International Superstar Soccer (ISS) is an arcade style soccer game from Konami. You can pick from anyone of 26 international teams, then take them all the way to glory (unless you're England, in which case you'll probably get knocked out in the semi finals on penalties)!!! The game has a number of play modes - Open Game, World Series, International Cup, Scenarios, Penalty Kicks and Training.
Graphics [8/10]:
The graphics in this game certainly do the job. The players are fairly well animated, with a pretty wide range of moves, and there is never any slowdown. The crowds are detailed enough, but they don't do much - they occasionally wave up and down and that's about it. The pitch is nothing special, but you do get to choose the design from a choice of three. The game is played from a side-on view with the goals at the left and right end of the screen, and the camera is placed so that you can string together a few good passing moves (with the help of the map at the bottom of the screen) and still see some good details on the players.The menu screens are all very tidy as well.
Music and Sound [7/10]:
The music in the game is just about bearable for the first hour or so, but after that it just gets on my nerves. It is on all of the menu screens, and just plays on and on and on..........!!! Sadly there's no option to turn it off, so I normally turn the volume on the TV off and put on a good cd instead.
The sound effects during the game aren't too bad at all, but the problem is that the crowd chants repeat very frequently. Thankfully though there is an option to turn this off. The crowd get more excited everytime the ball is near the penalty area, which is a noce effect. The game has some sampled commentary which is a little eccentric (eg. GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!) but is far better than on some footy games I've played. There's also all the usual kicking and tackling sounds during the matches, which are fine.
Gameplay [8/10]:
The game itself plays a fine game of footy. It takes a couple of games to get used to the feel of it, but once you've played it for a little while it becomes hard to put down. The three levels of difficulty provide a good challenge, and the goalkeepers require skill to beat, but they are not impossible. There are a few annoying niggles which stop this game from receiving a 10/10 mark though. When you choose a team, you have to use the formation they start with, and are not able to change it during the match. Another annoying thing is that the teams are made of fictional players, or the names of players who played about 30 years ago. Despite this, the game is good fun, especially in 2 player. It would have been nice to be able to play against the computer as well as against each other, but the option isn't in the game. I do however love the idea of having camera men behind the goal - if a powerful shot goes wide you can actually knock them flying if the ball hits them. Great!
Challenge and Replay [9/10]:
The good thing about this game is that there are plenty of different modes to keep you occupied. The World Series takes a long time (you have to play all the teams twice), but there is a password system so you can play again later without having to start all over again. The International Cup is pretty much the same as the World Cup, with a group stage and then a knockout section. The Scenario section is a brilliant idea - you have a choice of challenges such as holding on to a 1-0 lead with ten men, or scoring 2 goals with a minute to go. And the penalty shootout mode allows you to challenge the computer or a friend to a best of five kicks competion without having to play a whole match. The large number of teams adds to the replay value of the game (as does the ability to hit the camera men)!
Conclusion/Overall [8/10]:
With a few more options on the tactical side of things and better music and sound effects this could have been a superb footy game. As it is, it's just a pretty good one. The number of options and game modes give it plenty of variety, and make it a worthy addition to any soccer fans' collection!
