What do you think are the 10 best and worst Mega Drive games

[killbot]

The reasons why Kick Off is horrendous are well detailed in the latest issue of the mag...

Er, if you choose to take the opinions of someone who,

* is a self-confessed hater of the Kick Off series
* admits to not being able to play the game/s at all well
* was an employee of the home of the series' direct competitor
* has an established reputation for being 'controversial'

... as fact then more fool you.

... But to add my opinion, a game which is supposed to be all about quick blasts with you mates after school has no business incorporating a horrendously tricky control scheme which takes hours of dedication to master.

Please indicate where the Kick Off series' developers/publishers ever once claimed their product was intended to be a simplistic pick up and play type of affair. Seems like you're guilty of projecting your own opinion of what you believe the Kick Off games were about.

It was a two-player football game. Surely the implication, by dint of the fact that the one-player mode was absolutely bare-bones, was that two-player footy jollies were the idea. And any two-player game needs some degree of pick-up-and-play factor, because almost by definition one player (the one who owns the game) will have played it more than the other. Kick Off games were uncontrollable unless you put in a lot of time to learning their *ahem* 'quirks'. That just made them no fun when my mates came round.

Now Sensi, that offered a just as many styles of play and options but contained within a game that anyone could 'get' within five minutes of picking up the stick. Half an hour's practice and my mates could score against me. A day or two and they could - with a bit of luck - beat me. A few weeks, they might be better than me. My point is, it was competitive and it was fun.

I say all that as someone who owned both Kick Off and Sensi back in the day and in fact still plays both occasionally via the NES/SNES ports. Campbell may be wrong on some things but on Kick Off I really think he's spot-on. It was okay in 1990, but the moment Sensi was released it became totally obsolete.

[DreamcastRIP]

The reasons why Kick Off is horrendous are well detailed in the latest issue of the mag...

Er, if you choose to take the opinions of someone who,

* is a self-confessed hater of the Kick Off series
* admits to not being able to play the game/s at all well
* was an employee of the home of the series' direct competitor
* has an established reputation for being 'controversial'

... as fact then more fool you.

... But to add my opinion, a game which is supposed to be all about quick blasts with you mates after school has no business incorporating a horrendously tricky control scheme which takes hours of dedication to master.

Please indicate where the Kick Off series' developers/publishers ever once claimed their product was intended to be a simplistic pick up and play type of affair. Seems like you're guilty of projecting your own opinion of what you believe the Kick Off games were about.

It was a two-player football game. Surely the implication, by dint of the fact that the one-player mode was absolutely bare-bones, was that two-player footy jollies were the idea. And any two-player game needs some degree of pick-up-and-play factor, because almost by definition one player (the one who owns the game) will have played it more than the other. Kick Off games were uncontrollable unless you put in a lot of time to learning their *ahem* 'quirks'. That just made them no fun when my mates came round.

Now Sensi, that offered a just as many styles of play and options but contained within a game that anyone could 'get' within five minutes of picking up the stick. Half an hour's practice and my mates could score against me. A day or two and they could - with a bit of luck - beat me. A few weeks, they might be better than me. My point is, it was competitive and it was fun.

I say all that as someone who owned both Kick Off and Sensi back in the day and in fact still plays both occasionally via the NES/SNES ports. Campbell may be wrong on some things but on Kick Off I really think he's spot-on. It was okay in 1990, but the moment Sensi was released it became totally obsolete.

The game you're claiming was "horrendous" received the following from industry critics of the time,

Reviews:
ST Action - Highest accolade they could give.
Amiga User Int - "Best computer game ever" 97%
The One - "Ultimate soccer simulation" 96%
ACE - "Brilliant, BUY BUY BUY" 92%
Amiga Format - "Best footy game to have appeared on any machine" 94%
ST Format - "What a game! gem to play. Magic" 90%
C&VG - "Championship winning material" 95%
The Games Machine - "Probably the best sports game ever" 92%
Commodore User - "No other footy game can touch it" 90%
Amiga Action - "Surpasses all other football games" 93%
PCW - "Nothing short of brilliant"
New Comp Express - "Computer football event of the year"
Zzap!64 - "So realistic, so fun, and soooo addictive" 96%

Awards:
Awarded UK. 1989 INDIN Best 16 Bit Product
Nominated UK. 1989 INDIN Best Programmer (2nd place, the winner was "Bullfrog" for "Populous")
Awarded 1989 EMAP Images Golden Joystick Award Best 16 Bit Product. (EMAP is a major UK magazine publisher).

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick_Off#Reception )

To be frank, you're talking utter pish to claim the game was "horrendous".

I and many, many others played Kick Off (ST/Amiga, not the subsequent inferior NES or SNES iterations) for countless hours both as a single player and as a two-player game. The single player was a little bare bones but it doesn't automatically follow, as you're suggesting it does, that the game was therefore mainly a two-player experience and was thus somehow flawed for not being as easily accessible as certain other footy games of the era.

And anyway, the game did not have an "horrendously tricky control scheme" as you claim. Given a little practice the controls could be picked up. Given a little more practice the controls could be mastered. Same as countless other games in video game history then. To characterise it the way you have is a gross exaggeration and smacks of the faux 'controversial' sensationalism the writer of said RG article this month is notorious for.

Obsolete when Sensible Soccer was released? Arguably so. However, Kick Off 2 was on the block and that game, for some of us if not all of us, held its own against Sensi. Or perhaps you never played Kick Off 2 given that it wasn't released on a Nintendo console...

For the record, I speak as a fan of both the Kick Off and Sensible Soccer series before any silly fanboy accusations are levelled by anyone.

[killbot]

The game you're claiming was "horrendous" received the following from industry critics of the time,

Reviews:
ST Action - Highest accolade they could give.
Amiga User Int - "Best computer game ever" 97%
The One - "Ultimate soccer simulation" 96%
ACE - "Brilliant, BUY BUY BUY" 92%
Amiga Format - "Best footy game to have appeared on any machine" 94%
ST Format - "What a game! gem to play. Magic" 90%
C&VG - "Championship winning material" 95%
The Games Machine - "Probably the best sports game ever" 92%
Commodore User - "No other footy game can touch it" 90%
Amiga Action - "Surpasses all other football games" 93%
PCW - "Nothing short of brilliant"
New Comp Express - "Computer football event of the year"
Zzap!64 - "So realistic, so fun, and soooo addictive" 96%

Awards:
Awarded UK. 1989 INDIN Best 16 Bit Product
Nominated UK. 1989 INDIN Best Programmer (2nd place, the winner was "Bullfrog" for "Populous")
Awarded 1989 EMAP Images Golden Joystick Award Best 16 Bit Product. (EMAP is a major UK magazine publisher).

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick_Off#Reception )

To be frank, you're talking utter pish to claim the game was "horrendous".

I and many, many others played Kick Off (ST/Amiga, not the subsequent inferior NES or SNES iterations) for countless hours both as a single player and as a two-player game. The single player was a little bare bones but it doesn't automatically follow, as you're suggesting it does, that the game was therefore mainly a two-player experience and was thus somehow flawed for not being as easily accessible as certain other footy games of the era.

And anyway, the game did not have an "horrendously tricky control scheme" as you claim. Given a little practice the controls could be picked up. Given a little more practice the controls could be mastered. Same as countless other games in video game history then. To characterise it the way you have is a gross exaggeration and smacks of the faux 'controversial' sensationalism the writer of said RG article this month is notorious for.

Obsolete when Sensible Soccer was released? Arguably so. However, Kick Off 2 was on the block and that game, for some of us if not all of us, held its own against Sensi. Or perhaps you never played Kick Off 2 given that it wasn't released on a Nintendo console...

For the record, I speak as a fan of both the Kick Off and Sensible Soccer series before any silly fanboy accusations are levelled by anyone.

When I said I'd played Kick Off and Sensi back in the day, I meant on an Amiga, which I owned throughout the 90s. I also played Kick Off 2, which seemed like a few extra modes and functions added to the original game and not much more. I understand the magazines at the time were impressed, but in hindsight I think the game was pish. The only Dino Dini football game I have any time for is Goal!

[retrosofer]

I remember playing the kick Off games when i was younger, they were an ok arcade style kick about, but they wasn't that great, no matter what system you played some of them on, they were just ok, thats just my oppinion though.

[jdanddiet]

I remember playing the kick Off games when i was younger, they were an ok arcade style kick about, but they wasn't that great, no matter what system you played some of them on, they were just ok, thats just my oppinion though.

BURN THE UNBELIEVER!

[jdanddiet]

dcrip re reviews

I seem to recall Fifa International Soccer getting some glowing reviews - and let's face it the original is a bit of a mess.

Now, FIFA 95, that's better than them all of course

[slacey1070]

The game you're claiming was "horrendous" received the following from industry critics of the time,

Reviews:
ST Action - Highest accolade they could give.
Amiga User Int - "Best computer game ever" 97%
The One - "Ultimate soccer simulation" 96%
ACE - "Brilliant, BUY BUY BUY" 92%
Amiga Format - "Best footy game to have appeared on any machine" 94%
ST Format - "What a game! gem to play. Magic" 90%
C&VG - "Championship winning material" 95%
The Games Machine - "Probably the best sports game ever" 92%
Commodore User - "No other footy game can touch it" 90%
Amiga Action - "Surpasses all other football games" 93%
PCW - "Nothing short of brilliant"
New Comp Express - "Computer football event of the year"
Zzap!64 - "So realistic, so fun, and soooo addictive" 96%

Awards:
Awarded UK. 1989 INDIN Best 16 Bit Product
Nominated UK. 1989 INDIN Best Programmer (2nd place, the winner was "Bullfrog" for "Populous")
Awarded 1989 EMAP Images Golden Joystick Award Best 16 Bit Product. (EMAP is a major UK magazine publisher).

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick_Off#Reception )

To be frank, you're talking utter pish to claim the game was "horrendous".

I and many, many others played Kick Off (ST/Amiga, not the subsequent inferior NES or SNES iterations) for countless hours both as a single player and as a two-player game. The single player was a little bare bones but it doesn't automatically follow, as you're suggesting it does, that the game was therefore mainly a two-player experience and was thus somehow flawed for not being as easily accessible as certain other footy games of the era.

And anyway, the game did not have an "horrendously tricky control scheme" as you claim. Given a little practice the controls could be picked up. Given a little more practice the controls could be mastered. Same as countless other games in video game history then. To characterise it the way you have is a gross exaggeration and smacks of the faux 'controversial' sensationalism the writer of said RG article this month is notorious for.

Obsolete when Sensible Soccer was released? Arguably so. However, Kick Off 2 was on the block and that game, for some of us if not all of us, held its own against Sensi. Or perhaps you never played Kick Off 2 given that it wasn't released on a Nintendo console...

For the record, I speak as a fan of both the Kick Off and Sensible Soccer series before any silly fanboy accusations are levelled by anyone.

When I said I'd played Kick Off and Sensi back in the day, I meant on an Amiga, which I owned throughout the 90s. I also played Kick Off 2, which seemed like a few extra modes and functions added to the original game and not much more. I understand the magazines at the time were impressed, but in hindsight I think the game was pish. The only Dino Dini football game I have any time for is Goal!

And yet Goal! was the least playable of any of the Dino Dini games.... In my opinion of course!

Space Invaders was obsolete after Galaxians came out, Pacman was obsolete after Ms Pacman came out, Pole Position was obsolete after Sega Rally came out...

Its a retro forum (or a forum whose members play retro games in any case) and a retro mag. Just because something new has come out, doesn't make the old one unplayable and rubbish....

[Liamh1982]

No matter your opinion on Kick Off, whether you think it's the dog's b0llocks or the dog's doo-doo, Sensi came along and blew it away.

[TwoHeadedBoy]

Football perfection was achieved with World Cup Italia '90, all the others were just pale imitations with little success.

[DreamcastRIP]

Space Invaders was obsolete after Galaxians came out, Pacman was obsolete after Ms Pacman came out, Pole Position was obsolete after Sega Rally came out...

Its a retro forum (or a forum whose members play retro games in any case) and a retro mag. Just because something new has come out, doesn't make the old one unplayable and rubbish....

Great post, slacey1070.

[Mootown]

Football perfection was achieved with World Cup Italia '90, all the others were just pale imitations with little success.

This is literally the only football game I ever played and liked. As I recall, on the Megadrive version the Japanese team was hilariously over-powered.

[resident paul]

Football perfection was achieved with World Cup Italia '90, all the others were just pale imitations with little success.

This is literally the only football game I ever played and liked. As I recall, on the Megadrive version the Japanese team was hilariously over-powered.

Nice to see you back mate!

[Mootown]

Football perfection was achieved with World Cup Italia '90, all the others were just pale imitations with little success.

This is literally the only football game I ever played and liked. As I recall, on the Megadrive version the Japanese team was hilariously over-powered.

Nice to see you back mate!

I've not really been away, just been viewing rather than posting. I actually did look at a load of other forums to see if there was one to migrate to, but they were either a)loads of kids swearing at each other or b)one post every 3 weeks

[jdanddiet]

[ulala]

Space Invaders was obsolete after Galaxians came out, Pacman was obsolete after Ms Pacman came out, Pole Position was obsolete after Sega Rally came out...

Its a retro forum (or a forum whose members play retro games in any case) and a retro mag. Just because something new has come out, doesn't make the old one unplayable and rubbish....

Great post, slacey1070.

Pole position to sega rally?

Thats forgetting about 10 racing steps on the evolutionary tree!