Direct Link : Ultimate Football
Publisher : Smart Mobile Games

Price : $14.95

Graphics : 7 Out of 10
Sound : 8 Out of 10
Gameplay : 8 Out of 10
Longevity : 9 Out of 10
Overall : 8 Out of 10

Wow, two soccer games in quick succession, but they couldn’t be more radically different.

Ultimate Football takes the more traditional soccer route. Now I’ve said before that the Pocket PC isn’t the most ideal device for playing action games, but this more like an action game with a more thought based twist. Yes you play your team against the opponent and have to slot as many goals past his goalie, whilst keeping the ball out of your goal, but through the clever use of the stylus, the pace of the game is different, which means it’s a really great way to play.

From the kick off, your player nearest the centre has a big red arrow mark, indicating he is the player you are controlling and the direction you need to go for the opponents goal. You then tap on the screen where you want your player to go. If you have the ball and you click on another one of your players, the ball will be passed to him, but it will not neccessarily fall directly at his feet, you will then need to ensure he intercepts the pass, sometimes having to beat the opponent to the ball.

Whilst the graphics are nothing to write home about, they are very functional and the sound helps to add to the whole atmosphere. You also have the option of how you wish to view the play. You can either view from a side on birdseye view or a more conventional player view. I prefer the later as it gives you the chance to see the players goal before you when you shoot and hopefully score.

When you wish to play a game you can either choose:

• Tutorial : Get a brief tutorial on various aspects of the game
• Single match : Choose from Novice, Amateur, Semi-Pro, Pro and Champion skill levels, and select between 3 and 10 minutes per half. To further add to the configuration options, you can also select from 4 different formations and 3 different levels of aggression.
• League: where you have to play between 1 - 6 divisions with between 5 and 20 teams in each division. You also get to choose whether you wish to play in the English league or the Italian league.
• Demo : View the Pocket PC playing a game with itself.

Conclusion : Please do not be put off with the basic graphics of this game. The gameplay options are extensive and the actual gameplay is great. This is an excellent for sports afficianado. Now if this had a VGA options, I would be drooling at the mouth.