Can old-school Sensi Soccer work on XBLA?

February 28th, 2007, 20:08 Posted By: wraggster

via CVG

Sensible Soccer, the classic arcade football hit, is headed for to Xbox Live Arcade using the gameplay from fan favourite Sensible World of Soccer 96/97.

In this Q&A, Codemasters director of casual gaming, Nick Pili details exactly what new features will be built into the game, such as Xbox Live support, and what aspects of the classic will be left untouched.

Could you briefly outline your involvement with the Sensible World of Soccer (SWOS) project?

Pili: During a series of meetings last summer with Microsoft at the 2006 Casual Games Conference in Seattle we were discussing a number of XBLA game opportunities.

Microsoft were keen to have an easy to pick-up-and-play football game for the XBLA platform - a Sensi type game seemed like the obvious choice.

After presenting the business case internally for a SWOS XBLA game, supported by the overwhelming interest of the SWOS community it was a no-brainer to take this project forward.

Is this version of SWOS just an online version of last year's Sensible Soccer?

Pili: No - the game is different from last year's. We have listened very carefully to the Sensi communities' comments after last year's game and I'm pleased to confirm the following:

In this version the user will be able to play two main modes of SWOS. Mode 1 will be the original Amiga game (we haven't touched the core game code) with enhanced graphics and enhanced game features.

Mode 2 will be the actual original Amiga game from the mid 90s. Again we haven't altered the game code in any way.

Will the gameplay differ from the Amiga/PC/SNES version?

Pili: No - as stated above it will be the EXACT core gameplay that we all remember from the Amiga/PC/SNES versions.

Which version of SWOS does this game's code use (either of the all-conquering 95/96 or 96/97 versions hopefully)?

Pili: To produce the authentic SWOS experience we'll be using the original source code used in SWOS 96/97, so you can celebrate now! The core gameplay will be untouched, and therefore identical to that within the SWOS96/97 game.

Is there any new or changed audio (crowd chants or songs)?

Pili: Yes - in Mode 1 of the game (see question 2) we're improving the audio and crowd chants.

Will it feature Xbox Live functionality? What online tournaments and features can we expect from this?

Pili: Yes - you'll be able to play online and there will be high-score tables all as standard. We'll announce more details in due course.

Can you reveal any of the achievements planned for the XBLA version?

Pili: Watch this space - details to be announced in due course.

Can I play the game in HD resolution?

Pili: Yes - the game will support HD resolutions as standard.

Is there going to be a PC release?

Pili: Yes - we can confirm that later in the year we will be releasing a PC version for Vista-based machines.

Is the PC release just for Vista or can people on Win2k and XP play it?

Pili: So far just Vista. We hope to provide the game for more OS in the future though.

What online tournaments and features can we expect from the PC version?

Pili: We are currently working with Microsoft to understand exactly how the new Windows Live functionality will work. Once we figure this out we will be able to confirm what online tournaments and features we can apply to the Vista version of SWOS.

When do you expect to release the game on XBLA?

Pili: Summer 2007. We'll confirm a more accurate date in the very near future!

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