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

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s created by Dino Dini. ''Kick Off'' was published by Anil Gupta's publishing house Anco Software for the

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

and Commodore

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

. 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. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make change ...

'' 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 Avalon Interactive Group, Ltd., formerly known as Virgin Interactive Entertainment, was a British video game distributor based within Europe that formerly traded as the video game publishing and distributing division of British conglomerate the V ...

, 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

and then ported to the

. Several expansion disks were released for ''Kick Off 2''. In 1992, Dino Dini left Anco and signed a contract for

, 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 Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

'', released in 1985 on the NES. This added a

degree of difficulty Degree of difficulty (DD, sometimes called tariff or grade) is a rating 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 a ...

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 are also featured.

Reception

* '' ST Action'' – Highest accolade they could give. * '' Amiga User Int'' – "Best computer game ever" 97% * '' The One'' – "Ultimate soccer simulation" 96% * ''ACE'' – "Brilliant, BUY BUY BUY" 92% * ''

Amiga Format ''Amiga Format'' was a British monthly computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when Future split '' ST/Amiga Format'' into two separate pub ...

'' – "Best footy game to have appeared on any machine" 94% * ''

ST Format ''ST Format'' was a computer magazine in the UK covering the Atari ST during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Like other members of the Future plc Format stable - PC Format and Amiga Format, for instance, it combined software and hardware revie ...

'' – "What a game! gem to play. Magic" 90% * '' C&VG'' - "Championship winning material" 95% * ''

The Games Machine ''The Games Machine'' was 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 Games Machine'' ran head ...

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

Commodore User ''Commodore User'', (also referred to as ''CU'') later renamed to ''CU Amiga'', is a British magazine initially published by Paradox Group before being acquired by EMAP. Timeline ''Commodore User'' was launched in October 1983 with an initial pr ...

'' – "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 ...

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

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

'' – "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 Ascential (formerly EMAP) was a British-headquartered global company, specialising in events, intelligence and advisory services for the marketing and financial technology industries. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was ac ...

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 vote ...

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

Amiga Power ''Amiga Power'' (''AP'') was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996. History The first issue of ''Amiga Power'' was publi ...

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 player's team from ''

'' along with player's 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

'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

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

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

, and

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

. ''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 ''MegaTech'' (sometimes styled with the katakana メガテケ) was a publication from EMAP aimed specifically at the Sega Mega Drive gaming market. The magazine was started in 1991. The launch editorial consisted of a small team including Pa ...

'' 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 popular in the early 1990s and which still retains a following. It was developed by Sensible Software and first released for Amiga and Atari ST ...

'', 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 did not receive as good reviews as its predecessors and did not 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. It is in the fifth generation of video game consoles, and it competed with Fourth generation of video game consoles, fo ...

port was in development but never released.

''Kick Off 96, 97 & 98''

In 1996, Toka Nono released ''Kick Off 96'' for

and

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. 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 did not 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 is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

, 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 Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

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 was never released. The project ended when Anco closed in 2003.

''Kick Off Revival''

A new entry in the series, with a control system designed for the use with an

analog stick An analog stick (analogue stick in British English), also known as a control stick, thumbstick or joystick, is an input method designed for video games that translates thumb movement into directional control. It consists of a protruding stick mo ...

, ''Kick Off Revival'', was released in June 2016 for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

with poor reviews from the main game websites.

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

version was released nine months later in 2017 with bad reviews. A PC version is available on

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

''Kick Off Online''

''Kick Off 2 Online(KOOL)'' is an online soccer game based on the second game in the series for Windows. ''Kick Off 2 Online'' is written by Steve Camber with permission from Dino Dini.

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) 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'' (Super NES)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kick Off (Series) 1989 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Association football video games Atari 8-bit computer 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 MegaTech Hyper Game awards winners 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