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The International Superstar Soccer
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Reviews & Features |
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The International Superstar Soccer
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Reviews & Features |
Note: links in italics denote a recent review or review update.
Based on my views of the games at the time of their release, the games will not be compared with subsequent versions, but naturally with previous versions. A 'six months later' section, or equivalent, is included, though, to see how the game stacks up long term. Since the basic gameplay has remained intact for all versions, only the review of the original ISS details the game's primary gameplay elements. Although, it is often re-touched in later, especially, in cross system versions. Read these first if you have never played ISS before. The subsequent versions will only detail gameplay enhancements and peripheral features and options not found in previous versions. Also, expect to find cross-system comparisons of corresponding games (like N64 ISS 98 and PS ISS Pro 98) in a specific review. While ISS games follow the same basic formula for gameplay, subtle variations and design approaches are apparent when analysed deeper. The ISS Realm has exposed and dissected all these in order to give you the most comprehensive analysis possible. And if we have missed anything, let us know!
Above and accompanying the review links, all initial boxes are PAL (Australia and Europe) versions of the game, whilst the secondary ones, are NTSC (Japan & North American). Interesting to note that Konami eventually had to seek some form of endorsement in the form of Ravenalli and Ince for PAL and Valderama for NTSC in an effort to gain more mainstream sales. Whilst the ISS name and associated sublime gameplay is all that's needed to persuade informed gamers to purchase, in the business world, profits are the bottom line and that dreadful US ISS 64 box no doubt played a part in the even more dreadful game of Fifa 64 outselling the incomprehensibly superior ISS 64 it in that country. This evolved to the point that ISS 2000 gots a Major League Soccer endorsement for the North American market, with the game called MLS on N64 and ESPN MLS GameNight on PS.
Generally, the games are graded in Gameplay, Control, Graphics, Sound, Options & Overall and are rated in whole numbers out of 10, with "5" being the score for an average game. The ISS Realm finds it silly how people can be so precise in scoring games when using percentages and fractions, especially when these scores are not even part of an equation or average. In marking the game, the total mark is in fact the Gameplay mark with the Control mark affecting it slighlty. The Overall mark is then reduced when periperal aspects like sound, graphics, lastability and options are clearly not up to scratch (which is rare). Conversely, games don't get "bonus" overall marks either for these things. Basically, how the game plays is exactly how it is rated. This is what the numbers mean:
