Football Masters, Commodore Amiga 500

The football season is here..........well the 1991/1992 one

Game - Football Masters, ESP Software

Released - 1991

System - Commodore Amiga 500

Seeing as the new football season has started I thought I would kick off (see what I i did there!) with a review of a football management game for the Commodore Amiga. Football Masters largely went under the radar, mainly because it was mail order only. - you sent a cheque to ESP in sunny Southend and a week or so later back comes the game.

1 - 4 players could participate, each taking their turn before the matches were played. 

 Main Screen

From the main screen you could do the usual pick your team, buy/sell players (strangely you could only loan out players, not loan in), look at league tables and cup competitions, etc. All the players from the 1991 - 1992 season are present (I think so anyway). What made this game great for me was the speed you could rattle through a season. I can remember sitting through the night doing four seasons worth! Now, some may think that this means the game is shallow - and they would be right! The truth is this shallowness makes the game super playable. Modern football manager games have so many options it just takes out the fun, it takes half and hour just to pick a team in Football Manager 2012. I'm a busy man with a wife, two cats and half finished house - half an hour is all I get in most weeks to sit a play a game and in that time I want to feel like I have achieved something!

 

The Match Screen - these take no longer than one minute to

 play; so I still have time to paint the kitchen afterwards!

Once you have picked your team it's off to the match screen. This is literally a background showing some terraces and a clock that counts rapidly to 90 minutes. Every now and again a caption will inform you of a booking or injury and if you are lucky a goal - accompanied by a roar from the crowd. You can also make substitutions using the right mouse button.

Trying to sign the Mighty Quinn!

Following each match you get run down of all the results and league tables (you can customise which leagues you want to see). Then it is back to the main screen for the next round of matches.

Overall

It's a simple footy management game, but its simplicity makes it a winner for me. Matches come thick and fast and so after a few minutes you do get sense that have established yourself at you chosen club.

There are some strange omissions - like not being able to loan in players. The match screen could also do with a little more detail to help feedback what is gong on.

A game I recommend you try if your into football management sims. It's not up there with Championship Manager 93 - but then nothing is!

8/10