By Lex Firth 16.01.2015
To say that games based on football are a big deal would be an understatement - FIFA regularly appears on the top end of sales charts - and it's not rare to see cartoonish takes on the sport with spectacular moves and ridiculous teams, with the likes of Mario Strikers Charged Football and Inazuma Eleven Strikers seeing success over the last few years. Now the Lunagames has brought its own brand of madcap football to mobile phones, but its lack of structure brings a few missteps to a functional game. Following on from an early look at the game, Cubed3 now delivers the final verdict.
There's little to say about Luna League Soccer's gameplay, so simplistic it is. Controlled with a virtual analogue stick on the left side of the screen to move the characters and with a single button on the right that is in charge of passing, shooting and tackling, it's a basic side-on football game. This simplicity is, however, its downfall - without quick reactions it's easy to accidentally pass the ball into an empty space instead of tackling another player for it, and the typical issues with virtual analogue sticks arise in that it's far too easy to lose track of the stick and accidentally move in the wrong direction.
There's a decent amount of customisation available within setting up the matches themselves, with the ability to change the team's formation, as well as the match time (ranging from the default commute-friendly two minutes to a 20 minute behemoth of a match). Beyond that, there's also scope for unlockable stadiums, balls, and a handful of extra teams, with the aim of keeping players busy.
Keep them busy it does! Levelling-up teams to gain unlockables with experience gained after each match takes several games and quickly becomes tedious, especially at the beginning when only two teams are available. With its pick-up-and-play controls and short match times, Luna League Soccer is clearly a game made for brief play sessions, and it will take a lot of them to make any progress. Add that to the fact that unlock methods are never telegraphed, and it soon becomes utterly tedious to go beyond the initial two teams and stadiums.
That's not to say that Luna League Soccer is completely beyond help - the gameplay is, for the most part, solid (save for the occasional control issue, as mentioned earlier), and when the teams are finally unlocked, each of their special moves becomes a genuinely interesting and fun mechanic. The way that these moves work is that the team's captain will begin to glow once a power meter has been filled, and the move can only be triggered by the captain's shot, providing a small amount of strategy to the ordinary gameplay.
Beyond the simple match mode, though, there's also a penalty shootout mode that provides a heap of fun in short, sharp bursts, although this does not provide teams with experience, so may end up ignored by the majority. There are also tournament and multiplayer modes present on the menu, although these don't lead anywhere as of yet. While this may reek of an unfinished product to some, it's also a sign that Lunagames is continuing to work on content for the game and gives hope of more teams to be added at a later point, as well as potential fixes for some of the game's low points.
Overall, Luna League Soccer is simple, inoffensive fun in short bursts that's perfect for football fans to get their fix on daily commutes…and it's available for free, making it a great download despite its flaws.
Luna League Soccer may take its eyes off the ball occasionally, but Lunagames has managed to put together a fun product that will provide brief enjoyment, even if only the keener players will actually make it beyond the initial roster of teams and stadiums. If nothing else, as a free app it's worth a shot for football fans.
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