PC CD-ROM minimum system requirements: Windows 95 - Pentium 75mhz; 16MB RAM; 60MB hard disk space; Dual speed CD-ROM drive; SVGA. DOS 5.0 - 486DX/66mhz; 8MB RAM; 50MB hard disk space; Dual speed CD-ROM drive; SVGA. £34.99.
MICK McCarthy: if all else fails and you're staring down the barrel of a Romanian gun on Wednesday, crank up this little offering from Maxis and see how the Irish team can and should play. I've just witnessed a Republic of Ireland team - Keith O'Neill et al - hammer my World Dream Team XI 3-0, leaving Messrs, Ronaldo, de Livio, del Piero and a hapless Schmiechel looking like, something from the Leinster Senior League.
It was a joy to behold, from an Irish point of view at least. Slick one-touch football with the front runners moving up-field in what seemed like swarms. It was the stuff dreams, are made of, the only snag being that I was in control of the World XI, making the substitutions and deciding on tactics.
I was going to need a lot of practice. The first touch is all-important and ball control a basic necessity. In practice mode you can also fin&tune your overhead kicks, backheels, headers and a host of other things that come naturally to the South Americans.
To analyse your progress you have the option of looking at this action from 36 different angles - and this myriad of viewpoints is also accessible during an actual game.
When the practice is over it's down to the nitty gritty of the game and you can choose from four modes of gameplay Friendly, League, Cup or Challenge. It's all standard stuff really, with options within options which will suit even the most discerning gameplayer. But it's Kick Off 97's speed, even on a moderate machine, that stands it apart: and its control method, is, simpler than most. But, despite its best efforts (it's not on its own in this respect), this is still way short of conveying the true nature of soccer and the Jim Rosenthal commentary doesn't exactly help matters. Nice try though
Graphics: 85%, Sound: 60%, Gameplay: 82%