Wikipedia

Kick Off(series)

TheKick Offfranchise is a series of football simulationvideo gamescreated byDino Dini.Kick Offwas published by Anil Gupta's publishing house Anco Software for theAtari STand CommodoreAmiga.First released in 1989,Kick Offwas well-received and won awards.

Kick Off
Amstrad CPC cover art
Developer(s)Dino Dini
Publisher(s)Anco Software
Imagineer
Platform(s)Amstrad CPC,Atari ST,Amiga,MS-DOS,ZX Spectrum,NES
Release1989
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player,multiplayer(up to 4 players)

After the release ofKick Offseveral sequels were released.Player Managerwas released in 1990. The game was the first game to combine a management environment (including tactics, league play, transfers, and detailed player attributes) with a football game engine (based on that ofKick Off).Kick Off 2was released in 1990 as a sequel toKick Off.The game introduced a number of new features as well as several small alterations.

In 1992, Dino Dini left Anco and signed a contract forVirgin Games,which releasedGoal!in 1993. Anco released several further editions of theKick Offseries between 1994 and 1997, but these games had little in common withKick OffandKick Off 2.In 2001–2003, the KOA collaborated closely with Anco developer Steve Screech in an attempt to relaunch theKick OffandPlayer Managerseries.Kick Off 2002was released. Anco started to work on another sequelKick Off 2004which reached beta status. The attempt came to a halt when Anco closed in 2003.

History

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Kick Offwas released in 1989.Kick Offwas first developed for the Atari ST and then ported to the Amiga.[1]Several expansion disks were released forKick Off 2.In 1992, Dino Dini left Anco and signed a contract for Virgin Games, which releasedGoal!in 1993. Anco releasedKick Off 3in 1994. The game used a side view instead of a top-down view and bore little resemblance toKick Off 2apart from the name. Anco Software published the first versions ofKick Offfor the Amiga and Atari ST.[2]

Gameplay

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Atari STgameplay ofKick Off

WithKick Offthe ball did not stick to the player's feet but instead was realistically kicked ahead from the players, in a manner similar to that of Nintendo'sSoccer,released in 1985 on theNES.This added adegree of difficultyand skill requirement at the same time. Other attributes, such as action replays, players with different characteristics, different tactics, fouls, yellow cards, red cards, injuries, injury time and various referees with different moods are also featured.

Reception

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  • ST Action– Highest accolade they could give.
  • Amiga User Int– "Best computer game ever" 97%
  • The One– "Ultimate soccer simulation" 96%
  • ACE– "Brilliant, BUY BUY BUY" 92%
  • Amiga Format– "Best footy game to have appeared on any machine" 94%
  • ST Format– "What a game! gem to play. Magic" 90%
  • C&VG- "Championship winning material" 95%
  • The Games Machine– "Probably the best sports game ever" 92%
  • Commodore User– "No other footy game can touch it" 90%
  • Amiga Action– "Surpasses all other football games" 93%
  • PCW- "Nothing short of brilliant"
  • New Comp Express– "Computer football event of the year"
  • Zzap!64– "So realistic, so fun, and soooo addictive" 96%

Awards

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  • Awarded UK: 1989 INDIN Best 16 Bit Product
  • Nominated UK: 1989 INDIN Best Programmer (2nd place, the winner was "Bullfrog" forPopulous)
  • Awarded 1989EMAPImagesGolden Joystick AwardBest 16 Bit Product (EMAP is a major UK magazine publisher)
  • Voted the 7th best game of all time inAmiga Power.[3]

Sequels

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Player Manager

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Main article:Player Manager

Kick Off 2

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In 1990,Kick Off 2was released by Anco.Kick Off 2retains the pace and accuracy ofKick Off,with a full size multi directional scrolling pitch and the players, markings, goals etc., in correct proportions. Both teams play the game strictly according to tactics. Players move into position to receive passes and gain possession. The ball, as in real game, travels ahead of the player.

There is a league and a cup tournament with sudden death penalty shoot outs, in case of a draw. The teams in the league are on the whole evenly matched but with different styles of play and the player skills to match, that style. There is an option to load player's team fromPlayer Manageralong with player's tactics, to play against another team in a single game or enter league and cup tournament.

The special events selection in the main menu allows data disks to be loaded.Kick Off 2also provides the facility to change strip colours and on expanded Atari ST's (1 MB or above) there are additional sound effects. The "Action Replay" facility allows goals to be viewed at normal pace or in "Slow Motion" and saved to disk. There are 24 referees and have their own distinctive temperaments.[4]

Super Kick Off

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Super Kick Offis one of the follow-ups ofKick OffandKick Off 2for theMaster System,Game Boy,Mega Drive,andSuper Nintendo Entertainment System.[5]Super Kick Offwas slower than the original games.[5]The Mega Drive version knockedPGA Tour Golf IIfrom the top of the charts.[6]MegaTechgave the game 94% and a Hyper Game Award, saying that the "feel and playability is unrivalled by any other footy game so far", but criticising the high price of £45.[7]

Goal!

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Main article:Dino Dini's Goal

In 1992, a sequel,Kick Off 3,was in development. The game wasn't released in this form though, as Dino Dini left Anco in 1992 forVirgin Games,where he developedGoal!,released in 1993.Goal!featured similar gameplay toKick Off 2but also added one-touch passing as seen inSensible Soccer,player acceleration, and more advanced menu systems and options.Goal!received generally good reviews but did not enjoy the same lasting popularity asKick Off 2.

Kick Off 3

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In 1994, Anco releasedKick Off 3developed by Steve Screech, a totally new game with nothing in common withKick Off 2.The game didn't receive as good reviews as its predecessors and didn't gain the same popularity.[8]AnAtari Jaguarport was in development but never released.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

Kick Off 96, 97 & 98

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In 1996, Toka Nono releasedKick Off 96for Amiga and Windows. The game received average reviews.[19]In 1997,Kick Off 97was released for Windows. The game received better reviews thanKick Off 96but still didn't become popular.[20]Later the same year, Anco releasedKick Off 98for the PC which received poor reviews.[21]In 1998Kick Off Worldwas released for the original PlayStation, again developed by Toka and published by Funsoft.

Kick Off 2002

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In 2001, Steve Screech started a project calledUltimate Kick Offwith the help of an early established Kick Off Association. The game was built using theGamebryoengine,[22]released by Anco in 2002 forPCandMac[23]with the nameKick Off 2002.The game received poor reviews and only sold 5000 copies.[24][25]Later a sequel calledKick Off 2004was planned. It reached beta status but was never released. The project ended when Anco closed in 2003.

Kick Off Revival

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A new entry in the series, with a control system designed for the use with ananalog stick,Kick Off Revival,was released in June 2016 forPlayStation 4with poor reviews from the main game websites.[26]PlayStation Vitaversion was released nine months later in 2017[27]with bad reviews.[28]A PC version is available on Steam.

Games in the series

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TheKick Offseries includes the following games:[29]

Games by Dino Dini:

  • Kick Off(1989)
  • Kick Off 2(1990)
  • Kick Off 2 1MB(1990)
  • Kick Off Revival(2016)[27]

Games by Steve Screech:

  • Kick Off 97(1997)[30]
  • Kick Off 3(1994)
  • Kick Off 2002(2002)[31]

Expansion disks:

  • Kick Off Extra Time(Data disk) (1989)
  • Kick Off 2: Giants of Europe(Data disk) (1990)
  • Kick Off 2: The Final Whistle(Expansion disk) (1991)
  • Kick Off 2: Return To Europe(Expansion disk) (1991)
  • Kick Off 2: Winning Tactics(Data disk) (1991)
  • Kick Off 2: Super League(Expansion disk) (1991) Games by others:
    • Franco Baresi World Cup Kick Off(1990)
    • Player Manager(1990)
    • Kick Off 2 World Cup 90(1990)
    • Kick Off 2: Maths Disk(Expansion disk) (1991)
    • Super Kick-Off(1991)
    • Kick Off 98(1997)[32]

Ports

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References

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  1. ^"Kick Off for Amiga (1989)".MobyGames.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-04-13.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  2. ^"Soccer deal for Dino Dini and DC-Studios - GameSpot.com".www.gamespot.com.Archived fromthe originalon 25 May 2012.Retrieved2 February2022.
  3. ^Amiga Power magazine issue 0,Future Publishing,May 1991
  4. ^"Kick Off 2 for Amiga (1990)".MobyGames.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-04-13.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  5. ^ab"Super Kick Off for Game Boy (1991)".MobyGames. 2007-11-23.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-10-19.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  6. ^Official Gallup UK Mega Drive sales chart, July 1993, published inMega (magazine)issue 10
  7. ^MegaTech rating,EMAP,issue 15
  8. ^"Kick Off 3 for Amiga (1994)".MobyGames.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-10-19.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  9. ^"Next Month - It's Kick Off 3!".Computer and Video Games.No. 148.Future Publishing.March 1994. p. 114. Archived fromthe originalon 2018-09-12.Retrieved2019-01-05.
  10. ^"Work In Progress - Kick Off 3".Computer and Video Games.No. 149.Future Publishing.April 1994. pp. 22–24. Archived fromthe originalon 2018-09-18.Retrieved2019-01-05.
  11. ^"Stop Info - Grand foot-oire de printemps sur consoles! - Kick Off 3".Player One(in French). No. 41.Média Système Édition.April 1994. p. 14.
  12. ^Rand, Paul (May 1994)."CVG Review - Kick Off 3 (SNES)".Computer and Video Games.No. 150.Future Publishing.pp. 68–69.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-09-12.Retrieved2019-01-05.
  13. ^Skews, Rik (June 1994)."CVG Review - Kick Off 3 (Mega Drive)".Computer and Video Games.No. 151.Future Publishing.p. 59. Archived fromthe originalon 2018-09-12.Retrieved2019-01-05.
  14. ^"Kick Off 3 - A Whole New Ball Game".Electronic Gaming Monthly.No. 59. EGM Media, LLC. June 1994. p. 125.
  15. ^"Special - Release Schedule ECTS-Messe".Mega Fun(in German). No. 21.CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG.June 1994. p. 16.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-09-12.Retrieved2018-09-11.
  16. ^"Screenplay - Game Previews - Kick Off 3".ST Format.No. 59.Future plc.June 1994. p. 61.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-09-27.Retrieved2018-09-11.
  17. ^"CVG News - Jag attack... eyes down".Computer and Video Games.No. 154.Future Publishing.September 1994. p. 9.
  18. ^"Jaguar - Una máquina felina para un mercado voraz - Compañías y juegos".Hobby Consolas(in Spanish). No. 41 Hi-Tech.Axel Springer SE.February 1995. p. 27.
  19. ^"Kick Off 96 for Amiga (1996)".MobyGames. 2001-08-13.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-06-19.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  20. ^"Kick Off 97 for DOS (1997)".MobyGames.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-05-12.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  21. ^"Kick Off 98 for DOS (1997)".MobyGames.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-04-10.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  22. ^"Gamebryo".
  23. ^"Games - Articles - Kick Off 2002".Apple. 1999-04-05.Archivedfrom the original on 2009-02-06.Retrieved2009-03-09.
  24. ^"Kick Off 2002 for Macintosh (2002)".MobyGames.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-10-19.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  25. ^Roberts, David (2014-09-11)."GamesRadar".Computerandvideogames.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2009-03-15.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  26. ^"Kick off Revival review: Why does this game even exist?".5 July 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-04-21.Retrieved2017-04-20.
  27. ^ab"GameFAQs".Archivedfrom the original on 2017-04-21.Retrieved2017-04-20.
  28. ^"Dino Dini Kick Off Revival PS Vita reviews".Metacritic.Archivedfrom the original on 2017-09-15.Retrieved7 September2017.
  29. ^"Game Group Rap Sheet".MobyGames.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-10-19.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  30. ^Roberts, David (2014-09-11)."GamesRadar".Computerandvideogames.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2009-03-15.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  31. ^"Kick Off 2002 for Macintosh (2002)".MobyGames.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-10-19.Retrieved2016-10-17.
  32. ^"Kick Off 98 for DOS (1997)".MobyGames.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-04-10.Retrieved2016-10-17.
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