After three years New Star
Games have finally released game number four in the series, will it live up to
its predecessors? Read our review to find out.
I was an avid fan of New Star
Soccer 3 when it came out in 2005, it was so easy to get started, addictive and
yet the game had more settings that the old Premier Manager-series for PC. So
what could possibly have been improved in New Star Soccer 4?
At first glance the graphics
have changed a lot for the better; New Star Soccer 4 looks fairly modern while
not being too polished. It is now possible to view the matches in 3D and the
camera moves freely if you like it. However you can also select to use the old
top-down view from the previous games.
As in New Star Soccer 3 you
have to manage your personal career with managers, girlfriends, friend and the
media. I would like to call it “The Sims” with a soccer twist; events in your
life such as time spent with friends have effects on the character’s play.
To see where your character
are in life there are percentage bars displaying energy, free time, confidence,
alcohol and gambling. The bars are
connected to the characters personality, which is also represented by a set of
bars; ego, flamboyance and intelligence.
During each turn of the game
the game present different questions, such as if you want to go out to drink
with your friends or not and so on. The answers have impact on the character
personality and health.
Moving on to the actual
soccer aspects of the game. When you create your character you get a given set
of points to distribute on different skills, such as passing or shooting. Of
course there are a bunch of different skills.
New Star Soccer 4 features a
whopping number of leagues and teams, with every team from Afghanistan to the
higher series in Italy. It is quite impressive. When you have played for a while
you can even get called to participate in the World Cup for your country. So New
Star Soccer 4 does let you live the dream life of a soccer star.
Playing New Star Soccer 4 is
a nice experience, I think it plays a lot better than New Star Soccer 3, it
seems faster and the controls are more responsive. However it is still extremely
hard to play with just a keyboard (as in most soccer games) so a gamepad is a
must. Considering how cheap they are it is not really a big problem. The game
does have a high entry level; it takes a lot more time to get good at New Star
Soccer 4 than say FIFA. It suits me, but I can imagine players wanting a more
forgiving game-play.
Back in 2006 when we reviewed
New Star Soccer 3 we wrote that it was hard to anticipate what your team-mates
would do. For example when passing the ball you wouldn’t know where your mates
where going to go. This has actually
improved and it is easier to keep the ball within the team.
As previously mentioned New
Star Soccer 4 features a bunch of settings, sometimes you just want to kill off
some time without going through all the hoops. There is now a quick match mode
where the player just selects two teams and go.
Once again New Star Games
breaks new ground, New Star Soccer 4 is a great game if you are interested in
soccer and the drama associated with some players and teams.
Uziana.com 
