Review: Sensible Soccer 2006 game

For a certain generation, playing Sensible Soccer is akin to listening to the Beatles' Sergeant Peppers on vinyl. It harks back to a time of youthful misdemeanours, summer holidays and long nights round your mates’ houses.

Well after a lengthy hiatus, the series is back, but in the intervening years we’ve had the footballing genius of Pro Evolution Soccer and the megabucks and supremely licensed FIFA series. Can an old dog learn the new tricks to compete with the current kings?

Well, we don’t want to crush your nostalgic bubble but Sensible Soccer 2006  is more of a novelty than a serious football title.

However, it’s at a cheap price and its simplistic charms make it an addictive offering that will undoubtedly find its audience, especially as the gameplay will feel instantly recognisable to many players.

For those too young to remember it, Sensible Soccer is a top-down perspective offering, although the small spites of yesteryear have been replaced by some slightly odd-looking chunkier characters.

All in all, the visuals are rather basic but the Sensible games (such as this and the genius Cannon Fodder) were based on brilliant action rather than detailed visuals.

The classic one-button playing system has been updated to allow a range of playing techniques but it still pales in comparison to its competitors.

Ultimately what lets it down is the rather substandard gameplay that feels well short of justifying the time on the subs bench.

The computer players aren’t amazing and rarely piece together fluid football that forces you into raising your game. Not helping matters is the inability to select your team mates, which has turned Pro Evolution into the true soccer masterpiece.

The concept of manually choosing which player to control might have seemed a daft concept in the late '90s but the advancement of gaming technology has made it a feature that should be compulsory.

Alas, Sensible Soccer doesn’t have it, which means mapping an opponent’s move is chosen by the computer, and it’s aggravating for master tacticians, like er…us.

However, where it comes alive is playing against friends. Sure, the gameplay doesn’t miraculously become something special but the frenetic action and relative ease with which you can pick it up means that it’s extremely entertaining, and we wouldn’t be surprised if people are inviting their mates round for a mini championship, just like the good old days.

So as a single-player game, it’s fun but extremely short-lived but should you be looking for something neat and simple to provide the backdrop to an evening’s drinking with your friends, then you’ll find Sensible Soccer a grand proposition.

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Pro Evolution Soccer 5 
One of the greatest football simulation games ever created on a computer.
Price: £35

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