Reader Reviews

ISS3 (GameCube)

by Anthony Byrne

After the rushed out piece of cack that was ISS2, GameCube owners were a tad pissed off that the definitive footy game hadn't been given a decent release on their system. Spurned on by the voices of anguish and despair Konami set about creating the best football game ever, well maybe not but they did give it a good go. ISS3 marks somewhat of a return to form for ISS and Nintendo consoles. After ISS '98 there hasn't really been a decent version for N64 or GC.

Graphically on the field it looks very good, animations of the players are very well done and have a sense of realism about them. The stadiums and backgrounds are awful but who cares, it's a football game. If you want pretty backgrounds play FIFA, and in general the stadiums do bear a resemblance to their real life counterparts. The in game sounds are decent but after about five minutes you will want to punch Mark Lawrenson for the inane drivel he recorded for this game (although sometimes I think he is inside my GC and it's alive).

Gameplay can be sublime with the sheer amount of moves, passes, shots and the all-important control of the ball. You can put the ball anywhere you want after only a few minutes play. At times it's like watching Brazil as you can pass the ball to any team-mate with perfect control and precision (probably the defining factor in what makes a footy game good). There are flaws though, the biggest being selecting your player when you haven't got the ball. The default setting is Auto, where the CPU decides which player should be controlled next, and often picks someone on the other side of the pitch, leaving your opposition with a free run at goal and the CPU does not miss 1 v 1 with your keeper.

Changing that to manual still leaves you open as it usually cycles through the team from the wrong end of the pitch. Another big flaw is the catalogue system in which you can buy new moves, stadiums, teams, jerseys and other extra features. This may sound great in keeping long-term playability but to get these moves you have to play through the various cups and leagues to gain points. The flaw with this to get all the moves you need to beat the cups at least the times, and by that time you have mastered the game in terms of what you can do. Adding in moves which require three button presses is insane as you can beat the game on normal without them and to do them under severe pressure makes them near impossible and quite useless.