Goal!!!
Followers of the EA FIFA series might be curious to check out this spin-off from the German On the Ball franchise of soccer simulators, but if you do take a look, don't expect anything quite in the same league, although it comes pretty close. The aim here is to be a fairly realistic sim which captures all aspects of football management and in this respect On the Ball is quite successful. There are a multitude of options available to you as you attempt to get your team to the heights of glory, with transfers available, many training possibilities (the effects of which are quite visible as your progress), and much more. There are plenty of game modes to try out, including competitions, tournaments and leagues, while successful completion of matches opens up interesting historical games to check out and recreate such as famous World Cup matches. As far as these things go, this is pretty decent stuff. It combines elements of other soccer games such as Kick Off to generally solid effect and if you are a football fan on the lookout for something new, this is worth a look. The visuals are sound, moving around at a good pace and being fairly detailed and which add a lot to the atmosphere. The interface too is easy to pick up and intuitive, making the experience more pleasing but it is the variety of options which is perhaps the game's biggest strongpoint. There really is plenty to get your teeth into and explore, with the historical games being particularly interesting. There are a few flaws, but on the whole this is worth a closer look.
