Academy of Champions: Soccer
Encyclopedia
Academy of Champions: Soccer (known as Academy of Champions: Football in Europe) is a soccer video game developed by Ubisoft Vancouver and published by Ubisoft
for the Wii
. It was released in Europe on September 4, 2009, and in North America on November 3, 2009.
The game features a story mode set at a magical soccer academy, in which the player must build a group of five players to challenge other teams. Academy of Champions features arcade
-style soccer, focusing on tricks, shooting, and the whimsical nature of the academy. It has received a 65.22% on review aggregate website GameRankings.
and Mia Hamm
in cartoon form as the masters of the academy. The player is tasked with putting together a five player soccer team to compete in the academy's soccer league. The user can improve his team by recruiting other players outside of his starting five and by training his players with minigames. Characters from other Ubisoft franchises such as the Prince of Persia
and Assassin's Creed
appear as help and opponents to the characters.
The game uses little motion controls; the A and B buttons on the Wii remote
are used to pass and kick, and other actions are handled by the control pad on the Wii remote and the controls on the nunchuck. The minigames are drills in between matches that help the player hone certain skills. One minigame makes use of the Wii Balance Board
to dribble around obstacles, and the game features limited Wii MotionPlus
support. The quick-play option is limited to two people, and there is no online multiplayer.
. GameSpot
's Brett Todd criticized the game's lack of online multiplayer, but ultimately noted that the game would entertain its target audience. IGN
's Nate Ahearn noted the lack of things to do other than the game's story mode. GameZone
praised the charming look of the game, but criticized minor glitches found during the gameplay.
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
. It was released in Europe on September 4, 2009, and in North America on November 3, 2009.
The game features a story mode set at a magical soccer academy, in which the player must build a group of five players to challenge other teams. Academy of Champions features arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
-style soccer, focusing on tricks, shooting, and the whimsical nature of the academy. It has received a 65.22% on review aggregate website GameRankings.
Gameplay
Academy of Champions has a main story mode and a supplemental quick-play mode to allow the user to play a single match by themselves or with a friend. The story mode takes place at Brightfield Academy, a magical soccer academy featuring PeléPelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
and Mia Hamm
Mia Hamm
Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm is a retired American soccer player. Hamm played many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team and was a founding member of the Washington Freedom. Hamm has scored more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female,...
in cartoon form as the masters of the academy. The player is tasked with putting together a five player soccer team to compete in the academy's soccer league. The user can improve his team by recruiting other players outside of his starting five and by training his players with minigames. Characters from other Ubisoft franchises such as the Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia is a platform game, originally developed by Jordan Mechner and released in 1989 for the Apple II, that represented a great leap forward in the quality of animation seen in video games....
and Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed is an award-winning historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The bulk of the game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the plot revolving around a sect known as the Secret Order of...
appear as help and opponents to the characters.
The game uses little motion controls; the A and B buttons on the Wii remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
are used to pass and kick, and other actions are handled by the control pad on the Wii remote and the controls on the nunchuck. The minigames are drills in between matches that help the player hone certain skills. One minigame makes use of the Wii Balance Board
Wii Balance Board
The Wii Balance Board is a balance board accessory for the Nintendo Wii video game console. Along with Wii Fit, it was introduced on July 11, 2007 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo...
to dribble around obstacles, and the game features limited Wii MotionPlus
Wii MotionPlus
The is an expansion device for the Wii Remote video game controller for the Wii that allows it to more accurately capture complex motion. According to Nintendo, the sensor in the device supplements the accelerometer and Sensor Bar capabilities of the Wii Remote to enable actions to be rendered...
support. The quick-play option is limited to two people, and there is no online multiplayer.
Reception
Academy of Champions: Soccer received above average reviews from critics, who felt that the game would entertain the younger audience it was aimed at; currently, the game has received a compilation score of 0% from Game RankingsGame Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Brett Todd criticized the game's lack of online multiplayer, but ultimately noted that the game would entertain its target audience. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Nate Ahearn noted the lack of things to do other than the game's story mode. GameZone
GameZone
GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
praised the charming look of the game, but criticized minor glitches found during the gameplay.