New Star Soccer – a seriously addictive Football adventure!
New Star Soccer is a football (soccer)
game with a distinct twist. You take the role of a 16 year old at the
very beginning of his professional career. Then balance your playing
life on-field, with your lifestyle off-field. Mixing simulation and
strategy elements with incidental soccer action, New Star Soccer is
frighteningly addictive for anyone interested in the game.
Price: $2.99
Tested on: HTC One X
Content Rating: Medium Maturity
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Stupidly addictive!
- Lots of gameplay features!
- Good sound effects and solid graphics!
- Detailed lifestyle options!
- More than 80 different leagues to play in!
- Pure fun to play!
Cons
- If you don’t like soccer, look away now.
Features:
Right away I have to tell you that this game has kept me up at night,
refusing to fall asleep as I finish season after season of gameplay.
I’ve had it only a few days but it’s already taken up hours of my life.
So, I have to say right now- if you like soccer/football, but are too
busy for anything time-consuming, walk away from this review now. Find a
nice
casual game
that’ll take up 10 minutes of your time and move on.
Still here? Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you. New Star Soccer is an
incredibly addictive and engrossing soccer title that is very different
from most other games out there. With games like
Flick Soccer,
FIFA 12,
PES 2012 or
Real Football 2012 you take the player mantle
pretty much wholly on the pitch; passing shooting, tackling, etc.
throughout a sped-up 90 minute game. Additionally, in games like
Football Manager Handheld 2012 you manage a side
(off field) to success an glory. With New Star Soccer you are the
ultimate rookie, starting at the very bottom with the first club that
will give you a chance. From there you must build your skills and play
well to move up the ladder to bigger clubs, higher wages and a more
luxurious lifestyle.
The game is essentially two elements in one. You have the decisions
(everything from earning money through sponsorship deals, drinking NRG
drinks and buying your girlfriend gifts) and the action (playing matches
where you either have to pass, shoot or intercept the ball). Everything
has levels. There is the level that corresponds to your relationship
with your boss, fans, teams mates, girlfriend (if you have one) and
sponsors. There is also your game skill levels- Power, Pace, Technique,
Vision and Free kicks which can all be built up via training. You have
to watch your energy levels too- if they fall too low your boss will not
pick you for the team. There is also a happiness level which you have
to maintain to stop people worrying about you. The aim of the game is to
carefully manage these things in various ways.
The action element of the game is very absorbing and lots of fun.
When the game starts you observe a streaming line of text which
describes the action, right up to any moment you become involved. These
moments are one of three situations: pass, intercept or shoot. You drag
your finger away from the placed ball to determine the direction and
power of your kick. The screen then changes to a moving ball (or still
if it’s a free kick or penalty). You then have to tap the ball in the
right spot to launch the kick. So, if you want the ball to curl you have
to tap it on one side, if you want to chip the ball you have to tap at
the bottom. If you want power it’s best to hit the ball bang in the
centre. With the ball often moving this is quite challenging, but adds
significantly to the excitement of the game. The screen then changes
again to the result of your kick- whether it misses, reaches the player
you want, or scores. With intercepting you have to move your player in
the way of one of the opposition’s passes. Bit tricky, but you get
better at this the more you play.
The game really puts you fully in charge of your destiny and you
always get plenty of chances to influence a game. Off field there are
plenty of things to do also. Improve you happiness and lifestyle by
purchasing new gadgets, vehicles or property. Bond with team mates over
games of golf or take your money to the casino and play mini-games which
include Roulette, Black Jack and slots.
This all makes for such a diverse gaming experience you completely
forget that the graphics are a little on the sparse side to say the
least. Check out the pictures below, but they can never really convey
the feel of the game itself. The screens look OK but pretty basic
overall- especially if you are comparing it to the big soccer games
available in the Google Play Store. If you’re still reading this, and
thinking about the possibility of getting the game, put the concerns
about the games’ looks completely to one side. You will love this game.
It’s relatively unique, flawlessly designed and so addictive it could
seriously impact your productivity for the next few weeks.
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New Star Soccer – Action view
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New Star Soccer – Use arrow to determine direction and power
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New Star Soccer – Ball in flight
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New Star Soccer – Long way out for a shot
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New Star Soccer – Tap the ball in the right spot for curve, power
etc
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New Star Soccer – Goal!
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New Star Soccer – Penalty
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New Star Soccer – In match text
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New Star Soccer – In match text 2
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New Star Soccer – Main dashboard
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New Star Soccer – Post match stats
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New Star Soccer – News Stories
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New Star Soccer – Profile Creation
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New Star Soccer – Skills profile
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New Star Soccer – Properties
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New Star Soccer – Dilema, spend time with fans or team mates?
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New Star Soccer – Blackjack
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New Star Soccer – Roulette
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New Star Soccer – Slots
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New Star Soccer – Try not to pick up a gambling habit with these
mini-games
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New Star Soccer – Lifestyle purchases
Fun Factor:
There is nothing sweeter to some people that hitting the ball just
right as you smack a 40 yard shot into the net. If you are one of those
people, the fun begins right here. The action is simple but gloriously
executed with accurate game physics. The lifestyle side is also great-
letting you buy cool stuff and even manage a relationship. Some of it is
a bit on the ridiculous side, but lots of fun, and done (I think) with
an element of humour.
Addictive:
I’ve been able to play little else since I downloaded it. I’ve lost
sleep, kept awake by the possibility of finishing a season and moving to
a bigger club. Every single time I’ve gone to check a fact about the
game while writing this review, it’s taken an act of pure willpower to
leave the game alone.
Simply put, if you love football/soccer, this is quite possibly the
most addictive game you can play on a mobile device.
Graphics:
Now, the graphics might looks a bit ropey, but only if you’re
mentally comparing them to something like PES 2012 or FIFA 12, so just
cut that out! The graphics are simple, a little retro, but serve their
purpose well. Better graphics might only slow the game down to its
detriment. They are more than fit for purpose and compliment the game
magnificently.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The sound is made up of lots of little sound effects- from adding
energy via drinking NRG drinks to scoring the winning goal and getting a
huge cheer from the spectators. It’s very rich and works perfectly
throughout- never becoming annoying or too repetitive, in my opinion.
