The greatest footballer in the world has been signed by Infogrames, but will his name be gracing the greatest footy sim in the world?
Gideon Kibblewhite

Hang on a minute. I though Zinedine Zidane was the greatest football player in the world.
Well, some might agree with you, and there's some in our office who could offer up other names for that prestigious title. Certainly Zidane is currently FIFA's number one footballer, but if Ronaldo, with his power, pace and magic, were to come on to the market, there would be a very unsoccer-like scrum for his signature.

Mmm. Funny you should say 'pace, power and magic': that's the name of the people who are developing this game.
Very good! Go to the top of the class.

And does this game display those qualities?
It certainly has pace. Much faster than ISS, it could probably even show its heels to Actua Soccer 3. Think of Olympic Soccer: it's about as fast as that.

Blimey. That is quick.
Indeed. Ronaldo is definitely 100 miles-an-hour stuff. In fact, it makes Liverpool versus Everton look like a stroll in the park on a Sunday afternoon.

Is it a dirty game then? Can you make loads of great fouls like in Adidas power Soccer?
Don't be silly, mate. You think Ronaldo would want to be associated with that 'side' of the game?

Adidas did.
True, but they soon thought better of it. No, it's not that kind of game. In fact, in this game you only have to sneeze to cause a free kick.

It's not an example of the beautiful game then.
Well, in one sense it is because Ronaldo's pace means that if you can avoid the lunging tackles of your opponent, you can move the ball around very quickly and make a series of lightning passes before getting in a quick shot on goal.

What are the controls like?
A bit different to your average set up, but they work well enough. Briefly, they're as follows: Pass - X; Aerial Pass - Square; Shoot - Circle; Pass the Ball into Space (and this button is quite effective, as long as you don't over-do it, as it allows you to both spread the play and make incisive through balls) - R1; Accelerate - Triangle; Change Player - L1; Change Strategy - R1; Dribble - R2.