Strictly average soccer sim
Another in the long line of soccer games released throughout the 80s and 90s, International Soccer Challenge is neither the best or the worst of the options, but sits somewhere in the middle, offering as it does a solid but uninspiring game of football. It is a sort of follow up to Microprose Soccer, and shares many similarities with that earlier title but offers one major difference which marks it out as something a little different. The game's perspective is in 3D, with the camera positioned behind the ball and which follows the player as they move up and down the pitch. Two main playing options are included here, a super league and a World Cup-style competition, and which are backed up by some practice modes. The game plays out in fairly typical fashion, and is reasonably fluid and easy to keep on top of, with a handy radar to help you keep track of where everyone is and controls which are responsive and intuitive. However, beyond this there's not much to get excited about here, with graphics that are strictly average and sound that is irritating rather than atmospheric. If you have exhausted the charms of Kick Off or Sensible Soccer, or just have to play every football game in existence, then this might be worth a look, but otherwise, there's no real need to fire this one up.
