0 to Z of Playstation 1 Games - Backyard Soccer
Originally released on Windows and Mac in 2001
under the Major League Soccer branding Backyard Soccer was re released the same
year on Playstation minus the MLS branding. Originally developed by Humongous
Entertainment the Playstation port would be developed by Runecraft Ltd while
Infogrames continued to published the game.
The game released on the 28th of
September 2001 in North America, a PAL version of the game was also released
this was called Junior Sports Football, with minor name differences in European
countries for example in Germany it is called Junior Sports Fussball.
While titled the same visually this game is different form the Windows and Mac
version of the game, opting for a more cartoony look to the football pitches
and characters, also the game ditches the Major League Soccer license opting to
focus on an elementary school aged players, the ball physics have also been
changed from the PC/Mac version
The single game mode has several game types to
choose from either a single match against an AI opponent, a mini league, a
penalty shootout or a beach tournament, the player can also select the
difficulty of the AI and which pitch to play on with pitch names like Sandy
Flats, Cement Garden and Tin Can Alley amongst those available, the game also
has multi tap functionality with up to four players being able to play.
Before a match begins the game shows you the
basic controls with the X button used to tackle and shoot, the triangle button
is used to switch players, while square is used to pass the O button is used to
boot the ball. Before starting a single player match you can select your teams
logo as well as their shorts and shirt colour with 10 different logos to
choose from and 9 colours for the shits and shorts.
Prior to the match you get to pick your team
just like the days of being back in school, In the case of Backyard Soccer all
the available players are sat on bleachers, with the player either picking each
individual player or having the computer automatically pick your players for
you.
During the course of a game players can get
pick-ups which are randomly placed on the pitch these include a pick up to
improve your players chances of scoring, a cannonball which causes the players
shot to move incredibly fast so fast in fact it bursts into flames, and a
bowling ball that can not be stopped as well as others.
Even with this game being releases towards the
end of the Playstation 1s life cycle, at a time when lower quality budget games
were becoming more frequent you still do get some gems, well according to some
reviewers.
Which is the case for Backyard Soccer on one
hand you have an amazing review score from Edutaining Kids who scored the game
at an imperious 100, their reviewer commenting on the game finally being
available for the Playstation making it even more accessible, with the reviewer
going on to say that is a good thing, they concluded with the game is very kid
friendly, filled will spirit and responsible.
GameZone scored the game a very respectable 75,
the reviewer calling it a fantastic game for fans of Soccer and a nice way for
kids and parents to enjoy the sport in an atmosphere that exudes fun. The final
review comes from PSX Nation who scored the game at a disappointing below
average 49.
The review saying that Fifa 2002 doesn’t have
anything to worry about being the primary choice for PSOne gamers in search for
some 'footie' virtual action while awaiting for the World Cup to get underway
later this year.
Backyard Soccer they concluded should indeed be
buried in someone’s backyard, and then stepped on forever by kids playing
soccer on a make-believe soccer field above its burial ground. Stick to the PC
line-up of "Backyard..." games if you must waste time/money in
unlicensed inferior software.
This is the part of 0
to Z where is visit four 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, Ebay has now been dropped unless the game is unavailable
at other retailers.
So lets get down to
business with Gamedude who will give you just $1 if you are looking to trade in
your copy of Backyard Soccer, while on the other hand if you are wanting a copy
of the game from Gamedude it will set you back $5.
Retrogames.co.uk sadly don't stock or list this title so we will
quickly move on to eStarland.com, where we find two copies of the game
available, the first a disc only copy can be picked up for $2.08, while the
second copy a complete copy of the game is available for $5.06, at the time of
writing eStarland are not currently offering a trade in for this game.
Lastly we have
Amazon.com where we find a plentiful supply of the game available and pretty
cheaply priced for a complete copy of the game, with good and very good
condition copies available for between $5.50 and $10 with a couple of like new
copies in this price range as well.
Moving on to new
copies of the game we find a pretty decent supply of them with prices starting
around the $15.97 range this is with shipping added into the price with several
copies around this price range, prices remain pretty reasonable with a current
high for a new copy of Backyard Soccer coming in at around $26.once shipping
has been added in.
Written by
P J Gibbon
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