First Touch Soccer Review
PROS
- Smooth, detailed 3D graphics; grand scale and designs despite licensing restrictions.
- Almost all the teams and leagues you could ever want; including greats from the past.
- Responsive controls; simple setup and assist options for those less skilled at the game.
CONS
- AI can be significantly erratic in its difficulty.
- Pressure plays difficult to pull off at some levels; leads to needless penalties while tackling to get possession.
VERDICT
First Touch Soccer pushes the football genre a little further on the App Store and while it may not have the exact same features as console titles, it makes up for this by being a top competitor on the field itself.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
If there's one thing you can count on in the video game world, it's a football game. That isn't to say they're all great, but at times they can feel like the three-match or twin-stick shooter of the sporting genre (with its twin rival being the arcade racer). Thankfully developers like Exient have taken the challenge of creating a football title seriously and much like X2 Soccer, First Touch Soccer seeks to take the game even further on the touch-based platform.
The biggest change has to be its general appearance as players are rendered clearly, if not perfectly (which is reasonable considering the lack of licensing); stadiums feels grander thanks to well positioned cameras, lighting and sound effects; and the menus are also easy to use while featuring slick graphics and neat extra features. The whole product comes off as a lot more polished than its predecessors and this carries over in to the gameplay itself as the basic virtual-stick and three-button setup feels tight and responsive, keeping in balance with the toned-down pace of the match. This allows for far more finessed plays, though the AI can jump from worryingly woeful to almost impenetrable at the flick of a difficulty option.
Despite being unlicensed, First Touch Soccer boasts a significant roster of teams, tournaments and game modes to keep fans busy for a long time yet. While you could take your favorite team through a league campaign, you can also focus on a single player, gaining a rating based on the skill with which you play their position. 'Dream Team' mode allows players to (you guessed it) compile a dream team and compete around the world, using players from Football's past including teams from significant moments in the game's history being unlockable via achievements or in game purchases.
First Touch Soccer is simply a class act when it comes to playing Football on your iDevice. Although it may not match the full pace of a real match, Exient has come a gone a long way to ensure that the experience is smooth and challenging without compromising too much on the gameplay itself. Whether you want to compile an all-star team or play a multiplayer match against a friend, this is a solid pickup for the football fan.
Screenshots
$4.99
