VR Soccer ‘96
RIGHT ON THE PITCH
A Review of VR Soccer ‘96
by Jason Bednarik
There’s two minutes on the clock. Ahead of you is the goalie, ready for your shot. The ball is being shuffled to and from each of your feet, the sweat rolling down into your eyes. For a moment, the crowd is hushed into a deep silence; time is at a standstill. You kick the ball swiftly and watch as the net of the goal billows on impact. The crowd roars, chanting your name as you watch an instant replay on the video wall above you.
This is the rush of excitement I felt while playing VR Soccer ‘96. The intense action is addictive and the rush of virtual adrenaline pumped throughout my body. The ‘VR’ in the title stands for Virtual Reality Soccer. The crisp graphics are stunning and truly make it ‘virtual reality’, a phrase which in today’s world usually means having expensive computer equipment and blocky, polygon objects. VR Soccer ‘96 breaks through all of these stereotypical barriers and launches the player directly into the heart of the action.
VR Soccer ‘96 features ‘Seamless Virtual Fieldvision viewing system, Motion-Captured from Interactive Motion Technology, 44 international teams with full editing capabilities, squads of 22 players with eight different skill factors, Custom Cups, leagues, and tournaments, replays from infinite virtual camera angles, 20-player network option’, and much more. What does all this high-tech mumbo-jumbo have to do with the game? Surprisingly, quite a bit. The Seamless Virtual Fieldvision truly makes VR come alive with an affordable price tag. The rendered players look realistic, especially in the high detail modes (depending on your setup, the high detail option may not be available). The virtual camera modes makes VR Soccer look like a professional game on telvision! The panning and zoom are smooth, with no skipping (this also depends on your computer setup).
VR Soccer ‘96 also features some very unique options. Gamers can choose to view the game from a skycam, player’s point-of-view, referee’s point-of-view, wire, or with momentum. These options alone add a great depth to the level of realism in the game. Gamers can choose to play against the computer, simultaneous play with another person, or network play. VR Soccer can accommodate up to two joysticks/joypads so that head-to-head competition is equal.
The options menu is very detailed. VR Soccer can be customized right down to the type of player you want to have on a team. The sound is truly realistic, especially if your computer is equipped with adaquate RAM and stereo speakers, or better yet, a surround-sound system. Gamers can toggle the volume of the crowd, the field (the field is also called the pitch) and the commentators. Depending on your system configuration, the graphics are excellent if all are on the high setting along with activating the video wall (the video wall is a screen attached to the stadium that shows instant replays and the like) and sky modes.
However, a word of caution : If your system is not adaquately equipped for the high settings, you may be disappointed in the washed-out, watered-down look of the graphics (I am running a Pentium 133 with 16MB RAM, AWE-32 sound card, and 2MB of Video memory).
The playability is superb. Each player has a ‘halo’ at their feet to indicate who is the ball-carrier or who is closest to the opposing ball-carrier. This ‘halo’ will begin to flash if the on-screen player is in range to shoot on goal.
All in all, VR Soccer ‘96 gives the gamer the best of both worlds u the ability to feel the experience of playing competitive soccer while in the comfort of his or her own home. With the joint efforts of Interplay Productions and Gremlin Interactive Ltd., everything comes together. When VR Sports puts you in the game, the difference is real!
Gamer’s Zone Scorecard
| Product: | VR Soccer ‘96 |
| Company: | Interplay Productions |
| Cost: | n/a |
System Requirements:
486DX/33 or better, SVGA graphics, double-speed CD-ROM
drive or better, MS-DOS 5.0 or higher, 4MB RAM (8MB recommended and needed
for in-game commentary), Mouse, Joystick optional
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 4
Graphics 5
Sound 5
Interface 4
Replayability 5
Overall Score:
(* 0 rating, 0 votes)
Loading ...
