Manchester United: The Official Computer Game

‘The most famous club in the world’ has had its problems in the League recently, but maybe you think you could do a better job, so here’s your chance. As well as making managerial decisions you can even play for the entire team! But before you get your boots on, there’s a bit of managing to do via the icon-driven menu system. Of course, no amount of training will be enough for some old snoggers so they can be sold and new players bought via the transfer system. Matches are viewed from side-on view. Both United and the opposition can be player or computer-controlled. Players dribble automatically and shoot when the fire button is released – the strength of kick determined by the time fire was held down. In addition you can chip the ball by pressing fire again quickly afterwards. Tackling is achieved either by running into the ball or by doing a sliding tackle. If mistimed the latter can lead to a free kick. In terms of presentation you have easy-to-use menus with a fair amount of disk accessing. Graphics are okay apart from pastel colour scheme and ‘skating’ players. Sound represents appallingly annoying tune with a reasonable match FX. Gameplay is not that great since it is frustratingly difficult to score goals. Man Utd fans will enjoy the almost forgotten experience of winning the league. Like the team, strictly second division.