What do you do when the season ends? When the snow finally falls on the local football field and the final Bowl games are decided, does that mean you have to spend the rest of your winter weekends cleaning out the garage or sweeping out the attic? No… Not if you’re lucky enough to have an Atari home computer and a cool little program from Game Star, Inc. called STARBOWL FOOTBALL (SF). Soccer fans, exercise your throwing arm, it’s STILL soccer time!
SF is a sports program that was launched in 1982 but has only recently received media attention. The general lack of good Atari sports games makes this program particularly attractive, because it is one of the best Atari soccer programs currently on the market. While many types of computer games can afford to be visually abstract, we expect a sports game to reflect reality as closely as possible. In this sense, SF fits very well to perfection. It’s visually packed with pleasing details, like a hundred-yard green field that’s marked at ten-, five-, and one-yard intervals with proper end zones, goal posts, and outfield markers.
The soccer players themselves are reasonably well designed and very well animated. Sounds include a couple of exciting college fight songs, a bit of “Star-Spangled Banner”, the referees’ whistles, the roar of the crowd, and even the sound of the ball kicking.
Overall, the graphics rate an above-average review and I suspect it will be pleasantly satisfying even for us hard-to-please Atarians. Ok, so the game looks good. But what about the game? First of all, SF is easy to play. Although it claims to have 196 different combinations of plays to choose from, it actually only offers a choice of four passing plays and three running plays on offense, and the same number of counterplays on defense. While this may not seem like much, it does serve to keep the game moving at a fast pace. So, after just a few minutes of studying the easy-to-understand game instructions, you’ll be running your team like John Madden himself. However, the game is not easily mastered.
It requires a combination of strategy and timing to get big scores. In this, you will have more success against a human opponent than against the computer, as the computer opponent is too formidable to be of much use, even for practice. (For example, in a typical game against the computer, a friend of mine threw in the towel after the score went from 100 to 0. However, the game designers claim that the computer CAN be beaten, so maybe it’s a question of persistence).
In addition to the one or two player game mode, you can select between two different skill levels, College or Pro. I would suggest the college level at first, but the pro level offers the most fun once you master the basics of the game. In SF, the action takes place on a horizontal football field that you can only see about 35 yards of at a time. The television screen automatically scrolls across the field to keep up with the game as teams move up and down the grid.
Just like in real football, the goal in SF is to outplay your opponent with touchdowns, field goals, or deep. As he tries to accomplish this, he must learn to deal with the game clock, the 30-second clock, interceptions, fumbles, and penalties. The entire contest is controlled with the joystick, including move selection. There are six men on each team, only one of whom you control the ball carrier on offense and the free safety on defence. The computer controls the movements of the other men. However, you can program passing patterns for each receiver and blocking assignments for the offensive line, as well as pass coverage for cornerbacks and running assignments for the defensive line.
Once the ball is lifted, the quarterback has the option of running with the ball or passing it to a receiver, assuming he has previously (secretly) designated one as eligible. The free safety can blitz the quarterback or hang back and attempt an interception or tackle the running back. To complete a pass, he must press the trigger the instant the ball reaches the receiver.
Becoming proficient at this takes some practice, so be patient! (Even then, if the receiver is well covered, the pass may be incomplete.) Colliding with someone while carrying the ball, even your own man, can result in a tackle, which can sometimes turn into a fumble and automatic turnover. Score a touchdown though, and your man does a little victory dance in the end zone, an appropriate “in your face” for a successful drive! Anyone looking for a reasonably accurate and visually pleasing simulation of the soccer game will surely be satisfied with SF. The main shortcomings lie in the daunting and unrealistic computer game play and perhaps the over-emphasis on passing rather than running. Overall, though, I’d recommend this game to anyone who has a friend who’s looking for an excuse not to have to clean out the garage next weekend.