0 to Z of Playstation 1 Games - Actua Soccer 3

       

Actua Soccer 3 was the final entry in the Actua Soccer series, a football based sports game and hit the shelves exclusively in Europe in December of 1998, the game as with other Actua games was developed and published by Gremlin Interactive, the was also released on PC and on the Sega Saturn.

With three games under their belt Actua Soccer 3 was Gremlin Interactive chance to really push the boat out and they made some major changes especially to the player AI which in previous entries in the series was lack in areas, with players now having a greater awareness of their surroundings and greater positional awareness.

The graphics have also been improved with over fifty player face designs and around 200 motion captures for more realistic player movements, the game also features over 30 of the greatest football stadiums from around the world to help make Actua Soccer that more atmospheric.

The depth on offer far surpasses previous games in the series as well, while previous games have been limited to either a certain number of international teams or a particular league, this edition contains 25 leagues with a total of 450 teams and around 10,000 players included.

With player and squad editing returning as well, tactics have been overhauled as well defensive and attacking approaches, the game also features commentary from the returning Barry Davies as well as former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill.

Football game no story present

Unlike previous editions of this series I have been able to find a few more reviews, starting out with the best of them NowGamer scored the game a very good 87/100, Absolute PlayStation once again scored an Actua game very highly this time with an 84/100, Megafun a German review outlet scored the game a very respectable 77/100.

The games was not without critics however Joypad a French outlet scored the game a very lowly 3/10 with the (Google translated) review blurb stating, a lagging achievement and a total lack of Gameplay, and the game has the majority of the defects from previous games in the series.

Computer & Video Games UK who have been critical of previous entries in the series, they scored both Actua Soccer 2 and Club Edition 3/10, they were less crucial of this edition giving it an average 5/10 review blurb saying, The Actua Soccer games have always been good, but never had the complete feel to them to take them into the classic league. This third version is the closest yet, and is certainly the best of the three. It's an immensely playable game and is a lot easier to pick up than the second game. The controls aren't over complicated and yet still have enough diversity to make for an intricate game. But there are a couple of flaws which become let this down.

 For a start, you hardly ever need to header the ball. Huge punts upfield always bounce unchallenged in the middle of the pitch. And the AI on some of the players isn't always up to scratch. When you're running with the ball, you expect teammates to overlap on the wings, but you have to wait an age for them to get there. But, Actua 3 is a very impressive game and has loads to keep fans occupied for months to come. Excellent.

I don’t know if it is just me but Computer & Video Games UK review score seems on the low side for the number of positives the review mentions, with them seemingly outweighing the negatives, or it could just be me imagining things.

This is the part of 0 to Z where is visit five online retailers and see what the availability of the title is, and what price you would be looking at if you wanted to pick this title up, the sites that I will be using for this are Amazon.com,  eStarland.com, retrogames.co.uk and Gamedude.com I know the last one is very location specific, but from a podcast I listen to I’ve heard they have a huge stock of older games, I will also be including Ebay.com as well

So lets get down to business with Gamedude and eStarland.com get these two out of the way first with neither selling this game, no surprise really with it being a Europe only release, so quickly on to Retrogames.co.uk who have one copy available,  this is a used complete copy in excellent condition and will set you back £7, which converts to $9.08 in the US, in the Euro region it will be €7.70, while in Guatemala it will cost you 66.02 Guatemalan Quetzal.

Heading over to Amazon.co.uk where there a not many copies on the market but the few that are can be picked up pretty cheaply, a very good condition copy of the game will set you back £1, with shipping costs that price will be £3.03 which converts to 28.58 Guatemalan Quetzal’s, in the Euro region is will be €3.33and in the US it will cost you $3.93.

A used like new copy of the game is available this copy has been professionally cleaned and comes with free delivery and will cost you £19.44, this converts to $19.44 in the US, in Euro’s it will set you back €21.39, while in Guatemala you will be looking at a cost of 183.31 Guatemalan Quetzal’s.

One new copy of the game is on sale this is a Zoo Classic edition of the game, and is priced at £36.09 this also has a shipping fee of £5.60 to add on to the cost of the game.

Ebay.com is definitely more pricey than Amazon with the large shipping fee definitely a factor again, with the cheapest copy of the game on sale at $4.59 with a $2.35 shipping cost so just short of $7 for a complete copy of the game, this is for the German edition of the game which has Oliver Beirhoff on the cover instead of Alan Shearer who appears on the UK version.

Written by

P J Gibbon