Zzap


Roy Of The Rovers

Categories: Review: Software
Publisher: Gremlin
Machine: Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Zzap #45

Roy Of The Rovers

Oh no! Shock horror! Disaster! The Melchester Rovers team has been kidnapped and the charity football match to save the Rovers' ground is only a few hours away! There is only one man who can save them... the one and only Roy Of The Rovers.

The game places you in the boots of Roy Race, Melchester's demon striker, on his search through the town as he tries to find the missing team members. On his travels he must confront hooligans, heavies and the supporters of the opposition; some of these, and certain objects, may be useful (hint, hint). If he manages to find members of the team, play carries on with the match itself. If - on the other hand - he doesn't find his teammates, then the developers will move in and bulldoze the place flat. Rotters!

ME

I've seen bad arcade adventures and I've seen bad football games, and combining two of the worst examples of both that I've ever seen doesn't make them any better! The graphics are atrocious and the sound... yeeeurgh! An abysmal tune plays throughout the adventure section and the effects in the footy section are crap.

Roy Of The Rovers

The gameplay on the other hand... is even worse! Not a lot seems to happen in the adventure section and often you find yourself walking around in circles; the footy game itself... yeuch! This must be one of the worst licences ever. Avoid at all costs.

PG

It's not often we get two games as bad as either section of Roy Of The Rovers together... in fact, I can't remember ever seeing a two-sectioned game as bad as this before! The adventure section is pathetic, with a useless menu system that hardly seems to fit the game at all.

The football game is fatally flawed, even down to the lack of goalposts. The players look as though they've got springs attached to their feet - bouncing about like a bunch of kangaroos. Definitely one to be missed.

Verdict

Roy Of The Rovers

Presentation 31%
Poor layout and a rubbish menu system that just clutters the game up.

Graphics 23%
Flat, bland backdrops and extremely poor sprites.

Sound 21%
Dodgy tune that plays throughout the first sections followed by terrible footy effects.

Roy Of The Rovers

Hookability 19%
An awful affair from the first sighting of the naff title screen...

Lastability 13%
...until you rush forward for the 'off' switch after one go.

Overall 18%
Not very good. That's all there is to it.