Five-a-Side Soccer

Five-a-Side Soccer

Game No.	490
Voting	5.00 points, 1 votes
Developer	Ken Grant, Sean Grant
Company	Mastertronic, Artworx
Publisher	Anirog Software
HVSC-File	/GAMES/A-F/Five_a_Side.sid
Release	1985
Platform	Amstrad CPC, C64, C128, IBM-PC
Genre	Sport, Football/Soccer (Arcade)
Gamemode	Singleplayer Multiplayer
Operation
Media
Language
Information	Two versions of this game have been released, one by the name Five-a-Side Soccer"" the other called Five-a-Side Football""

Description[edit | edit source]

Beispiel: "Here we go, here we go, here we go!" It's kick-off time...

Five-a-Side Soccer is an indoor football game. You can play it either against another players or alone against the computer opponent. The computer opponent has three difficulty levels, the lowest of which is challenging. In addition to the football game, you can also play a penalty shoot-out.

History[edit | edit source]

The game was initially released in the United Kingdom in 1985 under the name Five-a-Side Football by Anirog UK. However, the naming is not consistent even within the game itself. In the loading screen of the C64, the game is titled Five A Side Indoor Soccer, similar to the DOS version. In the main menu, referred to only by the short name FIVE ASIDE. ^[1]

Background[edit | edit source]

The indoor football of Five-a-Side Soccer can best be compared with today's Futsal. Accordingly, the rules differ somewhat from the classic game of football. There is no out, as the playing field is bordered by walls. Foul play can also lead to penalty kicks outside the penalty area. While the game is visually unimpressive, it introduced a lot of innovation for football games on the C64 in its time.

Design[edit | edit source]

The game's graphic design is underwhelming, even for the time of its release. Nevertheless, the game is innovative in many ways. It features speech output. The fan chant "Here we go!" can be heard at every kick-off. The ability to foul or simulate penalty kicks was also absolutely groundbreaking at the time. These entertaining elements make up somewhat for the game's visual shortcomings and the difficulties of the controls. The fact that the credits of the game are displayed on the perimeter advertising is quite a funny detail.

The loading screen of Five-a-Side...

The penalty shoot-out was very innovative at the time...

Mastering the goalie is a huge challange...

Hints[edit | edit source]

Art des Spiels und Schwierigkeitsgrad werden im Menü ausgewählt...

Main menu of Five-a-Side
Movement	Action
	Move cursor up
	Move cursor down
	Game mode / Difficulty

First you select the type of game in the menu (single player or against each other, football or penalty shoot-out). After choosing the single player game, the difficulty level is selected. Even the beginner level is a great challenge, as the game is hard to control and mastering the goalie is very difficult.

In-game controls
Movement	Action
	Move up
	Move down
	Move right
	Move left
	Foul / play ball or shoot on target
RUN/STOP	Pause game

Solution[edit | edit source]

There is no known solution! Just shoot from any position when attacking. In the defence luck is your best option...

Cheats[edit | edit source]

There are no cheats known...

Votes[edit | edit source]

Voting of the C64-Wiki users (10=the best vote):
5.00 points at 1 vote. You need to be logged in to cast a vote.
C64Games	5	2. Juli 2021 - 23734 downs
Lemon64	4,9	2. Juli 2021 - 40 votes
Zzap!64	71 %	Ausgabe 5, September 1985 - "Mittel bis gut"

Reviews[edit | edit source]

Zore64: "5-a-Side was innovative in its time. Voice output, fouls, roughing and penalties. All this was completely new and made up for the simple graphics. Unfortunately, the controls are very clunky, so it's frustrating to play against the computer opponent. But when playing with two players, it is still fun today. Especially because of the fouls, penalties and the annoying goalkeeper control."

Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]

Cover[edit | edit source]

Vorderseite der Verpackung...

Die Rückansicht der Originalverpackung...

Vorderseite der Verpackung von Anirog

Rückansicht der Anirog-Verpackung...

Video[edit | edit source]

Review auf YouTube...

Screenshot comparison[edit | edit source]

Armstrad CPC...

Die Rückansicht der Originalverpackung...

Trivia[edit | edit source]

Five-a-Side Soccer is the first football game on the C64 that introduced the possibility of fouling...
The ice hockey game Slapshot comes from the same developers, and plays almost identically, as it is based on the same engine...
Two versions of the game have been released. One as Artworx, a second as Mastertronic. They were intended for the british and the international Market and were labelled as Five-a-Side Soccer and Five-a-side Football.