I've mentioned in previous reviews about the current tendency of games companies to combine aspects of different sports to create a whole new sub-genre. Project Botham Racing was a prime example. But while cross breeding a street racing game with a cricket match simulator didn't exactly leave its mark on the gaming industry, Whamco's latest offering may well do so - literally. Why? Because Goalcalibur crosses football (that's soccer to you American types) with some pretty hefty swords. Fight!


Welcome to the Pitch of History!

A sharp whistle blows, and the headline phrase for Goalcalibur melts into view - "Transcending history, and the world, a game of swords and balls, eternally replayed.". Suddenly the words are whipped off screen in a flurry of colours, like rushing wind, and we are treated to a quite spectacular pre-rendered sequence, showing the main characters practicing their sword and ball-handling skills, in a variety of different locations. Just don't try to think too hard about why there are football fields in oriental palaces and mountaintop locations. The beautifully composed music across the sequence, as well as the stunning animation, really sets the tone of the game, and by the time you reach the main title screen a couple of minutes later, you will feel well fired up for the game ahead. Welcome to the field of history!

There are various options presented for your selection, but after that sequence, there's only one thing you'll want to be interested in - going straight into the main single player game. So lets dive right in and have a look at what this game is all about.


War on the Football Field

First up, it's time to select your team and where you'll be playing. It is important to remember here that none of these teams are actually based on any real football team. Or at least, if there is a team out there called the "Kung Fu Kings", who run around the field in ninja outfits and attack opponent players with cool looking sword, I am watching the wrong football league.

There are only a few teams unlocked at first, but by winning certain leagues and tournaments, more can be unlocked. And this certainly isn't an ordinary football game, with just different shirt colours and celebrity footballer faces to mark the teams apart. The variety of character design is excellent, from the aforementioned team of ninjas, to teams of fencing nobles and Viking warriors! I'm fairly sure that if any historical power used swords as a major weapon of war, it is represented here, with a couple of nice fun additions as well.

Each different team has some different stats and skills attached to it, and some 'star players' have special skills - sword techniques and styles that can be accessed on the field to give you a special advantage. Fortunately, rather than wading through page after page of statistics, a handy bar chart summary is available, with little stars marking out players with special skills. So select your team and get out on to the pitch!


The Beautiful Game - With Swords

So, your team of samurai warriors, or whoever you have decided to play as, launches out on to the pitch. The character animations and location graphics are fantastic, you could really believe that you had a team of samurai and a team of Vikings running out on to the pitch in the middle of a raging tropical hurricane (remember I told you all not to think too hard about the locations!).

Strangely enough, one of the first things I noticed was the referee. He's decked out in the usual referee's black outfit, which seems woefully under protective when facing teams armed this well! Still, it doesn't seem to deter him, he's not averse to giving out punishment when the situation calls for it.

The whistle goes, and the game begins! Players moved fluidly and believably across the pitch, although how some of the players run with masses of armour on them, never mind reliably handle the ball, I don't know.

To begin, everything plays like a fairly straightforward football game. You have passes, shots, chips, sliding tackles (yes, in plate armour even), everything you would expect from a more seasoned contender such as Pro Evolution Soccer or Fifa. In fact, if you could ignore the fact that your players are running around in Spanish fencing outfits on a football pitch on a tropical beach being splashed by ten-foot tall waves, you could almost believe that you were playing one of those games. However, while you are in control of a player, hit one of the shoulder buttons on your controller and the real fun begins.

You see, the shoulder button puts you into 'sword mode'. Your player pulls his sword out and the entire scene shifts into a Matrix-esque slow motion 'bullet time' perspective. In this mode, your controls become more akin to that of a fighting game, each button accessing different types of sword attacks. An 'auto-lock' feature means that you always attack the nearest opponent, while the analogue stick maintains control of the ball at your feet, unless you are tackled or knocked down by one of the opposing players. The main aim of this mode is to defend against an knock back any player who might be trying to tackle you, allowing you to break through the other team's defensive lines.

Another press of the shoulder button places you in a free-form mode, where control of the ball is lost, if you had it at the time, but your controls fully revert to that of a fighting game, with combination attacks, special moves, and all kinds of impressive-looking martial arts. This mode is used to attack players bringing the ball up the field, and in more desperate situations, to bravely leave the ball for a moment and attempt to break out of a corner if you find yourself surrounded by defenders.


Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting...


Knocking an opponent to the floor will immobilise them for a second or two, which is enough to make your escape with the ball, but as you would expect, being hit with a sword is more hazardous that risking being knocked down. Different players all have varying levels of endurance, and on the field each will have a small bar beneath them, indicating their current health level. Every attack a player takes reduces their health level, depending on the power of the attack and the armour and defence of the victim. Should a player run out of health, they will need to be substituted.

Of course, if that was all there was to the game, there would be little reason to stay with the ball, rather, it might make more sense to stick to your swords and cripple the other team before running home to a crushing victory. Fortunately, there's a few game mechanics that prevent this from becoming a major issue.

Firstly, there's speed. A player with a given speed rating will always run more slowly in sword mode than when in football mode. This means that, unless you have a really slow player, there is always the option of escape if you don't want to fight. It also means that the tactic of just chasing up behind other players and stabbing them in the back as they run won't work, which saves an awful lot of potential frustration.

Secondly, there's player recovery, whereby there is a statistic that each player has, imaginatively titled 'recovery', which defines how quickly a player regains health during the course of a match. This makes a battle of attrition much harder to wage, especially when players regain a large percentage of their health over the half time break.

Finally, there's the referee. Remember him? Well, it's in keeping the match balanced that he plays a major part. Obviously, the traditional system of red and yellow cards doesn't work with this kind of interpretation of football; you'd lose the entire team in seconds, if they were even allowed on the pitch in the first place. In Goalcalibur the red and yellow cards remain, but the referee can be much more partial when handing them out. It has nothing to do with pre-match bribes, though, and everything to do with advantage. There is a gauge that displays the balance of advantage between the two teams. This starts with the two sides being equal, and the referee will let pretty much anything go. However, as one team becomes more injured, the advantage slips away from them, and the referee is much more likely to hand out fouls and penalties against the team that has gained the advantage. It is a case of trying to figure out how much you can get away with. If you go around putting all the members of the opposing team out of commission, you are more likely to find all your own players being sent off the pitch as you gain too much advantage.


Increasing the Stakes

However good all this may be, though, one place that many football games slip a little is that there is no real incentive to keep playing after a few matches. Gamers nowadays demand leagues, tournaments, and a whole raft of unlockable bonuses to sate their gaming needs. Goalcalibur doesn't disappoint.

There are the usual batch of leagues and tournaments available to play in, although most have names that would sound unusual in any other game, such as the 'Blooded Blade Tournament' and the 'Lacerations League'. Winning these opens a number of bonus teams, locations, and more tournaments to play in.

The available unlockables are very varied and worth taking the time to discover. Location-wise, there is a pitch on the deck of a cruise liner (complete with rocking surface!), one in a post apocalyptic nightmare land with a crowd of atomic mutants as spectators, a pitch in an underground cavern with bats flying through the air, and a whole host of others. It is in the teams, though, that the designers really struck gold. You can unlock teams such as the 'Marauding Mongols', complete with Atilla the Hun as Captain, and even a team of spear wielding cavemen. One particular team, however, was particularly pleasing. A football team made up of past heroes from Whamco fighting games! Imagine star striker Witsurugi with his samurai sword and crazy hair, and the goalkeeper, Boldo, stopping the ball flawlessly with his bladed hands (must be an armoured ball, then). It's a real treat to behold.


After Extra Time

When I started reviewing this game, I have to admit I was sceptical. But having spent a long while playing this game and understanding its intricacies, I have to say that it has more than surpassed all my expectations. The game is well presented, plays very well, and has an excellent multiplayer mode.

All things considered, I'm not sure you could have a better time with your best friend, a football, and two teams of football players. Buy this game, or I'm going to send my team of Spanish Inquisitors around to your house to find out why you haven't!

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