The ''Kick Off'' franchise is a series of football simulation

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s, In 1988 Dino Dini was hired to code a top down football game from a Steve Screech idea. in 1989 ''Kick Off was then'' published by Anil Gupta's publishing house Anco Software for the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga. The original version was programmed by Dino Dini with graphics, playtesting and tuning by Steve Screech. First released in 1989, '' Kick Off'' was well-received and won awards. After the release of Kick Off several sequels were released. ''

Player Manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

'' was released in 1990. The game was the first game to combine a management environment (including tactics, league play, transfers, and detailed player attributes) with a football game engine (based on that of ''Kick Off''). '' Kick Off 2'' was released in 1990 as a sequel to ''Kick Off''. The game introduced a number of new features as well as several small alterations. In 1992, Dino Dini left Anco and signed a contract for

Virgin Games Virgin Interactive Entertainment (later renamed Avalon Interactive) was the video game publishing division of British conglomerate the Virgin Group. It developed and published games for major platforms and employed developers, including Westwoo ...

, which released '' Goal!'' in 1993. Anco released several further editions of the Kick Off series between 1994 and 1997, but these games had little in common with ''Kick Off'' and ''Kick Off 2''. In 2001–2003, the KOA collaborated closely with Anco developer Steve Screech in an attempt to relaunch the ''Kick Off'' and ''Player Manager'' series. Kick Off 2002 was released. Anco started to work on another sequel Kick Off 2004 which reached beta status. The attempt came to a halt when Anco closed in 2003.

History

''Kick Off'' was released in 1989. ''Kick Off'' was first developed for the Atari ST and then ported to the Amiga. Several expansion disks were released for ''Kick Off 2''. In 1992, Dino Dini left Anco and signed a contract for Virgin Games, which released ''Goal!'' in 1993. Anco released ''Kick Off 3'' in 1994. The game used a side view instead of a top-down view and bore little resemblance to ''Kick Off 2'' apart from the name. Anco Software published the first versions of ''Kick Off'' for the Amiga and Atari ST.

Gameplay

With ''Kick Off'' the ball did not stick to the player's feet but instead was realistically kicked ahead from the players, in a manner similar to that of Nintendo's '' Soccer'', released in 1985 on the

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

. This added a

degree of difficulty Degree of difficulty (DD, sometimes called tariff or grade) is a concept used in several sports and other competitions to indicate the technical difficulty of a skill, performance, or course, often as a factor in scoring. Sports which incorporate ...

and skill requirement at the same time. Other attributes, such as action replays, players with different characteristics, different tactics, fouls, yellow cards, red cards, injuries, injury time and various referees with different moods also featured.

Reception

*'' ST Action'' – Highest accolade they could give. *'' Amiga User Int'' – "Best computer game ever" 97% *''

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'' – "Ultimate soccer simulation" 96% *''ACE'' – "Brilliant, BUY BUY BUY" 92% *''

Amiga Format ''Amiga Format'' was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future plc. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling '' ACE'' to EMAP, Future split the dual-format ...

'' – "Best footy game to have appeared on any machine" 94% *'' ST Format'' – "What a game! gem to play. Magic" 90% *''

C&VG ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' - "Championship winning material" 95% *''

The Games Machine ''The Games Machine'' is a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published ''CRASH'', '' Zzap!64'', '' Amtix!'' and other magazines. History The magazine ran head to head wi ...

'' – "Probably the best sports game ever" 92% *''

Commodore User ''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''Vic ...

'' – "No other footy game can touch it" 90% *''

Amiga Action ''Amiga Action'' was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Europress (later IDG Media) and ran for 89 full issues, from October 1989 to December 1996. After its closure, it was merged into sister pu ...

'' – "Surpasses all other football games" 93% *'' PCW'' - "Nothing short of brilliant" *''New Comp Express'' – "Computer football event of the year" *''

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazine ...

'' – "So realistic, so fun, and soooo addictive" 96%

Awards

* Awarded UK. 1989 INDIN Best 16 Bit Product * Nominated UK. 1989 INDIN Best Programmer (2nd place, the winner was "Bullfrog" for "Populous") * Awarded 1989 EMAP Images

Golden Joystick Award The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be voted ...

Best 16 Bit Product. (EMAP is a major UK magazine publisher). * Voted the 7th best game of all time in Amiga Power.

Sequels

''Player Manager''

''Kick Off 2''

In 1990, ''Kick Off 2'' was released by Anco. ''Kick Off 2'' retains the pace and accuracy of ''Kick Off'', with a full size multi directional scrolling pitch and the players, markings, goals etc., in correct proportions. Both teams play the game strictly according to tactics. Players move into position to receive passes and gain possession. The ball, as in real game, travels ahead of the player. There is a league and a cup tournament with sudden death penalty shoot outs, in case of a draw. The teams in the league are on the whole evenly matched but with different styles of play and the player skills to match, that style. There is an option to load your own team from "

" along with your own tactics, to play against another "

" team in a single game or enter league and cup tournament. The special events selection in the main menu allows data disks to be loaded. ''Kick Off 2'' also provides the facility to change strip colours and on expanded Atari ST's (1 MB or above) there are additional sound effects. The "Action Replay" facility allows goals to be viewed at normal pace or in "Slow Motion" and saved to disk. There are 24 referees and have their own distinctive temperaments.

''Super Kick Off''

''Super Kick Off'' is one of the follow-ups of ''Kick Off'' and '' Kick Off 2'' for the

Sega Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 and ...

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

Sega Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan as ...

and

SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...

. ''Super Kick Off'' was slower than the original games. The Mega Drive version knocked '' PGA Tour Golf II'' from the top of the charts. '' MegaTech'' gave the game 94% and a Hyper Game Award, saying that the "feel and playability is unrivalled by any other footy game so far", but criticising the high price of £45.

''Goal!''

In 1992, a sequel, ''Kick Off 3'', was in development. The game wasn't released in this form though, as Dino Dini left Anco in 1992 for

, where he developed '' Goal!'', released in 1993. ''Goal!'' featured similar gameplay to ''Kick Off 2'' but also added one-touch passing as seen in ''

Sensible Soccer ''Sensible Soccer'', often called ''Sensi'', is an association football video game series which was highly popular in the early 1990s and which still retains a cult following. It was developed by Sensible Software and first released for Amiga ...

'', player acceleration, and more advanced menu systems and options. ''Goal!'' received generally good reviews but did not enjoy the same lasting popularity as ''Kick Off 2''.

''Kick Off 3''

In 1994, Anco released ''Kick Off 3'' developed by Steve Screech, a totally new game with nothing in common with '' Kick Off 2''. The game didn't receive as good reviews as its predecessors and didn't gain the same popularity. An

Atari Jaguar The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it competed with the 16-bit Sega Genesis, the Super NES and th ...

port was in development but never released.

''Kick Off 96, 97 & 98''

In 1996, Toka Nono released ''Kick Off 96'' for Amiga and Windows. The game received average reviews. In 1997, '' Kick Off 97'' was released for Windows. The game received better reviews than ''Kick Off 96'' but still didn't become popular. Later the same year, Anco released ''Kick Off 98'' for the PC which received poor reviews. In 1998 ''Kick Off World'' was released for the original PlayStation, again developed by Toka and published by Funsoft.

''Kick Off 2002''

In 2001, Steve Screech started a project called ''Ultimate Kick Off'' with the help of an early established Kick Off Association. The game was built using the

Gamebryo Gamebryo (; ; formerly NetImmerse until 2003) is a game engine developed by Gamebase Co., Ltd. and Gamebase USA, that incorporates a set of tools and plugins including run-time libraries, supporting video game developers for numerous cross-pl ...

engine, released by Anco in 2002 for PC and Mac with the name ''Kick Off 2002''. The game received poor reviews and only sold 5000 copies. Later a sequel called ''Kick Off 2004'' was planned. It reached beta status but it was never released. The project ended when Anco closed in 2003.

''Kick Off Revival''

In the end of 2015, Dino Dini announced that he was working on a new entry in the series, with a control system designed for the use with an

analog stick An analog stick (or analogue stick in British English), sometimes called a control stick or thumbstick, is an input device for a controller (often a game controller) that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a variation of a joy ...

. ''Kick Off Revival'' was released on June 24, 2016 exclusively for PlayStation 4 with poor reviews from the main game websites, A delayed PlayStation Vita version was released nine months later in 2017 with bad reviews. A PC version is available on Steam.

Games in the series

The ''Kick Off'' series includes the following games: Games by Dino Dini *''Kick Off'' (1989) *''Kick Off 2'' (1990) *''Kick Off 2 1MB'' (1990) *''Kick Off Revival'' (2016) *Goal. Games by Steve Screech * ''Kick Off 97'' (1997) * ''Kick Off 3'' (1994) * ''Kick Off 2002'' (2002) Expansion disks *''Kick Off Extra Time'' ( Data disk) (1989) *''Kick Off 2: Giants of Europe'' (Data disk) (1990) *''Kick Off 2: The Final Whistle'' (Expansion disk) (1991) *''Kick Off 2: Return To Europe'' (Expansion disk) (1991) *''Kick Off 2: Winning Tactics'' (Data disk) (1991) *''Kick Off 2: Super League'' (Expansion disk) (1991) Games by others: **''Franco Baresi World Cup Kick Off'' (1990) **''

'' (1990) **''Kick Off 2 World Cup 90'' (1990) **''Kick Off 2: Maths Disk'' (Expansion disk) (1991) **''Super Kick-Off'' (1991) **''Kick Off 98'' (1997)

Ports

* ''

World League Soccer ''World League Soccer'', known as in Japan, is an association football-based Sports game, sports video game developed by Emagic, C-Lab, and released for Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES and Sharp X68000 systems in 1991. Gamepla ...

'' (Super NES)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kick Off (Series) 1989 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Association football video games Atari 8-bit family games Atari ST games Cancelled Atari Jaguar games Commodore 64 games DOS games Game Boy games Gamebryo games Golden Joystick Award winners Imagineer games Master System games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Sega Genesis games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Tiertex Design Studios games ZX Spectrum games Video game franchises introduced in 1989 Video games scored by Barry Leitch Golden Joystick Award for Game of the Year winners Video games developed in the United Kingdom