Sega's Worldwide Soccer '97 may be the best soccer game ever released. EA Sports once dominated the sport with their brilliant FIFA series. Worldwide Soccer appeared last year with the introduction of the Saturn but suffered from poor gameplay and substandard graphics. Worldwide Soccer '97 claims its spot at the top of the genre with terrific gameplay, slick polygon-based 3D players, and a level of realism that easily supercedes that of its predecessors.
Worldwide Soccer '97 features over 48 international teams and four game scenarios: Exhibition, World League, Worldwide Cup, and Cup Tournament. Realism was clearly of paramount importance to the developers - the game features player injuries, suspensions, instant replays, and stat tracking as well as a play-by-play announcer who actually succeeds at keeping up with play and provides smart-ass comments during the instant replay. Beware, the referees aren't shy - they won't hesitate to dole out a red card.
This realism extends to the graphics. In addition to the three different playing views (vertical, horizontal, and 2-diagonal), the camera automatically pans the scrolling field. The motion-captured players look incredibly fluid and respond fast, lending gamers a great sense of control.
It's the gameplay, however, that makes this game so innovative. A variety of moves are featured, including rainbow kicks, butterfly kicks, and fakes, as well as aggressive defensive moves including charging, shoulder blocks, and slide tackles. The possibilities are endless. When running down the field, with a defender closing in, the player can quickly fake to the left, do a rainbow kick over the dumbfounded defender's head, and blow right by him. It's that level of variety that sets this title above the rest.
Worldwide Soccer '97 succeeds in every category. The revolutionary animations, combined with great gameplay and realism, make this title shine like the first FIFA Soccer game did on the 3DO. Soccer fans will love it, and those who think real "football" requires shoulder pads probably will too.
