114 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
114 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
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FACEOFF!
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FACEOFF! is a hockey simulation written by Mindspan Technologies and published
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by Gamestar. Colorful and action-packed, FACEOFF! has excellent graphics, smooth
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animation, Practice, Exhibition, and League play, Coaching, Managing, and
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Statistical functions, Playbook editor, two-player mode, two players against the
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computer mode, three skill levels, a Shotcam, a Fightcam, joystick control, and
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copy protection. The Commodore 64/128 version is the basis of this review.
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I've read reviews of FACEOFF! in other publications, and the consensus is that
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it's nothing special. In a way, that's true, for there are plenty of sports
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games around. Then again, if there's any developer that knows sports, it's
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Gamestar, and FACEOFF! is a prime example of how exemplary their simulations
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are. Play is smooth, fast, and glitch-free. What's more, there are no
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indications of "advanced coding," such as those that destroyed POWERPLAY HOCKEY.
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Finally, the coaching and managing bells and whistles, which took away from play
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in SUPERSTAR ICE HOCKEY, fit well into FACEOFF!
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All pre-game choices are made through menus. The Options menu lets you set the
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type of game (1- or 2-player), the minutes per period (3, 8, 20), the number of
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players per team (2, 4, 6), skill level of a computer opponent (Rookies,
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Veterans, All-Stars), and the rules (Full, Relaxed, Aussie). Both Shotcam and
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Fightcam can be toggled here as well.
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In Practice mode, you can work on shooting, goal-tending, and fighting. In
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Exhibition mode, the full games that can be played (for practice or simply as an
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arcade game) won't have any effect on League standings. In League mode, you can
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play out a complete season as general manager, player, coach, or even the
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commissioner of the Gamestar Hockey League.
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As GHL Commissioner, you can set the schedule structure of a season -- starting
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with the number of regular-season games to be played, through the Division and
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Conference playoff games, and up to the GHL Title. As a General Manager, you'll
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be responsible for trading players, moving players between major and minor
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leagues, retiring players, and editing players' names and statistics.
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As coach, you change and modify team lines, call timeouts, pull the goalie, and
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(in the Playbook editor) formulate your own plays.
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Assuming the preliminary activity has been taken care of, the C64 screen
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display consists of a hockey rink, which scrolls as play moves from net to net.
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Above the rink are the scoreboard (score, period, time remaining). To the left
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and right of the scoreboard are the team names and six power bars (three for
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each team) indicating the player lines: The blinking number shows which line is
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currently on the ice, and the bar shrinks as the line tires.
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Teams are color-coded, as is the player under your control. You can skate in
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any direction. When you're controlling the puck, you can shoot or pass; when
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you're not controlling the puck, you can cross-check or poke-check your
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opponents. Cross-checks are more like body slams, and if you don't enjoy them,
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you can retaliate and start a fight, which activates the Fightcam. The Fightcam
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is a closeup of two players beating each other's heads in.
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If you manage to get close enough to your opponent's net to take a shot, the
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Shotcam will be activated. The Shotcam is a view from behind your player as he
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bears down on the goalie. When an opponent bears down on your net, you see the
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same view but you'll control your goalie.
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FACEOFF! is controlled mostly with the joystick, which handles menu
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highlighting and selections, and all player movement, shooting, passing, and
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fighting. Keystrokes are used to change team lines (Spacebar), pull or reinstate
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the goalie (Commodore key), and call pre-set plays from the Playbook (1, 2, 3,
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4). Run/Stop pauses, Control-R restarts the game, and keystroke "C" calls up
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menu options during a faceoff.
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During play, the stick moves your player in any direction. When you have the
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puck, the button or the stick (or both) is used for shooting and passing. If a
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teammate has the puck and you want it, press the button and he'll pass it to
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you; a wrist shot (or a pass) is accomplished by pressing the button, then
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pushing the stick in a direction. Slapshots can be taken by pressing and
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releasing the button, or they can be faked by pressing the button once (which
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lets the player wind up), and then pressing the button again (which stops the
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shot). During a faceoff, the stick changes the player you control.
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When you're defending, you can cross-check by holding the button down as you
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approach an opponent. Quick button-presses perform poke-checks.
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The GHL Playbook has sixteen pages, four of which are taken up by pre-set
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plays. As Coach, you can fill up the remaining twelve pages with plays you
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design, and select four of them to use in a game: They work beautifully, too!
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With the Playbook editor, you can select players from a line (center, wingers,
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defensemen), and set up a play -- which consists of movement, passing, and a
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slapshot. The play will be recorded on an empty page in the Playbook. Any play
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already in the Playbook can be edited, which brings up the only (minor) flaw of
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FACEOFF!
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There is no save option, and the program disk is not write-protected, which
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means that most anything done to the Playbook (especially deletions) will be
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permanent. You can't really destroy the disk, but you can alter or delete plays
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accidentally. With some attention to what you're doing, though, this won't be a
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big problem.
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The FACEOFF! package comes with one copy-protected disk and a complete
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instruction manual, on which appears the great tag line: "I went to the fights
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and a hockey game broke out."
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Although FACEOFF! places some emphasis on fighting, there's nothing like a
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well-played hockey game: If you've ever been to one, you know what I mean.
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Toggling the Fightcam off doesn't detract from the game, and in fact, makes it
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more exciting. FACEOFF! looks great on the Commodore. The colors are bright and
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clear, and the fast and smooth-moving players are nicely animated. A puck
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quickly traveling the length of the ice (which, when playing Full rules, leads
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to an icing call) sometimes causes an abrupt (but necessary) jump in the
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otherwise smooth scrolling.
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With twelve players on the ice, the action is fast and furious, even though
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indirection is used. There were no screen glitches, no flicker, and FACEOFF!
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played like a charm. This is an excellent game.
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FACEOFF! is published by Gamestar and distributed by Mediagenic.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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