Fever Pitch Soccer
Developer(s)U.S. Gold
Silicon Dreams Studio
(Super NES)
Distinctive Developments (Jaguar)
Publisher(s)
U.S. Gold
  • Genesis
    Super NES
    Jaguar
Director(s)N. Ishihara
Designer(s)Martin Sawkins
Rod Mack
Programmer(s)James Robertson
Artist(s)Colin Wren
Emil Sergiev
Hayden Jones
Composer(s)John Hancock
Max Little
Platform(s)Atari Jaguar
Sega Genesis/Mega Drive
Super NES
Release
1995
  • Genesis
    Super NES
    • EU: August 1995
    • NA: September 1995
    Jaguar
    • NA: 15 December 1995
    • EU: 15 December 1995
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Fever Pitch Soccer, known as Head-On Soccer in North America,[lower-alpha 1] is a soccer video game originally developed and published by U.S. Gold for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in 1995.

Featuring an arcade-style approach to soccer compared to other titles that were released at the time, Fever Pitch Soccer allows players to have the choice of playing across any of the game modes available against with either CPU-controlled opponents or other players with the team of their choosing.[1] Initially launched for the Genesis, it was then released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System a few months after the original version and was later ported to the Atari Jaguar in December of the same year.

Fever Pitch Soccer received generally positive reception from critics since its release on the Genesis/Mega Drive, with praise towards the graphics, sound, gameplay and the ability to upgrade the various abilities of the team players upon winning matches. The Super NES version also received positive reception, with praise to the improved graphics and sound from the Genesis original while the Jaguar version, though criticized for not taking advantage of the hardware, was generally well-received and considered by some reviewers as one of the better titles for the system. Critics, however, compared the game with both the FIFA series from Electronic Arts and the original International Superstar Soccer from Konami.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot showcasing a match between Sweden and Germany (Genesis/Mega Drive version)

Fever Pitch Soccer is a soccer game that is played from an isometric perspective in a two-dimensional environment with sprites. Although it follows the same gameplay as with other soccer titles at the time and most of the sport's rules are present as well, the game opts for a more arcade-styled and slapstick approach of the sport,[2] instead of being a full simulation, as the team players tends to have a lean towards "dirty" play, in addition of having their respective special abilities such as the ability to dive in an attempt to win a free-kick or penalty and as the player's team wins games, they gain access to additional team players. There are also multiple stadiums to choose from, each with their own characteristics.

With the exception of the Jaguar port,[3] the Genesis and SNES versions feature support for multitap accessories, allowing more than two people for multiplayer. Every version also have five types of language settings to choose from at the main menu screen and a password system to resume progress.[4][5]

Modes

There are two main gameplay modes to pick at the menu: Tournament and Exhibition.[1][5] Exhibition, as the name implies, is a non-competitive mode for two or more players, while Tournament is the main mode of the game, where players compete against computer-controlled teams and a password is given out following the successful completion of each game in this mode so that progress can be resumed at any given point.

Teams

There are 51 teams available to choose from before the start of any mode, each one representing their country and having their own in-game behavior.

Development and release

The Jaguar port was originally previewed in early 1995 by French magazine CD Consoles under the name Red Hot Soccer, featuring various differences compared to the final version,[6] and was also showcased at Autumn ECTS '95.[7] Atari Corporation UK marketing manager Darryl Still stated in a 2016 interview that the game was chosen to be ported for the Jaguar as part of Atari's European center of development, which was established in January of the same year with the aim of working alongside small game developers around the region to make titles for the system.[8][9]

Fever Pitch Soccer was first released for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in North America and Europe in 1995 by U.S. Gold. This version was later published in Brazil by Tectoy, and in Australia by Sega under the Sega Sports label. It was then released for the Super Nintendo in Europe on August 1995 and a month later in North America. In Germany, the game is known as Mario Basler: Jetzt geht's los! on both the Genesis/Mega Drive and Super NES, due to being endorsed by the former German winger athlete Mario Basler. It was ported to the Atari Jaguar by Distinctive Developments and published by Atari Corporation in both North America and Europe on 15 December 1995,[10][11][12] under the name Fever Pitch Soccer in both regions (previous North American releases of the game used the title Head-On Soccer). A version for the 32X was planned but never released.[13][14]

Reception

Reviewing the Super NES version, Next Generation said that the game has more strategy than the average soccer sim and is decently fun, especially when using a multitap.[29] GamePro gave both the Genesis/Mega Drive and Super NES versions positive reviews. They commented that the unrealistic gameplay makes it more fast-paced and potentially more fun than other soccer simulations, and were especially pleased with the exaggerated soccer moves which would not be possible in real life. They also remarked that the graphics and sounds of the Genesis/Mega Drive version, while not as good as those of the Super NES version, were more than good enough.[38] Their review of the later Jaguar version said that though it is a port of the Super NES version with no enhancements to make use of the next-generation hardware, "it's still fun".[39] Next Generation also found the Jaguar version retained the fun of the game. The reviewer summarized, "Not exactly the game for soccer idealists, Fever Pitch Soccer is fun, but it's a little on the frivolous side."[27] Next Generation reviewed the Genesis/Mega Drive version of the game, and stated that "Ultimately, Head On Soccer is easy to play and, unfortunately, it's just as easy to stop playing."[28] In 1995, Total! ranked Fever Pitch Soccer 98th on their Top 100 SNES Games summarizing: "Not that accomplished as a full-on footy sim, but the comedy makes it that little bit different."[40]

Notes

  1. ↑ Also known as Mario Basler: Jetzt geht's los! in Germany on the Genesis and SNES.

References

  1. 1 2 "Team EGM - Head-On Soccer - Super NES". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 73. EGM Media, LLC. August 1995. p. 107.
  2. ↑ Sponsel, Sebastian (29 October 2012). "Genesis Reviews - Head-On Soccer". sega-16.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  3. ↑ Rat, The Lab (February 1996). "GamePro Labs - A Player's Guide to Power Peripherals - Feline Friends". GamePro. No. 79. IDG. p. 22. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  4. ↑ "Fever Pitch Soccer - Ahora Puedes Practicar Un Nuevo "Toque" De Balón". Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). No. 46. Axel Springer SE. July 1995. p. 101. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  5. 1 2 Fever Pitch Soccer game manual (Atari Jaguar, US) (PDF)
  6. ↑ "Dossier - Ils Arrivent Sur 64 Bits - 64 Bit Divers - Red Hot Soccer". CD Consoles (in French). No. 4. Pressimage. February 1995. p. 102. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Messe - ECTS Autumn '95 - Atari". Video Games (in German). No. 48. Future-Verlag. November 1995. p. 7. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  8. ↑ Still, Darryl (December 1995). "Letters". Edge. No. 27. Future Publishing. pp. 17–18. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  9. ↑ Battison, Jamie (8 September 2016). "RVG Interviews – Darryl Still". Retro Video Gamer UK. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  10. ↑ "Atari Corp.'s Jaguar 64 hits mass market price; in time for holiday sales, Jaguar now $99". TheFreeLibrary.com. Business Wire. 15 December 1995. Archived from the original on 26 July 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  11. ↑ Castle, Justin (21 July 2018). "Historical Atari Jaguar UK Magazine Advert/Reviews Collection". Issuu. p. 340. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "Jaguar Online STR InfoFile: Online Users Growl & Purr! - CATnips... Jaguar tidbits from Don Thomas (95.12.06)". Silicon Times Report. No. 1149. STR Electronic Publishing Inc. 8 December 1995.
  13. ↑ "Hobby Sports - Fever Pitch - Fiebre de fútbol". Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). No. 45. Axel Springer SE. June 1995. pp. 126–127.
  14. ↑ "X-tra X-clusive News For 32X - Soulstar X". Mega Console (in Italian). No. 16. Futura Publishing. June 1995. p. 18. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  15. ↑ Panda (July 1995). "Super Nintendo Review - Fever Pitch Soccer". Consoles + (in French). No. 45. M.E.R.7. p. 126.
  16. ↑ Davies, Paul (January 1996). "CVG Review - Jaguar - Fever Pitch". Computer and Video Games. No. 170. Future Publishing. p. 38. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  17. ↑ Clays, Simon (July 1995). "CVG Review - Mega Drive - Fever Pitch". Computer and Video Games. No. 164. Future Publishing. pp. 64–65. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  18. ↑ Merrett, Steve (June 1995). "CVG Review - SNES - Fever Pitch". Computer and Video Games. No. 163. Future Publishing. pp. 84–85. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  19. ↑ Salmon, Mike (September 1995). "GP Sports - Reviews - Head On Soccer". Game Players. No. 75. Signal Research. p. 71.
  20. ↑ Salmon, Mike (October 1995). "GP Sports - Reviews - Head On Soccer". Game Players. No. 76. Signal Research. p. 87.
  21. ↑ "Reviews - Mega Drive - Fever Pitch Soccer". GamesMaster. No. 31. Future Publishing. July 1995. p. 53.
  22. ↑ Nini, Nourdine (July–August 1995). "Test - Super Nintendo - Fever Pitch Soccer". Joypad (in French). No. 44. Yellow Media. pp. 76–78.
  23. ↑ Steve; Gus (June 1995). "Megadrive Review - Fever Pitch". Mean Machines Sega. No. 32. EMAP. pp. 64–67.
  24. ↑ Schmiedehausen, Götz (September 1995). "Test Mega Drive - Mario Basler präsentiert: Fever Pitch Soccer". Mega Fun (in German). No. 36. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. p. 72. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  25. ↑ Schmiedehausen, Götz; Girlich, Stephan (August 1995). "Test Super Nintendo - Mario Basler präsentiert: Fever Pitch Soccer". Mega Fun (in German). No. 35. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. pp. 66–67. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  26. ↑ C.S.G. (July 1995). "Punto De Mira: La magia del fútbol - Fever Pitch Soccer (Super Nintendo)". Micromanía (in Spanish). Vol. 3, no. 6. HobbyPress. p. 57.
  27. 1 2 "Finals - Jaguar - Fever Pitch Soccer". Next Generation. No. 16. Imagine Media. April 1996. p. 88.
  28. 1 2 "Finals - Genesis - Head On Soccer". Next Generation. No. 9. Imagine Media. September 1995. p. 102.
  29. 1 2 "Finals - Super NES - Heads On Soccer". Next Generation. No. 10. Imagine Media. October 1995. p. 128.
  30. 1 2 Lassale, Guillaume (September 1995). "Vite Vu - Megadrive/Super Nintendo - Fever Pitch". Player One (in French). No. 56. Média Système Édition. p. 118.
  31. ↑ Iturrioz, Javier (July 1995). "Super Nintendo - Review: Fever Pitch - Olor A Red". Superjuegos (in Spanish). No. 39. Grupo Zeta. pp. 88–89.
  32. ↑ "Test - SNES - Mario Basler Präsentiert: Fever Pitch Soccer". Total! (in German). No. 27. X-Plain-Verlag. August 1995. pp. 14–15. Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  33. ↑ Sauer, Dirk (January 1996). "Atari Jaguar - Reviews - Fever Pitch Soccer". Video Games (in German). No. 50. Future-Verlag. p. 46. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  34. ↑ Sauer, Dirk (August 1995). "Mega Drive - Reviews - Fever Pitch Soccer". Video Games (in German). No. 45. Future-Verlag. p. 72. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  35. ↑ Sauer, Dirk (September 1995). "Super Nintendo - Reviews - F. Pitch Soccer". Video Games (in German). No. 46. Future-Verlag. p. 109. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  36. ↑ Gaksch, Martin (January 1996). "Spiele-Tests - Jaguar - Fever Pitch Soccer". MAN!AC (in German). No. 27. Cybermedia. p. 71.
  37. 1 2 Gaksch, Martin (August 1995). "Spiele-Tests - SN/MD - Mario Basler presents Fever Pitch Soccer". MAN!AC (in German). No. 22. Cybermedia. p. 58.
  38. ↑ Tommy Glide, Greasy Gus (September 1995). "The Sports Page - Head-On Soccer Speeds past Slower 16-Bit Sims". GamePro. No. 74. IDG. p. 76.
  39. ↑ Greasy Gus (April 1996). "Sport Pages - Jaguar - Fever Pitch Soccer". GamePro. No. 81. IDG. p. 93.
  40. ↑ "Top 100 SNES Games". Total! (43): 48. July 1995. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
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