Manchester United Europe

STORY / GAMEPLAY
Manchester United is the world's first game based on the famous British Football Club of the same name. Although it takes a completely different approach against the big two (Sensible Soccer and Kick Off), it's still almost as playable if not as much fun! The game supports headers, volleys and sliding tackles (moves so hard to master with Kick Off and Sensible). The only difficulty is to master the control of your shots. But once you learn it, you will begin to reap the benefits immediately. Note that that players can get suspended for fouls while the opponent may get injured. Both free kicks and corners can be accurately aimed by moving a cursor wherever you want the ball to land. There's a bit of managing to do via the icon-driven menu system. Each team member has its own position and several individual skill ratings. The players aren't set by their abilities though: You can use the relevant training option to improve each of the six attributes. Old players can be sold and new players can be purchased via the transfer system. You can attempt to buy any player of the transfer list or make a bid for those not listed, although they're likely to cost more. If another club makes a bid for one of your players you can accept, refuse or even insult the scout if it's a derisory offer!

GRAPHICS / SOUND
Technically the Acorn Archimedes version is identical to the Amiga. The visuals are pretty nice with detailed pitches and surroundings. The players' animations are fine, but I would expect more frames per sprite from this version. But when you score a goal, the game shows one of the best animations ever seen in a football game: The goalkeeper runs down the pitch and slides on his knees; the fans applause and cheer while the res of the team is celebrating by clapping both their hands in the air (!). The sound on the Archimedes version is great, featuring a pretty cool main menu tune plus a variety of sampled "football" sound effects.