 version, although the A500 version won't call for one. Ascon say this is due to the improved graphics on the AGA machines.

On The Ball is a good game by anybody's standards, but for me it still doesn't quite top the league. It's more a sort of Newcastle United, providing plenty of entertainment, but not quite able to catch the Blackburn and Manchester United of Premier Manager and Championship Manager respectively.



On the Ball World Cup Edition logo

Football is football. If that were not the case, it would not be the game it is.

Take football management as the basic premise of a game. Stylise and refine the inevitable number-crunching textual element. Finally, wrap it up and lovingly encase it in lavish retina messaging aesthetics. Well done, you have just about grasped the impact and concept of On The Ball.

Ascon are a German outfit and they are the people responsible for The Patrician (AF51 89%). Aside from being a very playable trading game, The Patrician's main impact lay firmly at the door of its opulent, attention-grabbing graphics.

On The Ball adopts a similarly effective mechanism. Rather than being a traditional text-based grid system, each of the information and control screens is a scanned-in picture of a watercolour painting.

The operation is implemented by sweeping the mouse over the screen in the same manner used in adventure games. At first, this is a bit confusing. Football management game preconcepts are hard to rbeak. Take a look at the control screen on the top right of this page. All of the functions are logical and are related to their graphical representation. For example, if you want to see the latest headlines in th press, click on the newspaper on your desk.

This system of information presentation could easily have slipped into graphical overkill. Fortunately, the game engine and control system is slick, unobtrusive and reeks with playability. The game viewed as a whole looks and feels like Beneath A Steel Sky or Innocent Until Caught. As such, you tend to end up concentrating on playing the game rather than remembering abstract rules, results and fixes.

The most important feature of On The Ball is the players. Their form is affected by all sorts of events, both physical and psychological. Remembering the performance of each one can make all the difference with team selection and overall rating. Thankfully, the players' abilities only depend on two traits, strength and form. Form is the most volatile of the two. It can wildly fluctuate depending on external events such as training, domestic life, injuries, not being selected, personal talks with the coach (you) and response to the media - an important part of the game is the performance of the coach at press conferences. Saying the wrong thing in public can affect the morale and consequently the form of the whole team.

Of course, these elements would not be important if the mechanism and graphic representation of the game in play was not up to scratch. The game performance is the most fun. It uses a combination of textural commentary and animated highlights.

The highlights are the best I have ever seen in a football management sim. They use a combination of long, medium and close-up views of the action which cut nd flow much like watching a water coloured Match Of The Day.

A genuine feeling of tension builds up when your team make a break or are under pressure from the opposition's attack. Despite the number of games I played in the process of this review, fatigue or boredom with the highlights never entered the equation. They still managed to induce mild excitement and that has got to be a good thing.

Good thing or not, there are a few gripes regarding On The Ball that afflict all football management games. And that is the section where you are left to screen watch. The worst culprit is the training section. The intention behind the training is player improvement - a good idea. Unfortunately, you have to watch the whole thing as a passive spectator.

You cannot click out of it or abort or speed it up, you just have to sit there like a lumpen mass and observe.

Admittedly, there is a running textual commentary which informs you of who is improving nd who is not. But the achievemtns of individual players is summarised on a post training screen anyway, so why are you forced to wait? It is a dark grey, verging on black, mark against an otherwise impressive gaming performance from Ascon.

Graps aside, On The Ball is the best management game you will play. It is atmospheric, addictive and incredibly playful. Recommended.


NO PAIN, NO GAIN

Training can improve the form and strength of your team. The following is the training regime that you can choose to inflict on your players.

On the Ball
PENALTY

On the Ball
FREE KICKS

On the Ball
STANDARD

On the Ball
SOLO RUN

On the Ball
EASY FITNESS

On the Ball
HARD FITNESS

On the Ball
PUNISHMENT TRAINING

On the Ball
SPRINT

On the Ball
HEADER

On the Ball
TACKLING

On the Ball
MOVE

On the Ball
OFFSIDE TRAP

On the Ball
BEAT THE OFFSIDE TRAP

On the Ball
GYMNASTICS

On the Ball
REGENERATION

On the Ball
ONE TO ONE

On the Ball
TRAINING GAME



Anstoss World Cup Edition logo Amiga Joker Hit

Bundes-Berti hat Mist gebaut, richtig? Ihr hättet so manches anders und so ziemlich besser gemacht, stimmt es? Zeit für den Beweis: mit der WM-Edition macht Ascon den Manager zum Bundestrainer!

Bis zu vier Spieler nehmen die Elitekicker des Landes ihrer Wahl unter ihre Fittiche und dürfen sich unter umgehung der Qualifikation auch gleich zur WM-Endrunde begeben, um mit oder ohne Vorbereitung um den Title zu kämpfen.

landes angekommen, greift man zunächst mal stilgerecht zum Terminplaner: Trainingseinheiten mit 17 Schwerpunkten, Einzelgespräche, Mannschaftssitzunge, Mahlzeiten, Bettruhe und vieles mehr bestimmen den Tagesablauf. Auch die Medien sind wichtig, weshalb von Zeit zu Zeit Pressekonferenzen abzuhalten sind - wer sich zuvor bei Massage oder einem Waldspaziergang entspannt, wird den Journalisten zudem gut gelaunt Rede und Antwort stehen.

Im Stadion entscheidet sich schließlich, ob die akribische Vorbereitung von Erfolg gekrönt wird. Und gerade hier hat die Neuauflage nochmals an Komplexität zugelegt: Die Cracks bringen nur noch auf ihren Lieblingspositionen volle Leistung, zu den taktischen Mitteln gehört jetzt u.a. auch noch Zeitspiel oder das Schießen aus allen Lagen.

Grafisch war eh nur wenig zu verbessern, so sind beim Training neuerdings nette Animationen zu verzeichnen. Ähnliches gilt für den Sound von altbekannter Güte, und auch die Maussteuerung ist so bequem wie gehabt.

Auch wenn sich die tatsächlichen Unterschiede natürlich in Grenzen halten, ist die WM-Edition somit eine weltmeisterliche Leistung, insbesondere weil sie die Turnierstimmung wirklich astrein rüberbringt! (st)



On the Ball World Cup Edition logo

Just what is going on here? The world cup is over, and it is finished as well.

Just another day in the Sam Cruise detective agency, except it was the AMIGA POWER office.
"Good morning! " said Cliff (from Daze) as he strolled in. "I have got a great new football management game. From Germany". He waved it around hopefully.
"Oh good," mumbled JD unconvincingly, trying to hide under a desk. "I will get someone to review it straight away. Thanks Cliff. No, really", he added more loudly as Cliff (from Daze) ran away.

JD eyed the game with suspicion, already regretting his impetuous words. Perhaps Cam would care to review the game? He glanced across at his Deputy Editor, who was always coming up with top ideas for features and suggesting JD go on holiday and was never asked to make the tea, just in case. Cam was carving the words, "I despise football with every fibre of my being" into his desk with a sickle.

THICKENING PLOT
Jonathan Nash then. JD slid the game inconspicuously across his desk in Jonathan's general direction, but to no avail, for Jonathan was in a different room using seven thousand pounds' worth of complicated scanning equipment to digitise himself into an episode of Animaniacs. JD gnawed his lip.

Suddenly, light burst upon him. Steve McGill! He was always going on about Kilmarnock and they, apparently, were a football club. He was the man for the job. But a quick search of the office revealed no McGill. There was, however, a small note pinned to his computer. "I have had enough", read JD, his stomach between his knees. "Nobody respects my religious beliefs, so I am off to make my fortune with the script of a new Tom and Jerry cartoon, Killie Kitty". The hapless Editor fell back into his chair, perspiration spotting his brow. Surely he was not going to have to review a... a... football management simulation himself!

Just then a familiar figure appeared. It was AP's tousle-haired Production Edtior, Steve Faregou. Fagaaarrr. Steve, er, Thingy, and he was whistling something. Something tantalisingly familiar. Why, it was the theme tune to Match of the Day!

"Steve", cried JD, almost excitedly, "Do you like football"? Steve jumped back in alarm, dropping his copy of 90 Minutes and nearly snapping the harness of the complicated car-battery-small-television-video-recorder arrangement he was using to watch the 1958 World Cup (Brazil v Sweden). "Possibly", he answered guardedly. JD ate a chocolate biscuit in triumph.


Already regretting his impetuous words

GLAD
And so it came to pass that I got to review On the Ball World Cup Edition. And am I ever glad. It is terrific. It is also incredibly big (about 10Mb) which means it is best to play it from hard drive or have at least two external drives.

The plot is the same old thing: your task, as a national coach, is to prepare and qualify a squad for the World Cup. Or, if you prefer, you can skip all the qualification process and go straight into the Cup. You can choose to be the coach of any team in the world and you have a period of months over which to organise friendlies and training sessions around the qualification matches.

It is the way the game has been put together that makes it so enjoyable. Numbercrunching is kept in the background where it belongs, leaving you to get on with the important business of bellowing in disbelief as your striker completely misses his shot and nibbling your tie-clip in a frenzy as the opposing team swoops on your goal. The highlights are a mixture of running text commentary and 3Dish animated bits, and they mesh perfectly. Which is more than can be said for your players.

CLEVER LINK
Quite possibly the finest aspect of On the Ball is its storytelling feature. You know how in other footy many games your players are just a group of statistics? In OTB, they really come to life, training badly, attacking unkind journalists, having good days and off ones.

As coach, you have to attend press conferences, give interviews on the touchline after an important match, deal with players' personal problems (when I was playing, one of my team fell madly in love, which affected his form) and make stirring speeches at half time, being sure to single out the right people for praise otherwise everyone else will get cheesed off. It is a level of involvement that turns a game into a memorable story - something I have never before seen in a footy sim.

The game is also helped a lot by the excellent graphics. The match highlights are true Roy Of The Rovers, and the static in-game screens are beautifully drawn. Even after several hours of playing, I was still discovering new pictures - and some of them are really funny, displaying an unusual (and hugely welcome) lightness of touch.

This sort of skewed thinking is typical of the approach to the game - make it fun to play, and all else will follow. And, of course, it is fun to play. The menus are all easy to use, the results of the matches are believable, and your decisions have a significant effect on those results.

You get to know your players, tailoring their training accordingly, and learning who to praise and who to criticise. If I have a criticism, it is that the game is limited in scope: You only play in the World Cup and there are no financial decisions to make. But! According to Daze a league version will be released in September, featuring exactly those things in addition to sponsors and FA Cup and European tournaments. I cannot wait.


WHAT'S YOUR STYLE?

Before each game you choose two elements that decide what sort of style you play. The basic types shown here are only one factor. The aggression rating (see over) is the other. This is in addition to the normal formations and stuff.

On the Ball
Defensive - getting back behind the ball.

On the Ball
Cautious - a must for any final you might be in.

On the Ball
Counter attack - just like the danes.

On the Ball
Attacking - go out there and give it your all.

On the Ball
All out attack - 3-0 down and ten minutes to go.

CHOOSE YOUR LEVEL OF FILTH

On the Ball
Nice 'n' gentle - best reserved for friendlies.

On the Ball
Fair - still a tiny bit weak actually.

On the Ball
Normal - don't risk that sending off.

On the Ball
Hard - show them who's boss from the start.

On the Ball
Brutal - Wimbledon '88 Cup Final team, basically.


On the Ball World Cup Edition logo CU Amiga Super Star

What's this? The Germans have re-invented football management? Tony Dillon says Bitte?

The chaps and chapesses at Ascon must be an incredibly happy bunch. In their native Germany they've only released two games, yet they have been top of the charts for more weeks than most people have on their calendars.

Their first product, The Patrician, went through the roof, and building on the reputation for hot strategy games their second - Anstoss, did just the same. Anstoss and Anstoss - World Cup were both recognised as being among the best soccer management games ever released - more than even the phenomenally selling Bundesliga Manager, and these are now finally being translated into English, so we can enjoy them as much as our Deutsch cousins.

You might have picked up the fact that there are in fact two versions of Anstoss from the above paragraph - League and World Cup editions, the World Cup one being developed specifically for this time of year. When it came to actually translating the game for the UK market, the World Cup edition has turned out to be far easier to move across, being as only the text itself needs to be changed. In the league version, the actual structure of the leagues need to be rewritten, and as a result the World Cup edition is being released in the UK a couple of months before the League version. C'est la vie.

LOOKING STRANGE
Looking at the screenshots on these pages, you might have noticed that On The Ball doesn't look like your average football management game. That's OK though, because On The Ball isn't your average football management game. This game is crammed with new features, and I can't remember the last time I said that about a football management title.

The aim of the World Cup edition is much the same as most other games in that you choose your team, and then try and take them all the way through the qualifying rounds, through the quarter and semi finals, and eventually to the final itself. All the usual World Cup rules apply, and all the teams you would expect to see in there, are there. In that respect, this is very similar to most other management games, but that is where most of the similarity ends.

Before I tell you about the fabulous presentation of the game, let me tell you what is so exciting about the game engine itself. On the basic level you handle the players statistically - the usual sort of thing, where you find the players who work best in each position by combining their skills, and then find the best tactics and formations needed to defeat the opposition. Then it goes much, much further.

GOOD FOR MORALE
To give you some idea of how much detail and information you have to play with, let's take a look at the morale of the team. When the team is fitted together perfectly, morale will be high. To get a perfect team, however, you have to find a team where the personalities work, rather than just lump the highest-rated players together. Hotheaded players will more often than not disrupt a harmonious defensive set up, and someone who is too passive might be taken as being lazy.

Still, once you have the right squad, you have to keep them happy. Keeping them happy isn't as easy as it seems, however. You have to offer them a varied and exciting training schedule. You have to be very careful what you say to the players at half time, you have to watch what gets said in the papers. You even have to watch out for players becoming bored in the situations the play in.

The personality aspect of the game is just one of the things that makes it so involving to play.

There's a lot more to being a manager than just managing people, I usually find, and On The Ball covers every aspect you can think of. You have to do sponsorship deals with people, participate in TV interviews and press conferences and even be called to comment on the match after a particularly good or bad game. There are all the standard options such as team formation and selecting the different training opportunities. As well as less standard ones such as telling your team to play violently, or even to take a Klinsman-style dive in the box to get those extra goals!

If there is one thing that will really engage your enthusiasm initially, as well as capture the mass market where most other soccer management games have failed, it's the presentation. The game looks absolutely fabulous, with all the images in the game being painted in watercolours, and then scanned in - the AGA version looks particularly spectacular! Every screen is a treat to see, such as the outside of your hotel, or the screen that's flashed up on those odd moments in the game where you have nothing to do (yourself, laying by a pool with a drink in your hand!).

Where the presentation really stands out, though, is in the match itself. By using the same graphics system of scanned watercolour images, On The Ball plays you the highlights of the match as they happen, from various camera angles and settings. And throughout the match, a running commentary gives you all the interesting points of the game underneath, from the crowd reaction to certain parts of the match, to the kind of things the players are shouting at the referee.

POLISHED BALLS
All in all, the whole package gleams and shines like no other. On The Ball has all the strategy and skill of the best of the rest, yet is so user-friendly and easy to get into that the 100-plus page manual is almost completely redundant.

It'll take some time to crack the game, though, no matter which team you choose to play with, as you really will need to learn how players react to different situations before you can fully control them. Atmospheric and gripping, On The Ball is easily the best football management game I have ever played.


IT'S OFFICIAL!

If there's one thing missing from most soccer management games, it's your office. A lot of the time you are sat staring at table s and numbers, with no real feeling of 'being there'. On The Ball rectifies this by showing you exactly where you are at any one time. At the beginning of the game, before you jet off to wherever the game happens to be, you work from your plush office. When you reach the semi- and quarter finals of the game, however, you are moved to an untidy hotel room, with all the same options hidden in logical places. More interesting than a menu screen, I say.

SPEAKING PERSONALLY

One of the most interesting ideas in the game is that of a rating which shows you how confident you are feeling, as well as how confident the backers, supporters and team are about your performance. This is given as a percentage, and takes into account every aspect of your game so far. This might seem like another meaningless statistic, but in fact it alters a lot of things about the game. In press conferences, for example, you will be asked a question and given three separate answers. The tone of the answers is governed by your personal feeling, so therefore you can't be incredibly positive if you have just lost the last three matches!