I have played some great sports video games in 2012 including a number of soccer games. Soccer is not my favorite sport, but I like playing soccer games on consoles and mobile devices. After playing Dream League Soccer on my iPad, I can honestly say that this is the best and most realistic soccer game that I have played so far.
Availability
Dream League Soccer is a 99.1-MB downloadable application for iPad, iPod touch 3rd and 4th generations, iPhone 4 and 4S. The application is available from the iTunes App store for free. Make sure to install iOS 5 or higher before downloading the game. I played it on iPad 2, and I could not believe the game play, graphics, sounds, and management features.
Game play
I am not a fan of the virtual joystick, but I got used to the controls for Dream League Soccer fairly quickly. Use the joystick to move the players. Three separate buttons pass, shoot, and clear the ball. Any of the buttons will perform the tasks, but B is meant for passing, and A is meant for shooting while C clears the ball or makes long passes downfield. Passing is easy because I can lead the receiver, and he will get to the ball -- unless the defender beats him to it. The hard part for me is aiming at the goal. That takes a lot of practice, and the goal keepers are great at blocking. It took me well into my fifth game before I scored a goal. The computer also misses most of its shots, which keeps the game more competitive.
I always have trouble at defense in any sports game. Dream League Soccer lets me control one player. Button C selects the player closest to the ball. B tries to steal the ball from the dribbler, and A performs a sliding tackle. I usually get a called for a foul when I slide tackle, and I keep getting yellow and red cards, and this game calls plenty of fouls. More practice should take care of that.
Graphics and sounds
I like my sports game to look real. The iPad 2 version has fabulous graphics. Some games make the players move herky-jerky, but in Dream League Soccer, the players' movement looks natural as they run, pass, shoot, and slide. Close-ups show the elation or frustration that go along with making or missing the shots. Players argue the calls, and officials slap out the red and yellow cards quickly. I also like my sports games to have realistic announcing. Except for some repetition, the announcing sounds natural with both praise and criticism for respective performance. Crowd noise enhances the realistic features.
Management
I liked this feature most of all. Dream League Soccer lets users play owner and general manager as well as player and coach. I can build my own team. Start with a basic team and earn coins to use to sign more players. Earn coins by winning games and watching advertising videos. Use the coins to sign new players, make deals, and send either individuals or the whole team to special training sessions for improvement. Training sessions include passing, shooting, goal keeping, and fitness. Build the team to compete in the highest levels of competition. The game allows only three training sessions each week, so choose carefully.
Online play
Use Wi-Fi and Game Center to compete against others from anywhere in the world. I can never win this way, but those who play well will really enjoy the competition. Game Center lets users upload their best plays to YouTube and compete in monthly goal scoring competitions.
Great soccer fun
Soccer is not my favorite sport, but I really like Dream League Soccer. True soccer fans will have a great time building the best teams they can and seeing them win it all. Even better, this is all free.
Source:
iTunes Preview, Dream League Soccer, itunes.apple.com.
Raymond grew up in the days of Atari and watched the progression of home video game consoles. He has played sports games on most consoles and personal computers as they became available. He now owns multiple game systems and enjoys most professional sports games. Follow Raymond on Twitter @RayBureau
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