I’ve always heard good things about the active soccer games as it was always said that it was arcade like and a spiritual successor to the sensible soccer series. To be honest..I thought sensible soccer ****. I tried it and maybe people just have some sort of nostalgia googles on or whatever but I just couldn’t find what was so godly about it. I could care less about rosters as I don’t watch soccer because it’s pretty boring but mind you when it comes to arcade like soccer then count me in. I was never a fan of simulation because let’s be clear...soccer is already boring to watch to begin with. No wonder why Europeans go nuts when their team scores because I’d be pretty jacked up too knowing that it might take another century to score another goal. Maybe soccer is like baseball because everyone is to lit up on booze that it makes it more fun to watch which is true because I’ve hung out with people drunk and they were a hoot but sober were a drag. Anyways...I downloaded active soccer 2019 and I thought..maybe it’s like Mario strikers charged without the power ups and crazy hijinks going on. So I fired this baby up. The graphics aren’t going to tax the Nintendo switch but before the new patch. This game chugged and struggled. But it’s good now so don’t get all worried baby’s. So it ain’t a hot looking honey but it’s what’s under the skirt that gets me going. ****’s just say the gameplay stunk at first. I played it and no matter how many times I shot the ball, it missed the net consistently. That’s one thing I never understood about soccer. They are considered pros yet the net is the size of Madonna mansion and they still miss the net a lot. I tried tapping the shoot button and finally it was on target and the goalie stopped it. I tried to pass and one timer the ball into the net but missed it from a very close distance. I thought this game is garbage. I’m not having fun at all. So I deleted it. I thought what a waste of money. So I a few weeks passed and I read they put a patch out fixing the frame rate and gameplay somewhat. So I ****..I’ll give it another go. Instead of leaving it on the slow speed..I put it to fast and wow..what a difference. It just felt better. Then it happened. I scored...then I scored again and again..sure I still missed the net every now and again or the goalie stopped it but I’m glad I gave it a second chance. It’s now clicking and I see why others have raved about it calling it fun. It truly is fun but you have to give it really a good chance. I went in thinking it was arcade fun where it’s fast and fun and high scoring crazy times. It is but it’s got a slight shot of sim infused in it as well. So do I recommend this game. Absolutely but if you find it’s no fun and pretty bad at first. Just get away from it a bit or maybe delete it and come back to it like I did. It will click. It did for me. It went from a 5 out of 10 to a 9 out of 10. Why only 9. The graphics could be better but the gameplay grows on you to the point where it’s truly fun. Would I buy it at full price. Sure but if your not a hardcore soccer fan then maybe wait for a slight price drop. But other then that. This game is pretty cool.
This seems like the football game I have been waiting for on switch. It plays like old school 90s football games (think sensible soccer and kick off) and that is a very good thing. If you value fun over licensed players (and surely the reason you play games is for fun?) then you will enjoy this game. It is not perfect but it is reasonably polished and the small occasional bugs do not distract from the game play.
It's a fun and addictive little football game. Not without bugs, but in my opinion it's really well done and is now the best soccer choice on the switch besides FIFA. Certainly better than legendary eleven, which was really disappointing. It plays a lot like sensible soccer in the 90ies but with better graphics. Considering the small price, I would totally recommend this.
Goalscoring superstar hero!
Tinker with the camera angle, height and zoom and you’ve got a pretty decent handheld clone of Sensible Soccer. That is my quick first impression from playing a custom tournament of classic English club sides full of legends after a bit **** with the player and team editor. As I swerved home a great long range effort with aftertouch from Jay Jay Okocha to Nat Lofthouse’s head, the good feelings about 1990’s Sensible Soccer sessions returned! The passing, the shooting, the tackling etc all feel very similar to that much loved game. You have multiple difficulty levels, speeds, camera angles, replays, the ability to store a library of replays. I found playing on handheld mode more enjoyable than docked.
After playing I looked around the editing areas and found that you can edit player names and team names, but not abilities or kits (although you can mix and match home and away colours prematch to avoid clashes). I would say that while the collection of classic club and classic international sides is very extensive (the largest I’ve seen before in any football game) - the actual font used in the menus could have been clearer for editing purposes. At least it is there though, which means a potentially long shelf life for football lovers/anoraks like me who are interested in historical players. The sheer number of classic teams is very impressive, must have taken some research and there is a nice spread of the legendary Eastern European/Soviet bloc teams as well as the fairly standard array of Western European classic club teams. There’s a lot of South American classic club teams too. Editing is better in handheld than tv mode I found.
Career mode I haven’t had chance to test so won’t pass comment on and neither have I had chance to test out local multiplayer. There is a tutorial section in the rather bland front menus and also a replay section for reliving those great goals which you are given the option to record during the game.
Overall:
It plays similarly to 1990s Amiga soccer classic Sensible Soccer when you have tinkered with the settings. I don’t think it hits the same heights, but the goals are still very satisfying once you get comfortable with the gameplay. It might take practice and it will certainly take patience with the editor to get all the correct names of teams and players. As a pick up and play handheld game it’s a decent stab at an all time classic.
I really wanted to like this game but it's just cheap. The gameplay is ALMOST there and that's all; i'm not looking for licensed teams nor next gen graphics, but the game art is not retro but mediocre :( User interface seems made by a programmer in a couple of days, not really usable and looks awful and that's disrespectfulto the consumer.
I'm bored of PES and FIFA, i've waited for this game since it was announced and i would love to recommend this game but sadly i can''t :(
This game does have 4-player co-op, but the issues make it not worth your time.
What issues?
Input is laggy, often responding late in the game and menus. It's one of those games where you start it up, press buttons, and nothing happens for several seconds. In game the somewhat frequent lag leads to frustration.
I also carefully edited all the team names, only to have them all erase just minutes after completing the task while backing out of career mode.
I regret the purchase, and note that if these issues were fixed, I think it would be a fun, though rough around the edges, game of soccer.
All i can say is its a very poor football game. Im not the type of person to look for licensing in clubs or names, players etc (which this game doesn't have btw) pretty **** i am after a fun football **** this game is not fun at all, its trying to be "sensible soccer" but it fails way **** one of those games you play once and never play again. Buy at your own risk because its a pretty crappy game.
SummaryActive Soccer 2019 is a top-down arcade football game providing a fast-paced arcade experience, implementing amazing playability and responsive easy-to-learn/hard-to-master controls. Active Soccer 2019 provides a complete career mode, implementing many international leagues, cups and championships. Imagine being the manager of a 5th divi...