FootLOL: Crazy Soccer Review

Judging a game by its name is a little too easy sometimes. A name like FootLOL doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, and it turns out that’s a reasonably fair assumption to make in this fcase. It’s a briefly entertaining idea, but one that ends up cruelly punishing those who play too well - which is mostly everyone.

To spice up the usual kind of soccer playing we’d expect, FootLOL throws in various gadgets and weapons that help dictate your chances of success. You don’t actually have much control over your players as they automatically work their way towards the goal. Instead, you can use things such as land mines to blow your enemies away or shields to stop them from doing that to your guys.

At first it’s kind of fun to do. Placing a land mine in just the right spot can cause an enemy to go flying across half the screen, easily opening things up for a quick goal. It’s a little too easy though, which causes one significant problem.

To progress through each stage of FootLOL you have to complete an objective. These start out being as simple as ‘beat the opponent’ but then they switch to requiring you to win with a certain score. Trying to win 3-2 when your opponents are far from bright, and it’s all too easy for you to score, is surprisingly tough. And there’s also the awkwardness of being punished for being too good at something.

That’s around when the novelty wears off for FootLOL. It’s trying so hard to be something different that, ultimately, it just feels a little too silly for comfort. You can unlock new things as you go along, which help a bit, as well as pick up (or purchase) some stars to unlock a multiplayer mode, but FootLOL is rarely more than a fleeting good idea.