Soccer Super Star (Android)

WHAT IS IT?

In “Soccer Star” you assume the role of a soccer player attempting to climb the professional soccer ranks by completing "games" broken down into individual "plays".

GAMEPLAY

In “Soccer Star” you assume the role of a soccer player attempting to climb the professional soccer ranks. Each “game” is broken down into 1-3 “scenarios”, which are essentially scoring chances. Once a player has control of the ball, the game “pauses”, allowing you to see your players and the defensive setup. You slide your finger to dictate where you want the ball to go, and play resumes. If one of your players gets it, they dribble until they’re in position, and the game pauses again, letting you set up the next pass. This continues until you either score a goal, or the opposing team gains control of the ball.

There are no “move” limits, so you can take your time setting up the perfect play. The only limit imposed are the “passing lines” visible during each move. Your pass must be within those lines in order for it to be “accepted”. If you attempt a pass outside of these lines, the lines flash to remind you of the rules, and you’re required to make another move that falls within the lines. That means you can’t just fire the ball to any open player, and gives the game an almost puzzle-like feel.

The ball's path must stay within the yellow lines.

In order to complete a “match”, the player must score a goal in all of the game’s scenarios, without the opposing team gaining control of the ball. The number of plays vary from game to game: There can be as few as one, or as many as three. If the player fails at any point during the match, they must either watch an ad to continue where they left off, or start over from the beginning. 

You’re also given a star rating at the end of every match. The way(s) that you earn them can vary from game to game. Sometimes, you just have to complete the match to earn all three. Other times, certain players or spots on the field (or in the goal) will have a star. In order to earn it, the ball must travel through the starred area (or to the starred player). In the case of players, they don’t have to be the ones to score; they simply have to make contact with the ball at some point.

And that’s pretty much the entire game, in a nutshell.

There are a few little annoyances that gradually add up to more over time. For example, the difficulty seems to randomly ramp up for certain levels, before dipping back down again. This would make sense for “championships”, or other high-pressure matches, but there doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason on when this happens.

Most games the opposing team’s goalie will struggle to make all but the simplest of saves. I mean, there were times where even I was upset the moron couldn’t keep it out of the net, and I was the one trying to score. But then, out of nowhere, he’ll piece together a string of three (or sometimes more) back-to-back saves that defy all logic. Ditto that for the opposition’s defense. For the most part, they just stand back and let you develop your play, acting more like obstacles than actual AI. Sure, they challenge the ball once in a while, but not aggressively. 

Then, out of the blue, they’ll attack the ball. They’ll take it from players in mid-dribble. They won’t give your team any breathing room whatsoever. Passes that work almost 100% of the time are broken up with relative ease. Your players will lose the ball without the appearance of even trying not to lose the ball.

Then the next level hits and the opposing team is back to their usual “chill” selves. I wouldn’t say the default difficulty is “too easy”, but it’s definitely closer to that than hard. 

There are also an abundance of questionable AI decisions, both on the part of your own team, and the game itself. For example, you’ll feed the ball to a player who’s all alone. He’s onsides, and ahead of the defense, in prime scoring position with no one else anywhere close. Suddenly, he’ll just stop a mile away from the goal, forcing you to either fire a low-percentage shot on goal, or to make an additional blind pass to a teammate who may or may not be there. You can swivel the camera around to look, but your field of vision barely extends beyond the “passing lines”. In these situations, there are often to visible options, frequently ending in failure.

A random gameplay image that sums everything up.

In other plays, you’ll pass the ball to a player with a solid angle who looks like they’ll wiggle free for a clear shot (or pass). But then they’ll inexplicably double back and turn around, forcing you to play the ball to someone further back, out of scoring position.

The last issue is the complete inconsistency of when a play is considered dead. Sometimes, it ends when the opposing team simply touches the ball. Other times, it ends after an opposing player dribbles it a few times, giving your team a chance to steal it back. Yet, in other situations, the opposition will clear the ball deep into your own defensive zone, yet the play is inexplicably still live, giving you an opportunity to move the ball all the way down the field in order to score.

Any of the above situations would feel more valid if there were clear guidelines established beforehand. But it gets frustrating when you expect the play to keep going, and it’s just suddenly ruled as a failure. Especially when it’s in the third and final “scenario”, resulting in having to either watch an ad to continue where you left off, or to replay all of them in order to advance.

On the positive front, I do like how the situations never feel entirely “scripted”. Passing the ball to the same player in the same situation often yields different results. For example, you might pass to a guy who then loses control of the ball and hands it over to the opponent, causing you to fail. Then, on your next try, you might pass the ball to the same guy, and he manages to shake the defender, resulting in a clear scoring (or passing) chance. 

While it can be somewhat irritating in practice (if he wiggled free this time, why didn’t he just do that last time) it also speaks to the unpredictable nature of sports. If you were to take any famous highlight from any sport, and attempt to recreate it multiple times - with the exact same players in the exact same position on the field - the outcome would likely be different every time. A successful “Hail Mary” in American football, for example, would end in an incomplete pass more often than not. Each play depends on several variables that all have to fall in place to deliver a successful outcome.

That makes the AI in “Soccer Star” feel “adaptable” and somewhat true-to-life. Sure, sometimes it comes down to junk AI (it is a scripted game, after all), but when it leads to a highlight-reel goal, it also makes it feel like your decisions matter. And that can lead to a sense of accomplishment, no matter how small. Or brief.

GAME MODES

Speaking to its complete lack of variety, “Soccer Star” offers nothing outside of the main game mode. There are no events, no “PvP” option, no “practice” mode…nothing to break up the monotony of the base game.

In other words, if you find yourself unimpressed with the first few levels, then nothing following those are going to win you over.

UI

The UI is as simple as it gets.

While the game may quickly wear out its welcome, the simple design does wonders for its user interface. Navigating through the game is as simple as it gets. The main screen shows you where you left off in your current season. Continuing requires only a single tap of the screen. You can also scroll to results for previous seasons, and return to the current match with the tap of a single button.

You can "upgrade" your character's appearance, but that's about it.

If you want to change your character’s appearance, simply tap on your character’s avatar at the top left of the screen. Here, you will see all the unlocked options. You can add features like facial hair, change your hairstyle, or even get a new pair of shoes. The further you progress, the more upgrades become available. Unfortunately, none of them boost your character's stats; they're purely cosmetic.

AUDIO

The audio in “Soccer Star” is rather sparse, which also matches the content level. Even with outstanding sound effects, it’s not like the game would be any more varied or immersive.

There’s some lame menu music, and a couple sound effects when you tap on menu buttons. In-game audio consists pretty much entirely of crowd sounds, including inaudible chants and cheers when a goal is scored; and the ball striking a player’s feet or head (which sound pretty much the same in either case). Occasionally, an otherwise absent announcer screams “gooooooal!” And that’s really about it. These help to boost the atmosphere slightly, but not really enough that the sound demands to be on. 

I play it muted every time and don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything.

CONTROLS

The controls in “Soccer Star” are pretty limited: Slide your finger where you want the ball to go. It’s as simple as that. A whitish line follows your finger on the screen, giving you a visual cue as to the path you’ve chosen. If the path is outside of the “passing lines” - marked as two dotted lines that represent the area in which the pass has to go - then the lines will flash and you’ll have to try again.

For the most part, the ball does follow the path of your finger pretty well. You can even curve the ball (within reason), which is a nice workaround for passes (or shots) you want to make outside of the clear passing lines. Obviously, the end result isn’t always what you want (other players may intercept your pass, for example) but I can’t think of an instance where the ball didn’t go where I “told” it to go.

GRAPHICS/PERFORMANCE

Graphics are adequate for a mobile game. The models are 3-D and look somewhere in the realm of “PlayStation 2”-era graphics. In other words, they won’t wow anyone, but they’re sufficient enough that they also won’t serve as a distraction.

The graphics are acceptable, but nothing noteworthy.

The game runs smoothly on my Pixel 7 Pro with no lag or other issues during gameplay. The only exception seems to be at the end of longer gaming sessions. Then, the game suddenly has issues loading certain textures.  I went through a few levels with large chunks of the “field” missing, leaving only empty white spots in its place. It reminded me a lot of playing old NES cartridges, which are notoriously prone to such visual glitches.

Continuing would eventually lead to the game completely freezing. This issue happened multiple times, but generally occurred after the twenty-minute mark. “Fixing” it was as simple as closing out and restarting it. It also served as a helpful reminder that I’d been playing the game for too long, anyway. 

I never had any such issues during shorter sessions.

ADS/GREED

The ad load is pretty much standard: Completing full levels requires the viewing of a (skippable) ad. If you fail a scenario, sometimes you get the option to repeat it for free. Other times it requires the viewing of a 30-second, non-skippable ad. There are random occasional ads here and there after performing a non-game function, such as entering and exiting a menu. While it’s annoying, these ads are also skippable. 

Failure usually requires viewing an ad to retry, but is sometimes generous.

Since there are no character upgrades, there aren’t even voluntary free ads to “level up” quicker. In fact, the only voluntary ads are to unlock additional jersey numbers whenever you switch teams. There are nine total numbers available, and you get three for free. Watching an ad unveils three more, which you can do up to two times to reveal all nine. Keep in mind, however, that all the numbers are randomized, so even unlocking them all might not reveal a number you want. It’s a rather curious, odd system.

But the game’s most impressive aspect: There are no in-game purchases. None. I have to say that this is somewhat refreshing, as most games tend to shove in-game purchases down the user’s throat; “Soccer Star” never once asks for real cash. I guess that makes the ad load even more bearable, as the developers need some way to pay the bills.

FUN

I have to admit that I’m not a soccer fan in the least. I find the game to be rather dull overall (why can’t they just shorten the damn field). Yet while I wouldn’t consider myself a fan, I do respect the sport. It has a huge worldwide following, which has to count for something. And as little as I care, I find myself getting sucked into following the World Cup when it comes around every four years. Not enough to actually watch the games, but I do view highlights of every match.

All that being said, no matter how much you love the game, “Soccer Star” simply doesn’t have enough to deliver long-term entertainment. I cleared exactly 400 levels, mainly because I wanted to see if there was a way to "finish" the game. I mean, after so long, even the best players have to retire, right?

I played this game for far too long.

Unfortunately, I grew bored of it before I discovered the answer to that question. Actually, to be clear, I grew bored of it long before season 22, but continued out of sheer determination to see how many goals I could score. What can I say? I’m competitive (and obsessed with stats). And for the record, it seems there is no end. Playing 22 seasons would put my character at 40 years old (assuming he's 18 in his first season). He still looks exactly the same 20 years in as he did at the start. So realism doesn't seem to be a focus.

There just isn’t enough variety to warrant any kind of lasting “fun”. Every level follows the exact same mechanics of the previous one. There aren’t any additional game modes to change things up or to make things interesting.

Hell, there aren't even any incentives for collecting "stars", or even for your character's performance. In fact, the main character serves to purpose at all, except to move the loose "narrative" forward. There aren't MVP awards, or all-star games, or any other reasons to strive for excellence. The game progresses on to the next match no matter which player on your team scores goals. That means whether your character has 0 goals, or 30 at the end of a season, nothing changes.

At the end of each season, you can choose to stay with your current team, or to join another in a different league. Your choice has no bearing on anything. The AI is the same. There is no increase (or decrease) in difficulty no matter where you play. The only difference is the color of your uniforms and the teams you play.

It would be nice if there was some reason, no matter how small, for your character to play an actual role in the game. Like the inclusion of "contracts", or something of the sort, where you're signed with a team of your choice in the beginning. Maybe certain, basic "goals" can be included as "clauses" in the contract - i.e. score 20 goals in a season - that serve as metrics as to how "well" you're doing. If you don't meet those terms, then you can be traded. If you hit the milestones, then you can earn extra cash - which would be tracked to give you an overall idea of your performance - in the form of bonuses. At the end of the season, your team could offer you an extension to stay (with a salary raise, of course) if you met their criteria. Or choose to trade you for the "next big thing".

Or maybe a "fan" gauge where you start off with a modest fan base, and the count gradually increases for every goal you score.

These are just a couple ideas that could help promote replayability. Neither of them alone (or even both together) would "fix" the game's shortcomings. It would still wear thin pretty quickly. But they would certainly help to push it in the right direction.

IN CONCLUSION

If soccer is your thing, you might get a little more mileage out of it…but I highly doubt it. “Soccer Star” is a game that offers some marginal excitement by allowing players to craft some highlight reel soccer goals. But a lack of game modes or anything more in-depth prevents it from being anything more than a quick time-waster. Character customization is incredibly limited, and there are no ways to “level up” or to boost their performance. On the plus side, there are no in-game purchases, which is definitely a breath of fresh air in this era dominated by “pay to win” games. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to overcome the game’s complete lack of substance.

OVERALL: 3.5/10.

Helicopter Escape (Android)

 WHAT IS IT?

“Helicopter Escape” is an action game in which you’re stationed in a helicopter (hence the name). However, you are not the one attempting to do the escaping: Most levels consist of protecting a running human by blasting the hordes of creatures attempting to attack them. Other levels find you circling a building, taking out a tower full of baddies level by level. 

UI

I'm consistently shocked at just how in-depth many mobile games are. There are often menus and submenus, separate "event" menus and side menus, "free upgrade" menus...sometimes it's easy to get lost in all the various options.

Somewhat refreshingly, "Helicopter Escape" is devoid of these confusing navigational issues. Playing the game is straightforward, requiring just a single click upon startup to continue where you left off. Seeing your helicopter skins, avatar, and weapons are also easily navigatable from the main screen. Ditto that for the additional "events", which are prominently displayed from the game's initial menu and reachable with a single tap of the display.

Unfortunately, the game's simple user interface comes at the expense of a complete lack of variety.

GAMEPLAY

There are two types of levels in "Helicopter Escape", and only two types of levels. The typical one involves attemping to save damsels in distress by shooting at creatures attempting to kill the running woman (or "women") from the safety of your own helicopter. The level is completed when the female makes her escape by jumping onto the helicopter's landing gear, allowing it to fly away to safety. Failure occurs when one of the monsters manages to make contact with the innocent character.

While the game runs semi-fast and frantic, it does "slow down" into a near bullet-time mode when a bad guy gets close to the would-be victim. In these moments, exclamation points appear above the closest creature, giving the player extra time to aim and fire. This is a welcome addition, although one that makes an already easy game even easier.

The "skyscraper" levels are fun...at first.

Interspersed with the "escape" levels are the "skyscraper" levels. In these, the player is still stationed in a helicopter, but the person they are trying to save is themself. The 'copter circles around the perimeter of the building, slowly revealing bad guys in each room. "Bullet time" is then activated, giving the player time to pick off the unsuspecting baddies before they are noticed. If the evil henchmen notice the player, exclamation points appear above their head. This means they are about to fire back. But the slowness of the action - along with the fast response time of the controls - means these levels are still far too easy.

These levels are initially the most fun, but like everything else in the game, quickly degrades into mind-melting monotony after about the tenth time.

GAME MODES

Like many action games, “Helicopter Escape” offers up a few different “events” and “game modes”. But unlike many games, none of them stray from the core gameplay. Not even a little bit.

For example, at the time of this writing there is a “robot” event going on. But that just means instead of shooting aliens or zombies, you’ll be shooting robots. It’s still the same side-scrolling levels with the same exact mechanics as any other level. A previous event was based on the “Matrix” games, featuring the player blasting loads of agents, while the defenseless running characters were “good guys” from the movie franchise.

Robot "event".

In other words, while there are “technically” other game modes, none are actually different game modes. It’s just the same ol’ thing presented in a slightly more unique way.

GRAPHICS

The graphics are cutesy.

The graphics are “light” and “playful” given the subject matter. While there’s the constant threat from waves of menacing monsters, it’s never scary; the action aspects are the focal point over everything else. The guns are also cartoony and over-the-top; some might be based in reality, but they’re generally given “flame” skins or other cosmetics additions that make them less “threatening” than real firearms.

It should be noted that the game does contain blood, by default. This can be turned off in settings. Like the rest of the game, it’s not flagrant or too excessive: a brief “splatter” shoots out once a baddie is struck and quickly dissipates. It should also be noted the blood is only red when facing human enemies. Shooting zombies results in green splashes while robots spew out black “oil”. It’s nothing that would be uncomfortable for most teens, though it would likely be too much for younger kids.

There's blood, but it's not excessive.

AUDIO

Much like the game, the audio is thin and monotonous. The music sounds like it was taken from the public domain and adds nothing to the experience. The gun sounds are tinny and unrealistic. I guess both are kind of in line with the cartoonish graphics, but they certainly don’t create any sort of fun - or lasting - atmosphere.

The explosions sound like basic explosions, and each fallen creature elicits a generic “uh” or “oh” upon getting hit. Since there’s no “story”, there’s no spoken dialogue, either. This is one of many mobile games that you can play with the sound off and miss nothing. This can be a good thing when playing in public, but a not-so-great thing when you’re looking for a more immersive experience.

AD LOAD/ GREED LEVEL

The ad levels are a little overabundant. There are skippable ads (after around 5 seconds) following each round, which run around a minute in length. Free upgrades and bonuses require the viewing of a non-skippable thirty second ad. This is pretty standard for a free mobile game.

It's nice to be greeted by an ad first thing.

In addition to that, there are pop-ups for upgrades that require real cash immediately upon "booting" the game. It's presented in the "sale" format seen above. This is the equivalent of a "high-pressure" sales pitch, as it makes people think they might miss out if they don't purchase it right away. I can tell you from experience that no upgrades are even remotely necessary.

I made it to level 230 (no judging, please) without even feeling the need to spend a dime. Many of the "improvements" (outfit, helicopter) are purely cosmetic. Hell, given the near pointlessness of weapon upgrades, one could argue that even the gun upgrades are purely visual. The higher the weapon level, the more bullets shoot out at once, which sounds like it makes them more powerful. But since most enemies take just one hit to kill, and there's no "cooldown" period between shots, they don't offer any extra noticeable damage.

Ads are apparently stapled to the bottom at all times.

Arguably the most egregious example of the game's ad load can be found plastered at the bottom of the in-game screen. There's an omnipresent "banner" that runs the entirety of every level. I have to admit that I never even noticed it until I took screenshots. I also must admit that not once did I ever accidentally tap on one during gameplay. After all, the action takes place well above that area. So while it's far enough out of the way that it's not much of a distraction, it's still an added tactic I don't think I've ever seen in another mobile game. One that I would go so far as to label "excessive."

So the ad tolerance will mostly depend on how obsessed the player is with acquiring upgraded cash and skins. At first, I watched a few videos to get extra money so I could upgrade my guns quicker. Until I eventually realized none of it mattered. After that, I was able to cruise through levels with minimal ad intrusion. And while some gamers who strive to have the “best of the best” might feel compelled to spend some cash, it’s nowhere near necessary to progress.

There are some pretty expensive, completely unnecessary upgrade options.

CONTROLS

The controls are very responsive. Firing the gun consists of tapping the screen where you want the bullets to go. Since you’ll be firing loads of bullets at large waves of baddies, you’ll be furiously tapping the screen. And the bullets go exactly where you tap, as many times as you tap it.

This actually leads me to the conclusion that the controls are almost too responsive. No matter which weapon you’re using, the bullets always go exactly where you want them to. That might sound like a good thing, but it’s one of many things that make upgrading guns pretty well pointless. You would think lower level weaponry would be less accurate at first, and then get more and more accurate with each upgrade. But that’s not the case here. 

At any rate, I’d still give the controls pretty high marks, as there’s no lag in between tapping and waiting for your gun to fire. It’s actually kind of impressive; probably the most stand-out aspect of the entire game.

FUN

Here’s one area where the score takes a hit; it’s just not that fun. Actually, let me rephrase that: It’s fun for a very short while. Until you realize that every level - and event - is more or less the same and that nothing really matters. While some may enjoy “upgrading” their helicopter skins, there’s ultimately no point to it. Even the more expensive helicopter upgrades are just that: skins. They don’t provide any stat upgrades or other useful powerups.

Any single screenshot can more or less sum up the entire game.

Same with the guns, something I feel I’ve already harped on at length. Just out of curiosity, I went and played level 220 with a “weaker” gun; the first one I acquired beyond the initial “default” gun. I still beat the level with no problems. If that doesn’t prove the pointlessness of enhancing weaponry, I don’t know what else possibly could.

I kept playing the game as long as I did out of sheer boredom: I was sick and wanted a way to pass some time. It definitely did that, but by the end I was often more bored than I was before I started. What does that equal…negative fun? I won’t go that far, but let’s just say there’s very little in the way of replayability. And that is, without question, its biggest downfall.

IN CONCLUSION

The graphics are cartoony and somewhat appealing, and the game is fun…for about ten minutes. Then, the reality of limited game modes and ultra-repetitive gameplay sets in, along with pointless upgrades that don’t add any excitement whatsoever. If you’re just looking for a way to kill time over a short period of time - a doctor’s waiting office, for example - this could give you what you’re looking for. Anything beyond that, and there’s not enough here to create any sort of lasting interest.

OVERALL: 2.5/10.