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The Goalkeeper |
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Developer: Winter Wolves Game Studio Publisher: Winter Wolves Game Studio Genre: Sports > General Released: Sep 15, 2004 Players: 1 |
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PurchaseIn my work as a stand-up comedian, I often find that a joke can take a rewrite or two to get the maximum amount of laughs. Some jokes are perfect right off the bat, others take time to get right. The joke still works, but with some tuning, it could become perfect.
I would say that Winterwolves’ game, “The Goalkeeper�, is like one of those jokes. Even though it is entertaining, there is many parts that could become better.
The idea behind the game is great. Most of us soccer-fans probably have two favorite positions – goalkeeper or striker. I myself have tried my hands at goaltending, only to find out that a guy measuring 5 feet and 6 inches probably isn’t cut out for that occupation. So naturally I jumped with joy when I realized that this game could fulfill my dreams of one day actually saving a ball.
You have the option to play in 6 different leagues. I chose to start playing as goalkeeper for Everton in the UK.
As you create your goaltender, you get to set his skill-levels for four different skills: handling, reflexes, jumping and charisma. At first, you will start out as an 18-year old kid (ah, those were the days!) who still needs some development before he’s ready for the big leagues. At least, that is what you’d think.
Even though your skills are pretty low to begin with, the games present little difficulty. The ball comes towards your goal, and you have to place your hands correctly to save it. Using your mouse to control your hands, you are unlikely to let in more than a few goals. In five games, I let in one goal, but saved two penalty shots with no trouble at all.
You can also improve your skills by training. You will receive reputation points and training points for making high-quality saves during the games. The training points are used to buy training programs that will improve the skill of your choice – or to play a friendly game to improve all skills by a little.
Reputation points are used to get on the good side of your coach, so you’ll be his number one in goal. A nice feature that could have benefited from having your coach’s like-you-meter (a bar of your reputation) ranging from 1 to 100, instead of from 1 to 10. When you have 10 in reputation, you are the clear-cut number one goaltender in your club, and it is all too easy to reach. Set it to 100, and you would need time to become a star player on the squad.
Another issue is that every opposing player seems to be the next Totti – if they enter the goal area, they will fall down faster than the American dollar, always resulting in a penalty that you, the goalkeeper, will have to face. Judges seem to have been paid off by the opposing coach, and you can’t help but wonder why your coach isn’t doing the same thing.
After every game, a news reporter will give a short report of the game, including a comment on whether you performed well or not. For some reason, she seems to have a speech impediment. After a game in which I got away with a 2-0 win with Everton against Leeds, she said: “With two goals taken, Leeds
defence played very badly today! The coach at end of the match said that was disappointed.�
Now, this girl is either one of those bimbos my mother used to warn me about, or the producers could’ve taken some extra time to make sure that sentences like the one above were avoided. It’s such a small part of a nice game, but one that can really got under my skin, because it would’ve been so easy to avoid.
Graphics: 7
The graphics are nice – especially the models of the goaltender and the coach, that can be seen in different menus. But there’s no real movement in the game, except for the movement of the goaltending hands, so graphics are often restricted to menus and statistics. However, the colours chosen for the game (background, text, menu bars etc.) work well for this sort of game.
Sound: 7
The game has the regular sports sounds, with the fans cheering and screaming in the stands when you make a brilliant save. It doesn’t get too advanced, though, and I would’ve loved to hear some background music when you are not playing a soccer game, just checking stats, talking to the coach, or practicing.
Gameplay: 8
An extra point here because of this being a very user-friendly game, with a quick tutorial, and explanations of all the skills. Also, having three options for what to do when a striker tries to score really helps up the score for this game. You can use an “arcade save�, during which you move your mouse/hands to stop the ball, but you can also use a “strategy save�, in which you choose from three different options for how to stop the ball, or an “instant save� where the game calculates your chances of saving. If you chose “instant save�, you will either save the ball, or you won’t, but you won’t be involved in actually making the save – which kind of takes away the entire meaning of the game, but that’s ok…it’s kind of “the lazy boy�-option of the game, and not really recommended, because you will definitely be scored upon more often.
Options: 9
Since this game is about getting your goaltender through a long career, you will have many choices to make in the game, including if you want a transfer to another team, contract negotiations, etc. You also have the opportunity, as mentioned above, to choose from three different ways to save the ball. The game also includes the three basic difficulty settings – easy, normal or hard.
Concept: 10
Love the idea of having a career as a goaltender, and to follow just one character. The idea also has the opportunity for sequels on another position. Playing as a striker would definitely bring me back for a second go at this game.
Fun: 8There’s lots to do in a game like this one, and no game will be like the previous one, if you want to start over once you’ve completed it. After all, you’ve got six countries to work your way through, and a goaltending ranking of the world’s best goaltenders – and to further your career, you should try to work your way up to the top! The score here is lowered by the little problems with the news reporter who suffers from the speech impediment, and the many penalty shots faced. I also think the game could be improved by, for example, having used the left mouse button to click at the appropriate time to try and hold onto the ball. If you fail to hold onto the ball, the opponents might be able to get a second shot at you, and you’d have to try for another save. As it is, you never hold on to the ball, and that way the opposition should at least manage to snatch one or two of them up during a game – but they never do.
Overall: 8
I’m sure that I’ll play this game again. It’s one of those games that you are sure to play if you have nothing better to do. I can picture myself sitting by the computer, having completed all the things I wanted to do, and feeling not really up for playing Warcraft or NHL 2005 and then having “The Goalkeeper� come into the picture. Easy to start, no loading times, and easy to start with. However, the minor flaws mentioned earlier, and a cost of 20 dollars to buy the game, might scare some people off. As usual – test before you buy! The demo is excellent.
By: Martin Krantz
Posted: Wednesday November 24, 2004
Posted: Wednesday November 24, 2004
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