Whilst researching my recent Kick Off 2 article I stumbled across a bit of news which I thought might be worth sharing with anybody who reads my blog. Dino Dini, the genius behind Kick Off, Kick Off 2 and Goal is planning to bring Kick Off back to the console world.
He’s currently working on a game called Dino Dini’s Kick Off revival which is due out some time in 2016 exclusively on PS4 and PS Vita. That’s right folks, one of the all time classic football games is getting the eighth generation overhaul.
On the Playstation blog Dini explained how the revival came about;
“The revival started when Shahid Ahmad, Director of Strategic Content at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, took an interest in my story and, to my pleasant surprise, offered to send me a PS Vita development kit. At first the challenge was finding the time to work on a prototype in my spare time. Eventually I was able to show a demo, and Sony offered to help me get the game made. Now I am working on it full time.”
Dini had become disillusioned with the genre he helped to shape feeling that the big games focused too much on licensing and glamour and not enough and playability, something which his games we renowned for. However in a world where indie games are coming around again he has decided to have another crack at the football game market, 25 years after that first iconic title.
What do we know so far? Well it’s going to be 3D but the base view will return to the classic top to bottom view his first games were played in. The ball won’t stick to your feet but you’ll still have that fluid control you had back in the early nineties.
In a youtube posting Dini confirmed he is stripping football games back so the beauty is not in controlling Ronaldo or Messi in front of the cameras, but purely about you and your ability to express yourself. You will need to train. You will need to practice. Those were his words, and they certainly sum up Kick Off 2.
If this is the case you’d expect a healthy online option to be one of the new additions to the series. The original games were put out long before you could pit yourwits against people all over the world from your sofa, but in todays gaming an online version is a must.
Can it challenge the glitz and glamour of the big two? Is it one purely for those with a yearning for yesteryear? Or is it’s legend much stronger than it’s current appeal?
I suspect a generation of thirty something gamers will champion it’s return no matter what role it plays in the future of football games. It’s a bit like The Stone Roses reforming and releasing a new album: it won’t have the same cultural impact as the original but it’ll be loved by many nonetheless.
