All right, so they move around nicely. There's more to footy than that.
Au naturelle. Passing and shooting are simple enough as the player only really has to use one button for each. More skilful players will find themselves doing all manner of fancy tricks using extra buttons, and this really appeals to Future Gamer too - we're all for depth in a game without making the novice look completely stupid. Practice is going to be the key.

What about commentary?
There's the terribly enthusiastic Jonathan Pearce talking you through the action, with some choice comments from 'Big' Ron Atkinson. Lovely it is too, but then we've come to expect that in our footy games.

What about management?
There's plenty of it, from deciding the team strategy and positions of players on the field to the team's overall match tactics. You can edit your teams to your heart's content too.

Is Sheringham starting up front, or Cole?
Neither. Microsoft may have the country names and kits and stuff but they haven't got the names. Completely made up people, who look surprisingly like famous international football players, populate the teams, but as you're able to edit the team names...

Sneaky.
They don't miss a trick.

I've only got a keyboard though. Am I going to struggle?
I'm afraid you are. Like most arcade games these days, a gamepad is almost a prerequisite. How else are you going to manage the subtle moves like chesting the ball down, headers and volleys and the like without giving your fingers cramp within two minutes?

Fair point.
One nil, in fact.

* Fabulous motion capture on the players
* Control is simple to begin with, and there's loads more to discover
* The game flows like a proper game of football
* Create your own league and cup tournaments
* The computer does tend to remember button presses, and this can see you making kicks and passes you intended a minute ago but no longer wish to execute