Talkng of Codemasters, I've lost all respect for them TBH. Check out this quote from John Hare in relation to Sensible Soccer 2006 and the countless major bugs found by those unfortunate enough to purchase it. A blatant world cup cash in using ( illegedly ) and older footy engine. Yeah, I bought the ps2 version ... RIP Sensi Soccer!!
I would like to thank Codemasters for having the balls to decide to bring the Sensible Soccer series back to life by publishing Sensible Soccer 2006 at a time when many publishers are becoming more and more cautious in their selection of products to publish. The expectation of those existing Sensible Soccer fans was always going to be massive for this game and that was a challenge we took on gladly. I’m pleased that Sensible Soccer 2006 strikes the right balance by drawing from modern football games and still remaining true to the classic feel of Sensible Soccer, with good use of 3D for the first time, some great new additional control features and of course our old friend aftertouch.
I am delighted that so many people, both reviewers and punters are having a great time playing it, as has been borne out by the many fantastic reviews that the game has had from many different sources to date. I am also particularly pleased with the fans on the forums that understand our approach to resurrecting the game in 3D, albeit with a trademark Sensi slightly cartoony style.
SWOS 96/97 on the Amiga is often said to be the best version of Sensible Soccer that has ever been published. Remember, that had five years of development evolution.
Obviously, this version isn’t something we’ve been perfecting over many years as we did with the old game; this was a new game with a new development programme.
We could have just published a direct update of PC SWOS in 2D using the same graphics, however this would only have appealed to hardcore SWOS fans. We want to do something new and created a 2006 game that has Sensi’s fun, fast and easy to pick up and play style, but also appealed to those people who missed Sensible Soccer the first time round.
Of course, the thing with making on an update of peoples’ ‘favourite game ever’ is that their expectations can be unrealistically high, and even the smallest issues are blown out of all proportion. To expect a new 3D game made in 12 months to rival the polish or depth of any game in its third or fourth iteration or beyond is highly unrealistic.
Even old editions of Sensi had things like teleporting goalkeepers, which is a problem caused by AI struggling to grasp and anticipate ball movement at high speed when Aftertouch is applied. The animation occasionally suffers as the goalkeeper has to quickly move into a position to get to the ball. It is purely an aesthetic concern, not a gameplay one. So yes, the goalkeepers cheat a little, but no more than they did in the original game.
Many professional reviewers agree that Sensible Soccer 2006 is the most enjoyable football game available and that it is fantastic value for money too. But you can’t please all of the people all of the time. And to those of you who enjoy the game and can’t wait to see more Sensible Soccer products in the future, please continue to show your support through your mails to the forums. As many of you know the Sensible Soccer series is my pride and joy.And after a long time out and sitting on the bench it’s come back strongly, and we are planning for it to get stronger still, ….. just don’t expect it all at once…... please.
Cheers
Jon Hare