Kick Off
Encyclopedia
The Kick Off franchise is a series of football simulation computer games
which was highly popular in the early 1990s. The series is renowned for its fast-paced action and delicate ball control scheme.
Kick Off, the first game of the series, was designed by Dino Dini
and released by Anco for the Amiga
and the Atari ST
in 1989. The game was received well by the games industry at the time and won many awards.
Player Manager
was released in 1990. The game was the first game ever to combine a management environment (including tactics, league play, transfers, and detailed player attributes) with a football game engine (based on that of Kick Off).
Kick Off 2 was released in 1990 as a sequel to Kick Off. The game introduced a number of new features as well as several small, but important, gameplay tweaks, and it quickly became even more popular than its predecessor. Kick Off 2 lent itself particularly well to human vs. human games, and it was likely the first football game ever to give rise to numerous large-scale tournaments.
In 1992, Dino Dini left Anco and signed a contract for Virgin Games, who released Goal!
in 1993.
Anco released several further editions of the Kick Off series until 1997, but these games had little in common with Kick Off and Kick Off 2 apart from the name, and they did not receive much attention.
Beginning in 2001, annual Kick Off 2 World Cups have been organized by the Kick Off Association (KOA), a fan community devoted to the Kick Off series.
In 2001-2003, the KOA collaborated closely with Anco developer Steve Screech in an attempt to relaunch the Kick Off and Player Manager series. The attempt came to a hault when Anco closed in 2003.
In the period 1989-1992, the Kick Off and Player Manager games were by far the most popular games in the computer football genre. Several expansion disks were released for Kick Off 2, but the eagerly awaited release of Player Manager 2 and Kick Off 3 failed to materialize.
Anco finally released Kick Off 3 in 1994. The game used a side view instead of a top-down view and bore little resemblance to Kick Off 2 apart from the name. Faced by the stiff competition from SWOS and FIFA, the game did not receive much attention upon release.
Anco published the first versions of Kick Off for the Amiga and Atari ST and it was immediately considered a pioneer of soccer computer games, thanks to the new original features never included in a football game before.
With Kick Off the ball did not stick to the player's feet but instead was realistically kicked ahead from the players, in a manner similar to that of Nintendo's Soccer, released in 1985 on the NES
. This added a degree of difficulty and skill requirement at the same time. This, along with features such as action replays, players with different characteristics, different tactics, fouls, yellow cards, red cards, injuries, injury time and various referees with different moods, gave Kick Off and especially its successor, Kick Off 2, lasting appeal. Kick Off enthusiasts still play tournaments on original Amiga computers every year.
Even though versions for other computers followed, the Atari ST and especially the Amiga versions were by far the most popular. Kick Off was first developed for the Atari ST and then ported to the Amiga.
Kick Off 2, like real soccer, requires skills in ball control for passing, dribbling, shooting etc. Accuracy in shooting, the ability to swerve or bend the ball to score, when taking free kicks need a lot of practice. The practice option allow to practice the ball skills and set pieces, without being harassed by the opposition and practice the skills to perfection. If two players are to team up, it is an ideal opportunity to practice ONE - TWO up and down the pitch.
Each player on the pitch has a unique combination of attributes and skills suitable for the skill level at which the game is being played. An International is superior to 4th div. player in all departments. One of the most useful options is the provision to set the skill levels of both teams independently. A novice with International Squad can give a professional with 4th Division Squad a run for his money.
There is a league and a cup tournament with sudden death penalty shoot outs, in case of a draw. The teams in the league are on the whole evenly matched but with different styles of play and the player skills to match, that style. There is an option to load your own team from "Player Manager
" along with your own tactics, to play against another "Player Manager
" team in a single game or enter league and cup tournament.
The special events selection in the main menu allows data disks to be loaded. Kick Off 2 also provides the facility to change strip colours and on expanded Atari ST's (1 MB or above) there are additional sound effects. The "Action Replay" facility allows you to see the goals at normal pace or in "Slow Motion" and compile your own "Golden Goals" disk. There are 24 referees and have their own distinctive temperaments. Some referee turns a "blind eye" and someone has a pack of red cards to distribute. On the other hand, like human beings, they have good days and bad days.
and SNES. Like all games in Kick Off series the ball wasn't glued to the footballer's foot. But there was a button to stop the player keeping the ball, so non-experienced players could turn easier. Super Kick Off was slower than the original games.
, where he developed Goal!
, released in 1993. Goal! featured similar gameplay to Kick Off 2 but also added one-touch passing as seen in Sensible Soccer, player acceleration, and more advanced menu systems and options. Goal! received generally good reviews but did not enjoy the same lasting popularity as Kick Off 2.
with the name Kick Off 2002. The game received poor reviews and did only sell 5000 copies. and Mac OS
. Later a sequel called Kick Off 2004 was planned but it was never released.
In 2005, Steve Camber started his project called Kick Off 2 competition version. An updated version of the classic game for Amiga improving its features using reverse engineering
on the original Amiga game.
Membership is open to everyone and is free. The Kick Off Association approximately has 1400 members. All members can exchange ideas on the partnership sites, the KO Gathering, Kick Off World and kickoff2.com. The KOA has been involved in the organizations of various international tournaments of Kick Off 2 and arrange a Kick Off 2 World Cup every year.
The KOA actively participates in the research and development of the new versions of Kick Off as Kick Off 2 competition version, Kick Off 2002 and Throw in. All the testers for these games belong to the Kick Off Association.
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
which was highly popular in the early 1990s. The series is renowned for its fast-paced action and delicate ball control scheme.
Kick Off, the first game of the series, was designed by Dino Dini
Dino Dini
Dino Dini is a computer game developer specializing in football games. Dini is widely regarded as the godfather of the soccer game genre, having created such influential titles as Kick Off, Player Manager, Goal!, and Dino Dini's Soccer...
and released by Anco for the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and the Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
in 1989. The game was received well by the games industry at the time and won many awards.
Player Manager
Player Manager
Player Manager was a football management game, released in 1990. It was notable for being the first game to combine both managing the team and playing as a single player. The match engine borrowed heavily off the Kick Off match engine, which was developed by Dino Dini and Anco, who also created...
was released in 1990. The game was the first game ever to combine a management environment (including tactics, league play, transfers, and detailed player attributes) with a football game engine (based on that of Kick Off).
Kick Off 2 was released in 1990 as a sequel to Kick Off. The game introduced a number of new features as well as several small, but important, gameplay tweaks, and it quickly became even more popular than its predecessor. Kick Off 2 lent itself particularly well to human vs. human games, and it was likely the first football game ever to give rise to numerous large-scale tournaments.
In 1992, Dino Dini left Anco and signed a contract for Virgin Games, who released Goal!
Dino Dini's Goal
Dino Dini's Goal is a soccer computer game released by Virgin Games in 1993. It is considered by many to be the "true" sequel to Kick Off 2 , as Kick Off's creator Dino Dini had moved from Anco and was responsible for all Goal's engineering and game design.Goal! introduced improved dynamics and A.I...
in 1993.
Anco released several further editions of the Kick Off series until 1997, but these games had little in common with Kick Off and Kick Off 2 apart from the name, and they did not receive much attention.
Beginning in 2001, annual Kick Off 2 World Cups have been organized by the Kick Off Association (KOA), a fan community devoted to the Kick Off series.
In 2001-2003, the KOA collaborated closely with Anco developer Steve Screech in an attempt to relaunch the Kick Off and Player Manager series. The attempt came to a hault when Anco closed in 2003.
1989-1992
Kick Off was released in 1989 and offered a gameplay feel unlike any other football games of its time and quickly became very popular.In the period 1989-1992, the Kick Off and Player Manager games were by far the most popular games in the computer football genre. Several expansion disks were released for Kick Off 2, but the eagerly awaited release of Player Manager 2 and Kick Off 3 failed to materialize.
1992-1994
In 1992, Dino Dini left Anco and signed a contract for Virgin Games, who released Goal! in 1993. Even though Goal! was widely regarded as the de facto sequel to Kick Off 2, Goal! differed from previous Kick Off games in crucial ball and player control aspects, resulting in a markedly different gameplay feel.Anco finally released Kick Off 3 in 1994. The game used a side view instead of a top-down view and bore little resemblance to Kick Off 2 apart from the name. Faced by the stiff competition from SWOS and FIFA, the game did not receive much attention upon release.
Gameplay
With Kick Off the ball did not stick to the player's feet but instead was realistically kicked ahead from the players, in a manner similar to that of Nintendo's Soccer, released in 1985 on the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. This added a degree of difficulty and skill requirement at the same time. This, along with features such as action replays, players with different characteristics, different tactics, fouls, yellow cards, red cards, injuries, injury time and various referees with different moods, gave Kick Off and especially its successor, Kick Off 2, lasting appeal. Kick Off enthusiasts still play tournaments on original Amiga computers every year.
Even though versions for other computers followed, the Atari ST and especially the Amiga versions were by far the most popular. Kick Off was first developed for the Atari ST and then ported to the Amiga.
Reception
- ST ActionST ActionST Action was a video game magazine published in the UK during the late 1980s and early 1990s that covered the Atari ST, platform. Some coverage was also given to the Atari Lynx and Atari Jaguar in the later stages of its life, although this was limited to the news section.ST Action was launched in...
- Highest accolade they could give. - Amiga User Int - "Best computer game ever" 97%
- The OneThe One (magazine)The One was a video game magazine in the United Kingdom which covered 16-bit home gaming during the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was first published by EMAP in October 1988 and initially covered computer games aimed at the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, and IBM PC markets.Like many similar magazines,...
- "Ultimate soccer simulation" 96% - ACE - "Brilliant, BUY BUY BUY" 92%
- Amiga Format - "Best footy game to have appeared on any machine" 94%
- ST FormatST FormatST Format was a computer magazine in the UK covering the Atari ST during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Like other members of the Future Publishing Format stable - PC Format and Amiga Format, for instance, it combined software and hardware reviews with columnists, letters pages and a cover...
- "What a game! gem to play. Magic" 90% - C&VG - "Championship winning material" 95%
- The Games MachineThe Games MachineThe Games Machine was a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published CRASH, Zzap!64, Amtix! and other magazines.-History:...
- "Probably the best sports game ever" 92% - Commodore UserCommodore UserCommodore User, known to the readers as the abbreviated CU, was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. A publishing history spanning over 15 years, mixing content with technical and games features...
- "No other footy game can touch it" 90% - Amiga Action - "Surpasses all other football games" 93%
- PCWPersonal Computer WorldPersonal Computer World was a long-running British Computer magazine.Although for at least the last decade it contained a high proportion of Windows PC content , the magazine's title was not intended as a specific reference to this...
- "Nothing short of brilliant" - New Comp Express - "Computer football event of the year"
- Zzap!64Zzap!64Zzap!64 was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 . It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact....
- "So realistic, so fun, and soooo addictive" 96%
Awards
- Awarded UK. 1989 INDINIndinIndin is a village in Kale Township, Kale District, in the Sagaing Region of western Burma.-External links:*...
Best 16 Bit Product - Nominated UK. 1989 INDINIndinIndin is a village in Kale Township, Kale District, in the Sagaing Region of western Burma.-External links:*...
Best Programmer (2nd place, the winner was "Bullfrog" for "Populous") - Awarded 1989 EMAPEMAPEmap Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences...
Images Golden Joystick Award Best 16 Bit Product. (EMAP is a major UK magazine publisher).
Kick Off 2
In 1990, Kick Off 2 was released by Anco. It was even more successful than its predecessor. Kick Off 2 retains the pace and accuracy of the universally acclaimed Kick Off, with a full size multi directional scrolling pitch and the players, markings, goals etc, in correct proportions. Both teams play the game strictly according to tactics. Players move into position to receive passes and gain possession. The ball, as in real game, travels ahead of the player thus making a tackle a matter of skill rather than of choice.Kick Off 2, like real soccer, requires skills in ball control for passing, dribbling, shooting etc. Accuracy in shooting, the ability to swerve or bend the ball to score, when taking free kicks need a lot of practice. The practice option allow to practice the ball skills and set pieces, without being harassed by the opposition and practice the skills to perfection. If two players are to team up, it is an ideal opportunity to practice ONE - TWO up and down the pitch.
Each player on the pitch has a unique combination of attributes and skills suitable for the skill level at which the game is being played. An International is superior to 4th div. player in all departments. One of the most useful options is the provision to set the skill levels of both teams independently. A novice with International Squad can give a professional with 4th Division Squad a run for his money.
There is a league and a cup tournament with sudden death penalty shoot outs, in case of a draw. The teams in the league are on the whole evenly matched but with different styles of play and the player skills to match, that style. There is an option to load your own team from "Player Manager
Player Manager
Player Manager was a football management game, released in 1990. It was notable for being the first game to combine both managing the team and playing as a single player. The match engine borrowed heavily off the Kick Off match engine, which was developed by Dino Dini and Anco, who also created...
" along with your own tactics, to play against another "Player Manager
Player Manager
Player Manager was a football management game, released in 1990. It was notable for being the first game to combine both managing the team and playing as a single player. The match engine borrowed heavily off the Kick Off match engine, which was developed by Dino Dini and Anco, who also created...
" team in a single game or enter league and cup tournament.
The special events selection in the main menu allows data disks to be loaded. Kick Off 2 also provides the facility to change strip colours and on expanded Atari ST's (1 MB or above) there are additional sound effects. The "Action Replay" facility allows you to see the goals at normal pace or in "Slow Motion" and compile your own "Golden Goals" disk. There are 24 referees and have their own distinctive temperaments. Some referee turns a "blind eye" and someone has a pack of red cards to distribute. On the other hand, like human beings, they have good days and bad days.
Super Kick-Off
Super Kick Off is one of the follow-ups of Kick Off and Kick Off 2 for Gameboy, SEGASega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
and SNES. Like all games in Kick Off series the ball wasn't glued to the footballer's foot. But there was a button to stop the player keeping the ball, so non-experienced players could turn easier. Super Kick Off was slower than the original games.
Goal!
In 1992, a sequel, Kick Off 3, was in development. The game wasn't released in this form though, as Dino Dini left Anco in 1992 for Virgin GamesVirgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
, where he developed Goal!
Dino Dini's Goal
Dino Dini's Goal is a soccer computer game released by Virgin Games in 1993. It is considered by many to be the "true" sequel to Kick Off 2 , as Kick Off's creator Dino Dini had moved from Anco and was responsible for all Goal's engineering and game design.Goal! introduced improved dynamics and A.I...
, released in 1993. Goal! featured similar gameplay to Kick Off 2 but also added one-touch passing as seen in Sensible Soccer, player acceleration, and more advanced menu systems and options. Goal! received generally good reviews but did not enjoy the same lasting popularity as Kick Off 2.
Kick Off 3
In 1994, Anco released Kick Off 3 developed by Steve Screech, a totally new game with nothing in common with Kick Off 2. The game didn't receive as good reviews as its predecessors and didn't gain the same popularity.Kick Off 96, 97 & 98
In 1996, Anco released Kick Off 96 for Amiga and Windows. The game received average reviews. In 1997, Kick Off 97 was released for Windows. The game received better reviews than Kick Off 96 but still didn't become popular. Later the same year, Anco released Kick Off 98 which received poor reviews.Others
In 2001, Steve Screech started a project called Ultimate Kick Off with the help of an early established Kick Off Association. The game was released by Anco in 2002 for PCPersonal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
with the name Kick Off 2002. The game received poor reviews and did only sell 5000 copies. and Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
. Later a sequel called Kick Off 2004 was planned but it was never released.
In 2005, Steve Camber started his project called Kick Off 2 competition version. An updated version of the classic game for Amiga improving its features using reverse engineering
Reverse engineering
Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device, object, or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation...
on the original Amiga game.
Games in the series
Kick Off series include the following games:- Kick Off (1989)
- Kick Off Extra Time (1989)
- Franco Baresi World Cup Kick Off (1990)
- Player ManagerPlayer ManagerPlayer Manager was a football management game, released in 1990. It was notable for being the first game to combine both managing the team and playing as a single player. The match engine borrowed heavily off the Kick Off match engine, which was developed by Dino Dini and Anco, who also created...
(1990) - Kick Off 2 World Cup 90 (1990)
- Kick Off 2 (1990)
- Kick Off 2 1MB (1990)
- Kick Off 2: Giants of Europe (Data Disk) (1990)
- Kick Off 2: The Final Whistle (Expansion Disk) (1991)
- Kick Off 2: Return To Europe (Expansion Disk) (1991)
- Kick Off 2: Winning Tactics (Data Disk) (1991)
- Kick Off 2: Super League (Expansion Disk) (1991)
- Kick Off 2: Maths Disk (Expansion Disk) (1991)
- Super Kick-Off (1991)
- Kick Off 3 (1994)
- Kick Off 97 (1997)
- Kick Off 98 (1997)
- Kick Off 2002 (2002)
- Kick Off 2 competition version (2005)
Remakes
The Three times Kick Off 2 World Champion Gianluca Troiano has started a project called Throw In. The game is a remake of Kick Off 2 but with a 3D engine. The fast action gameplay with Kick Off 2 gameplay is remained but with possibility to watch the match and replays from infinitive views and a new attractive GFX engine.The Kick Off Association
The Kick Off Association (K.O.A.) is a nonprofit organization founded by Gunther Wening and Jan Tijssen in 2001 as an umbrella organization for fans of the series.Membership is open to everyone and is free. The Kick Off Association approximately has 1400 members. All members can exchange ideas on the partnership sites, the KO Gathering, Kick Off World and kickoff2.com. The KOA has been involved in the organizations of various international tournaments of Kick Off 2 and arrange a Kick Off 2 World Cup every year.
The KOA actively participates in the research and development of the new versions of Kick Off as Kick Off 2 competition version, Kick Off 2002 and Throw in. All the testers for these games belong to the Kick Off Association.
External links
- KOA - Home of the Kick Off Association, an international and officially endorsed Kick Off community organising Kick Off 2 World Championships since 2001.