Ultimate Beach Soccer
Somebody got sand in my Game Boy Advance – oh, it’s just the game
Tags: Ultimate Beach Soccer Categories: GBA Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Nov 21st, 2003
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultimate Beach Soccer (title page) | |||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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The world’s most popular sport has always been hard pressed to gain a foothold in America. There has been no shortage of stars within the sport, but none have had a lasting effect on the populace. Branching out in new directions seems to be working to attract a certain amount of players and spectators, and this is where beach soccer comes in.
Like beach volleyball, the sport is modified to the sandy environment (fewer players on a team, three 12 minute periods). The basics of the sport remain however, and the action fast and scores higher. That’s the appeal of DreamCatcher’s Ultimate Beach Soccer.
The first thing that’s noticed about the game is the graphics. This is a game that definitely looks like it could have happened on the SNES. The animations are fairly smooth, and overall picture quality detailed. Visually, this looks like a Game Boy Advance game.
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Players pick one of 32 international teams to either perform in league play, tournaments, exhibition matches, and more. The gameplay consists of passing and shooting, with a surprising amount of variety available, thanks to the shoulder buttons. Alternately frustrating and easy to play, Ultimate Beach Soccer may suffer from trying to pack too much in. During the matches, the teammate the player controls automatically changes to the one closest to the ball. Often times, after passing or when trying to intercept a pass, this can result in a shift in viewpoint, and having the directional pad pressed in the wrong direction.
Thankfully, there is a training mode will teach players the finer points of the game. In Ultimate Beach Soccer, it’s not just about high scores, it’s also about how those scores are achieved.
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There is some multiplayer action as well, but only for an exhibition match.
The game’s audio is also a mixed bag, what there is, is good, but in short supply. The same music over and over can get on your nerves. The crowd however, sounds great, as do the sound effects. It’s nice to see somebody putting at least some effort into the sound of GBA games.
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Altogether, Ultimate Beach Soccer isn’t going to set the handheld gaming world on fire, but it’s a solid enough game for people looking for a quick fix of adrenaline. A better save system during the tournaments would have benefited the game, but overall, Ultimate Beach Soccer is fun, and that’s where it counts.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Fun, fast action + Visuals |
7.8 |
| What Doesn't | |
| - The controls take some getting used to | |
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| This looks and feels like a classic SNES game - sports fans should defenitely look into this. | |
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Tags: Ultimate Beach Soccer
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Nov 21st, 2003 and is filed under GBA Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
