Sensible Soccer 2006 Decatur GA

Rating: 5/10

The world of videogames is notoriously forgiving where nostalgia is concerned, especially with life-devouring names such as Sensible Soccer. After all, this was the game that literally took weeks away from the lives of thousands of people, so compulsive and entertaining it was (and, indeed, still is).

But nostalgia doesn't cut too much ice with us where the need to hand over £20 is concerned, and the unfortunate truth here is that the new Sensible Soccer is considerably less playable than the old one.

It does, to be fair, play straight to the Sensi ethic. Out of the window goes any sniff of cutting edge graphics, in come a bevy of tournament options, and you need only remember a sprinkling of controls to have the game's gamut of tricks at your fingertips. Even when you get onto the pitch - which is now viewed from a slight angle - everything seems in place. It's easy enough to zip a few passes around, to pull decent saves out of the keepers and to waste a good half hour. But the problems are equally striking. The exemplary flow of a good game of old Sensi isn't here, stilted by waylaid passes, the need for consistent tackling that frequently ends up with a card, and by being at the whim of an in-game camera that's overdosed on E numbers before kick off.

It simply doesn't feel right. The pace and energy is frequently stifled, and you'll increasingly find yourself frustrated more than you are entertained. Sprinkled on top are fake player names, strange omissions from the roster of teams, and that nagging feeling that if they'd simply updated the statistics from the classic Sensible World Of Soccer they'd be far more deserving of your £20 than they are with this.

While it's certainly a welcome antidote to the glossy battle between FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer for the affections and credit cards of football game enthusiasts, when all's said and done, the major card Sensible Soccer 2006 has is its brand name. And that's why nostalgia isn't all it's cracked up to be.

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