League Challenge Review
The magazines League Challenge review are for Atari and ZX Spectrum, so we have also choosen to play and try those versions out. From a gameplay perspective they are one hundred percent the same. League Challenge is one of those early soccer manager games. You are in charge of the squad and the club. You decide who plays and who does not play – you prepare them with the adequate training for the games and the season in whole.
Be prepared to sell them and bargain the coming stars.
Before each round you are shown the stats of the opponent and need to line-up your best squad to win. The CPU calculates a random algorithm for you or for the opponent to score. All the other fixtures are calculated in the same order with the only difference that when you play the goals and saves are simualted in graphics. You start in fourth division and want to reach the premier league.
The major differences between the two versions is that the Spectrum one is so slow in generating the results and the table. Also the simulation graphics are nicer on the Atari.
But the Atari really lacks a title screen as the Spectrum has.
We definitely recomend the Atari version if you are to play the game.
From the Magazines (ZX Spectrum)
Earwig-oh! Earwig-oh! Earwig-oh! Yep, footle fans, here comes another in this month’s load of footle games. Can you take on the responsibilities of soccer managership and lead your team from the bottom of division four to the top of the league? This game’ll put you to the test. It’s a cheap and cheerful cut-down version of more thorough (and expensive) management simulations. You must pick, train and field your best team, while at the same time coping with the transfer market, injuries to your players and the different skills of your opponents in defence, midfield and attack. A cinch, eh? There are four divisions of sixteen clubs and you always start at the bottom of division four.
You only have eleven players in your squad to begin with, so you’ll have to start trading early in the transfer market to build up your numbers to the maximum of fifteen. Be careful that you don’t plunge to more than E250.000 in the red, though, or you’ll be relegated back to the bottom of division four. The game goes through mid-week transfers, training and the match itself. Here you have a chance before the game to change your team to counter your opponents. strength.
Once the match is over the other results come in and a new league table is given, so that you can see whether you’ve gone up or down. It’d be churlish to chastise this cheapie as a cheapskate rip-off, but if you’re really Interested in the great game, maybe you’d be better off saving your money and going for the real thing!
Rick Robson in Your Sinclair Magazine March 1987
The Magazines (ATARI 800/XL/XE)
THIS is a game of management that allows you as a football critic to take the hot seat and prove your worth by taking charge of a league team. You have the chance of aiming for Division One, and maybe even completing the double by being voted Manager of the Year. League Challenge is loaded in two parts — the main program followed by a short amount of data. Once loaded you are asked to sign on the dotted line and select your team. There are 64 names available to choose from or you can use your own 14 character name.
The screen displays are mainly text but there are some graphics during matches. You start the actual game with the mid-week options —looking over your playing staff as well as your club’s statistics. You can load and save data here to allow you that mid-season break to relax. The save option only saves the necessary data, so the main program has to be loaded first. Mid-week decisions lead you into the preparation for your first league match. Your earlier training choice may well determine your fate on Saturday: Do you choose an easy session or do you put your players through their paces? It’s up to you, but the cost of training increases with your level of choice. Now it’s on to team selection time.
The ratings for defence, midfield and attack are shown along with both teams’ fitness rating allowing comparisons to be made. Individual players have both a skill and a fitness level which vary from one to nine. The former remains the same throughout the season but, fitness will fluctuate depending on whether a player is resting or playing. You can change your team’s formation by selecting and removing players to field a combination which bet matches your opponents.
League Challenge then switches to a very basic graphics mode which is, however, sufficient for playability. So sit back and watch the action as the goalmouth highlights are shown. Once it is all over, the match result is displayed along with any injuries incurred. The results of the other matches in your division are also shown with a full league table. Your weekly turnover is shown at the end of each match — you can go into debt, but only to the amount of £250,000. Pass this and the club is declared bankrupt and the game starts afresh. So be careful when you buy players. But make sure you have the money in the bank before writing that cheque because it won’t bounce — you will — right back to the start.
Players available for transfer are shown from time to time and as a maximum of 15 players is allowed in a squad at any one time remember to leave a space for that star signing. There are 15 league matches to be played in a season together with knockout cup matches. An important consideration for cup matches is fitness. If a replay is necessary the option for team re-election is not available, so it may be advisable to use players with a high fitness rating. When the season is over you receive a bonus payment which depends on your league position. The top three teams are promoted while the bottom three are relegated. You keep the same players for the start of the following season, but their skill and fitness levels may change.
All in all it is a good game — not an original theme, but it does have variations on other similar ones. It’s very easy to use and offers enter-tainment for both novice and expert. The screens change quickly and only the match highlights are shown, so there’s no time for tedium to set in. Sound could have been used to add atmos-phere to the match highlights: It would have been nice to hear the roar of the crowd when a goal was scored. The graphics are a little on the weak side and the game deserved more time and effort being devoted to this area. But overall playability is the most important factor. Everyone likes glossy graphics and sound but if —as in this case — the game is addictive and enjoyable then that’s what counts the most.
Keith Pattison in Atari User Vol 3 Nr 12 April 1988
On the Covers
Manage your favourite football team your way. No more matches lost because the manager chose the wrong team or played a wrong combination. Now is your chance to go for Division One. Maybe even win the league and cup double. Who knows, you may even find the manager’s job is more difficult than you thought.
Which one is your favourite version?
Our personal favourite is the one for Commodore 16/Plus. Mostly for the more classic Atlantis framing of the cover but also for the nice selection of green colours. The grass is green.
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