DESCRIPTION

Konami's International Superstar Soccer, which is endorsed by star player Carlos Valderrama of Colombia, is a soccer game featuring 36 countries from around the world and the chance to play in the International Cup tournament.

When you start the game you'll be able to choose from well-known powerhouses such as Brazil, Colombia and Italy as well as lesser-regarded teams such as Cameroon, Croatia and the United States. The teams are broken into six groups, each balanced with lesser and better clubs.

Before the match gets underway you can also change the preset game options. You can set the length of each half to three, five or seven minutes and you can choose one of three difficulty levels depending on the type of challenge you want. Fouls can be turned on or off and you can decide whether overtime should be played in full or played until someone scores.

Gamers who enjoy playing coach can do so on the match set-up screen. You can scroll through various formations and strategies for your time and select the ones you want. Perhaps you want a more aggressive, attacking team or perhaps you want a more conservative, defense-minded approach. It's up to you, but remember that the coach gets all the credit for victories and all the criticism for defeats. The options can also be modified during the match.

You can view your club's roster as well and check on the conditions of your players both before and during the game. Each player has an icon next to his name which shows his condition. Simply select the player you want to bring in and the player you want to take out to make a change, but remember that you can only make three substitutions during a game.

During the game you have all the basic soccer moves at your disposal: passing, shooting and clearing the ball on offense and slide tackles and shoulder charges on defense. Watch the physical play, though, or you could wind up drawing a penalty; if one of your players is removed from the game by the referee, you'll have to play the rest of the match short-handed.

Once you've gotten the hang of International Superstar Soccer, you can move on to league and International Cup play. Passwords enable you to pick up where you left off at a later time.

This game is for one player only and is compatible with the Super Game Boy adapter, which allows you to play the game on your Super NES. ~ Brad Cook, All Game Guide