Mobile Review: Soccer Stars

Title: Soccer Stars

Platform(s): iOS(reviewed); Android

Developer/Publisher: Miniclip

Price: F2P w/microtransactions

So, I haven't really seen a whole lot of mobile reviews going up here on the destructoid(edit: My bad Dalak Sex, check out some of his mobile reviews, they're good) . I assume it's because most of you are like me and think mobile is a perverbial cesspool of unimaginitive, uninspired shite. Well, because it is... So you probably get most of your mobile gaming from the 3DS and the Muerta erm I mean Vita... However I'm finding periods in my life where I only have like 5 or so minutes to commit, which for me isn't worth firing up the ol' 3DS. So I have to go scrounging about in the muck to attempt to find something halfway decent to play. Then, I thought surely there must be someone else out there who would be interested in this knowledge. Thus, I've decided to review some mobile games. So this one's for you homie. 

I'm a big football(soccer) fan. I love watching it, I love playing it, I love playing video games about. I probably have more hours in fifa than every other video game combined. Which is alot. So, here I found myself desperately trying to find something quick and fun to play on my iphone when I was away from home. By far the best game I found was Soccer Stars, which really isn't even a football game at all. Really Soccer Stars plays more like a weird mix of billiards and soccer. 

Each team has 5 pieces. Each player will  take turns trying to knock the ball into their respective opponent's net, the players are only allowed to move one piece at a time. To move a piece the player must touch that piece and drag their finger and rotate to aim much like you'd expect from a billiards' game. The piece will fly forward and smack into whatever the player aimed at and cause that piece to move. Yes, it is possible to push your opponents pieces out of the way by bumping into them.  

It's a very simple concept that offers a surprising amount of strategy. Do you go for the goal, or move a piece defensively, or do you try and bumb an opposing piece to clear some space? It ends up being a lot of fun. 

This is a multiplayer game. Whether online or for whatever reason local. Matchmaking is very fast taking only a second or two to find a match. Each player has about 10-15 seconds (I didnt time it) to make a move, keeping the game fast paced. Most games being finished within 5 minutes. Making this ideal for filling small moment of free time in your day.

The buisness model is extremely fair. Most free to play games will slowly try and wear you down, however the microtransactions in this game are mostly cosmetic from what I can tell. You can buy coins(which can be earned in game), some sort of premium currency(which can be earned by completing objectives) and finally you can buy licensed skins for pieces( teams like Barça, or Man City). Coins are generally earned by betting them before each match. Their are several tiers available to bet, but you must bet coins. Winner takes the coins. You can use coins to buy some skins. The premium currency can be used to buy a different set of skins. As well as new formations, scratch off tickets, prize spins and prize packs. As I said the things you pay for seem to give you no real advantage. Some of the skins appear to have different stats and it doesn't appear to actually do anything. However I only have a few low level skins so I could be completely off. 

So what happens if you run out of coins? Well you could of coarse buy them... Or you can just wait until the next day where you'll get a free prize spin and essentially be guarenteed coins. Seriously I have felt 0 need to spend any money whatsoever. Which may be a problem for this game. The buisness model is almost too fair. I'm actually feeling more pressure to spend money so the game doesn't die off than anything.

Overall I feel that Soccer Stars is a game that anyone can appreciate, even if you don't like football. With unique gameplay, and a more than fair buisness model there's no reason to not give this game a shot. 

Score: A rubber ducky/94