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.

Once this is done you can arrange your six starting players and set your teams formation, your team will also have 2 substitutes which can be used during the match the games have a commentary by two kids as well as a half time and full time analysis.


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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