Emlyn Hughes International Soccer
Emlyn Hughes International Soccer | |
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Sports | |
Mode(s) | One-player, co-operative or Versus |
Emlyn Hughes International Soccer (EHIS) is a
The game was programmed by Graham Blighe with additional coding by Michael McLean. Gameplay included arcade-style action and the management aspect of the sport. Critical response to the game was generally positive with accolades and high ratings from the industry magazines.
History
It debuted on
Every version of the game was programmed by Graham Blighe and produced by Peter Calver, with graphics created by Andrew Calver, and playtesting by Jeremy Wellard (who later founded HB Studios); the strategy section was coded by Michael McLean (in later versions Terry Wiley). The music for the Commodore 64 version was written by Barry Leitch.
The inspiration for the game came from International Soccer, a highly successful cartridge game for the Commodore 64 that had been released by Commodore themselves in the early 1980s. Indeed, EHIS offered an optional mode in which the controls were deliberately limited, to simulate the restricted options available in the earlier game. This both provided an easy introduction and helped to emphasise the extent to which the controls had been enhanced.
At the time of its release EHIS faced heavy competition from titles such as
Gameplay
EHIS gameplay included the basic running, kicking, shooting style but also had advanced technique gameplay which added depth and realism to the game. For example, turning naturally involved changing direction of the joystick, but instead of coming to a halt straight away, the player would slow down, stop and start to run in the direction of the joystick.
EHIS advanced techniques included the '5-direction' option. This meant that the players could pass and shoot up to 5 different directions from where the player was facing. This was achieved by holding the fire button and pushing the joystick at an angle from where your player is running and releasing the button. Other techniques include sidestepping, barging, heading, back heels, lobs, diving headers, sliding tackles and many other miscellaneous features.
This was the first time that management features had been included in an arcade-style soccer game, and the identities of the players were reinforced with a rudimentary on-screen commentary, another ground-breaking feature. The game was also highly configurable with everything from the players' stats and names to the pitch and shirt colours.
The management aspect included picking the player's squad (based on player skills and fitness levels). Amongst the many options the players can compete in competitions including cup, championship and leagues. EHIS was one of the first football games to include a full season of gameplay. The players would compete in a league competition (home and away) and take part in a knock-out style cup competition. Throughout the season the player's fitness and morale would fluctuate and they could even get injured.
Reception
Publication | Award |
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Amstrad Action | Mastergame[2] |
Zzap!64 awarded the game with a 90% rating, gaining a Zzap! 'Sizzler' accolade.[3] Commodore User gave an 84% rating explaining that "this isn't quite Microprose Soccer but it's still a vast improvement on many of the football games available".[4]
Amstrad Action reviewed the game alongside other football games—MicroProse Soccer, Streetgang Football and Gary Lineker's Hot Shot—in the football special issue of June 1989. Emlyn came on top with a 93% and the AA 'Mastergame' accolade.[9]
The Commodore 64 version was rated as the 44th best game of all time in a special issue of Commodore Format magazine in November 1994.[10]
Legacy
There are other videogames and projects related to this title:
The Amiga version of Super League Manager, also developed by Audiogenic, came with a feature that allowed players to watch (or play, if their team was involved) a random game of the week providing they had a copy of EHIS.
References
- ^ "EHIS Community site comment". Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
- Future Publishing, issue 45, June 1989
- ^ Zzap!64, issue 43, November 1988, p 28
- ^ "Patterson, Mark. Commodore User, December 1988
- ^ Dillon, Tony. Sinclair User, issue 84, March 1989
- ^ King, Phil. CRASH, issue 63, April 1989, p 87
- ^ Berkmann, Marcus. Your Sinclair, issue 40, April 1989, p 98.
- ^ The Games Machine, April 1989.
- ^ Webb, Trenton. Amstrad Action, June 1989, issue 45, p 38, 39.
- ^ "The All-Time Top 50 C64 Games!". Commodore Format: 20. November 1994.
- ^ Emlyn Hughes Arcade Quiz at hol.abime.net
- ^ EHIS2 project website (archived version)
External links
- EHIS at hol.abime.net
- EHIS at mobygames.com
- EHIS Archived 2007-10-29 at the Wayback Machine at eurogamer.net
- EHIS Archived 2007-10-23 at the Wayback Machine at taringa.net (in Spanish)