American Football

I obtained this program because it sounded like a good “warm-up” for a certain interest (or “habit” as some may like to call it) that I have in the Fall. You may have guessed by now, that it is Pro Football, but I will not bore you with details about my favorite team (except that they are from the northwest, wear blue jerseys, and made it to the play-offs last year!).

AMERICAN FOOTBALL is a Spectrum program on cassette that is published by the Argus Press Software Group (ZX Computing). What makes this program sort of unique, is that the British are just now starting to appreciate our brand of “football”. They even have organized minor league teams to root for. I remember watching a TV news interview with some English youth that were playing the game of football (non-soccer version) in a neighborhood lot. The broadcaster asked, “How do you like the game?” One very muddy-appearing young man spoke up, “We love it…but we don’t understand it!” Indeed, the program American Football comes with a 16 page guide en- titled “A Guide To Understanding American Football”. The wording is sometimes a bit odd.

The game of American Football itself, is similar to a program that used to be on the Timex label for the T/S 1000 called “Strategy Football”. This version is much more sophisticated. To “play”, you must choose from a menu what offensive or defensive move you would like to make. The key to winning, is to try and “outguess” what play your opponent will try and go for. Your opponent can either. be a friend or the computer itself.

The action on the screen is simulated by tiny pixelated players. One of the problems with this game, is that the opposing teams don’t “huddle” facing each other, but rather on the sides of the field.

A lot of work has gone into making this game authentic. It is played from the view of a team coach (or like one of those guys that sit up in the box seats wit headphones on). With a set number of plays to choose, the game becomes predictable after awhile. I think that I would opt for a type of computer football game that is in 3-D like the “MATCH POINT” soccer game.

Over-all, AMERICAN FOOTBALL is an interesting package with nice screen displays and a lot of little extras…and at a good price too!

Available from: The English Micro Connection, 15 Kilburn Court, Newport, R1, 02840, for $13.95+$1.00 for postage.