Soccer Up 3D has the basics down for a good soccer title but is lacking in some of the extras that would make it a great game. If you’re looking for something to satisfy your sporting urges this one will leave you looking for a little more.
The game is the follow up to EnjoyUp Games’ Soccer Up WiiWare title from 2011. The 3DS edition isn’t so much a sequel as it is a port of the game.
The original game allowed you to integrate and play matches with the Miis saved on your Wii console. While the 3DS has the exact same Mii functionality, Soccer Up 3D appears not to. There is no mention of Miis in the game until you look in the instruction manual, which states that you need to play the game for two hours in order to unlock custom teams and Mii support. For the first while playing I thought that the developers had removed this feature.
The game plays like a solid soccer. You can play with either classic or new control mode which allows you to move freely through the game while keeping hold of the ball. To be honest I didn’t really notice much difference between the two options, except for the fact that the ball more easily got away from me in classic.
There is no real way to ‘pass’ the ball to another player aside from kicking the ball up field and maneuvering another player to catch the pass. Receiving a pass is another story. As in most soccer games the game struggles to seamlessly switch to the nearest player to the ball. Or rather to the player which I feel is the nearest player. This causes some needless running the wrong way while I try to get the correct player to run to the ball.
Every soccer game I’ve played has had this same issue. Maybe it’s me. Switching to manual player swap eases that problem, though only a little.
One thing the game could have used is difficulty settings. There is just one difficulty to play on and boy is it tough. The goalkeeper is a superstar and hardly lets a single ball passed. Even trying to slide a pass through the box usually ends with the goalkeeper intercepting the pass.
There are a lot of country options to choose from in the game, but that really just amounts to changing the shirt colour of your players. Solid blue, red, white, etc. There isn’t a way to select your opponent either in exhibition mode, though you can choose between two stadiums to play in.
Another element that is a missed opportunity in the game is the audio. There is no music playing during the matches at all. Just silence and a few sound effects like the referee whistle when you tackle another player. There is music during the menu playing. That would have helped to break the silence.
Overall Soccer Up 3D is a solid soccer game but is lacking in presentation. Earlier customization with Miis, music during the matches and difficulty options would all have benefited the game.
