RedCard

Published by Midway
Developed by Point of View
Platform: XBOX
Price £39.99
Released: Out Now

RedCard aims to bring the more violent side of the beautiful game to your XBOX. Most people think the referees in football are blind and that they miss far too many incidents. If you are one of those people, wait until you see the referees in RedCard. You'll never criticise a real referee again, maybe. Fouls are the name of the game here. Not any old fouls mind you. Dirty moves that would look more at home in the world of the WWF are all available to you and it certainly pays to use them, after all the AI doesn't waste any time in trying to cripple your team.

RedCard comes with 50 international teams, the FIFPRO license, so real player names are used, and real stadiums such as Saitama, Daegu and Yokohama. This may not be too different from most 'normal' football games but RedCard has a few features, apart from the violence, that makes it stand out from other football games. This can be seen in the World Conquest mode.

RedCard has a Friendly play and an Advance play mode. The Friendly play option is simply an exhibition game, a one-off friendly game. Entering the Advance play mode offers three further choices. World Conquest is where you pick a team and you have to beat a set number of teams in order to qualify for the World Finals. You'll have to conquer the world, continent by continent. Some of the teams that you'll play are a little out of the ordinary to say the least. Playing penguins on an ice covered football pitch is not something you do everyday, now is it? World Conquest offers many hours play and this feature alone makes the game worthwhile. Finals mode enables you to miss out on the long haul of the World Conquest and go straight to the World Finals. Tournament mode allows you to setup a tournament with 16 teams. This is the mode to play when you have friends round as it's a decent single player affair but a far better mode when the sofa is filled with rivals and you can see their expressions when you flatten their striker in the penalty area and the referee does nothing.

The game's controls are absolutely fine. There are a variety of passes and shots that can be performed. You can also carry out 'over the top' versions of most actions. Using the left trigger in conjunction with an action it is possible to perform superior tackles and shots etc. These boosted actions cost you boost points though. You will see a 1-2-3-4 meter onscreen and performing the boosted actions will use up some of the meter. This meter is for the whole of the team, not just the current player so you have to be selective.

Unlike the other football games on the XBOX at the moment there is no slowdown at all with RedCard. The framerate is constantly smooth throughout. Different camera angles are available and most are playable. The graphics are very good and definitely the quality you would expect from a modern console such as the XBOX. The icy textures on the frozen pitch look great. The way the game goes into dramatic slow motion for a super shot is superb and really adds to the visual appeal of the game. Player likeness' are OK and whilst they aren't identical you can tell whose who.

As per usual with a sports game the commentary is not subtitled. The commentary is OK but to be perfectly honest the game does not suffer as a result of it not being there and it would be tricky to read subtitled commentary and play the game anyway. Still the option to subtitle the commentary would have been nice. In every other respect though RedCard is fine for deaf gamers.

RedCard offers something different for football fans. Like giving you an unlimited amount of money to spend in your favourite shop, it gives you license to use any means possible to get the ball into the back of the net. Super shot's, shoulder barges and super tackles are all at your disposal. It would have been nice if there was an option to play a 'clean' game as RedCard actually offers a very good arcade representation of football. This game wasn't designed to compete with 'realistic' football games such as Pro Evolution Soccer but what it does it does well and it offers a welcome break from the wealth of football games that simply aren't any fun.

Overall Game Rating: 8.0/10 Not quite football as we know it but RedCard offers an arcade version of football and through the World Conquest mode offers plenty of longevity as well as a refreshing take on the sport.

Deaf Gamers comment: Commentary is not subtitled but otherwise the game is fine for deaf gamers.