The Beautiful Game: The Game

Gameplay

The Beautiful Game: The Game is an attempt to marry the fun and immediacy of the football games of yesteryear with modern multi­player options and a subtle depth to the controls. The overhead viewpoint and an analogue joypad allows full 360 degree control of player direction and precise control of player speed. No need for trick­sticks and complicated combos, dribbling is an art of changes in direction and speed, leaving opponents sliding into oblivion! Game modes include the '5 a side' team game (plus AI keeper) and the 'singles' mode where it's every man (or woman) for themselves. Both modes are played in an arena that is fenced in, so the action never lets up until a goal is scored....and if a sharp finish after a slick passing move, or a long range lob after spotting the 'keeper of his line don't satisfy, then perhaps scoring a screaming diving header or a spectacular overhead kick for the winner will leave you punching the air in delight. It's why it's The Beautiful Game.

Multiplayer

The Game is built to be played in multi­player. Both game modes support up to 10 online players, and 2 players can play on the same local PC and still connect into online games with other people. Games can be played with any number of players, there's no minimum for either mode (though playing on your own gets a bit lonely!) and players can drop in during games if there is space. Players can host their own games or search for other games. There is a simple AI player you can play against in singles mode, and more AI options will be added over time, but this is a game designed to be played with and against other people.

Controller Support

The Beautiful Game: The Game is designed around using an analogue joypad to give full control over player speed and direction. How much you move the stick controls acceleration, and speed control is important as players running flat out can't change direction as quickly as those moving slower...

The Xbox 360 is the default joypad for the game, though other joypads should work. The controls have been kept fairly simple, requiring 3 action buttons: shoot (including diving headers and overhead kicks depending on height of ball and speed and direction of the player), quick pass, and long pass/sliding tackle.

The game can also be played on keyboard, and though it obviously limits the subtlety in the movement, the option is there and can also be used by a second player on the same PC if you only have one joypad.

Stay Updated

This is very much an ongoing home brew project developed in spare time. While we believe the game is fun and playable as it is, it's still only a fraction of what we want it to be, and so it's always being worked on whenever possible and updated regularly. The good news is that once you've installed the game, it will automatically check for any new updates whenever it's ran, so you can be sure you're always up to date.

We're keen to try to make the game as fun as possible for those that play it, so if you have any feedback or suggestions you'd like to share, please email and subscribe to the mailing list for the latest news.