Sega Soccer Slam
North American PS2 cover art
Developer(s)Black Box Games
Publisher(s)Sega
Platform(s)GameCube
Xbox
PlayStation 2
Mobile phone
ReleaseGameCube
Xbox
PlayStation 2
Mobile
July 21, 2003
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Sega Soccer Slam, also known as simply Soccer Slam, is a sports game released for GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 in 2002.

Gameplay

Sega Soccer Slam is different from traditional sports games in its exaggerated interpretation of soccer. It allows characters to punch one another and eliminates several other rules, such as throw-ins, corner kicks, free kicks, and penalties. Sega Soccer Slam includes an exhibition mode, a challenge mode, a practice mode, a tourney mode, and a quest mode. It also includes two minigames: Hot Potato and Brawl.

Practice mode is a step-by-step instruction of how to play the game, teaching the player maneuvers including steals, passes, shots, dekes, volleys, as well as more complicated moves such as spotlight shot and the killer kick (an incredibly powerful shot that can be accessed when the charge bottom at the bottom of the screen reaches its maximum through doing basic moves). The practice mode is essential for both masters and newcomers to prepare for the exhibition, tourney, challenge and quest parts of the game.

The exhibition mode is similar to that of most other sport games. In it, players are allowed to choose their opponent and team as well as a stadium to play in. They can also play two mini-games with up to four players: Brawl, which is where four of the characters fight against each other, and Hot Potato, a game where passing scores points, but when the ball explodes, anyone in the blast will lose points. Tourney mode is where the player can play in a tournament that lasts for 5 days of each team playing each other at least once through the competition. Challenge mode is when the player creates a custom team and compete in a series of matches to unlock nine secret characters, but each character can only unlock two secret characters.

Other than the gameplay options said above, Sega Soccer Slam also has a quest mode. In quest mode the player chooses one of the starting six teams and then competes in a series of ten games. Through winning these games the player can accumulate money which can be used to buy character art and power-up items. The character wears each item in order to enhance his or her attributes.

Teams

  • Team Toxic: Colored mainly green. The team consists of Raine, a Canadian eco-terrorist; Duke, a burly American football player; and Nova, a young Native American who wants to win the championship so that he can aid in making soccer possible on a space station. The characters come from North America and are the best at passes. The Reactor Core located in Las Vegas is their home field.
  • Team Volta: Mostly clad in yellow. This south-western European team consists of Angus, a Scottish boxer who also plays the bagpipe; Dante, an Italian playboy; and Arsenault (a parody of Arsène Wenger but known as "the grandfather of Thierry Henry"), a sarcastic Frenchman. The team is the best at speed and their home is the Riviera Ruins in Greece.
  • Team Subzero: A team from north-eastern Europe, clad in white and ice blue, with members Half-Pint, an English soccer hooligan who wants to cause as much chaos on the pitch; Lola, a German raver; and Kiril, a Russian soldier. The team's home field is Alpen Castle located in London, and the team is the best at hitting their opponents.
  • Team Spirit: Their jerseys and body paint is purple. The main team members include Zari, a soccer star from Nigeria; Kaimani, a laid-back surfer from South Africa; and Djimon, a mysterious shaman hailing from Kenya. The team is based from Africa and is best at high shot combos. Their home field is the Tribal Oasis located in Cape Town.
  • Team Tsunami: Ocean blue decorates this team. The team's major members are Kahuna, a daredevil from Hawaii; Rumiko, the Japanese geneticist who made Team Robo; and Boomer, an overweight crocodile-wrestler from the Australian Outback; all three hail from the Pacific Rim. The team is notable for their accuracy in shooting, and their home field is the Pacific Atoll located in Tokyo.
  • Team El Fuego: In fiery red, El Fuego (Spanish for "The Fire") is composed of Mexican luchador El Diablo, Argentine soccer star Rico with a hat shaped like a soccer ball, and Brazilian capoeira artist Madeira. This Latin American-based team is well balanced as well as very aggressive. Their home field is the Jungle Canopy located in Rio de Janeiro.

There are 3 teams that can be unlocked in the challenge mode:

  • Team Love: A group of three girls who are clad in pink, consisting of tomboy Marla, prissy Nadia and show-off Petra. They joined Sega Soccer Slam in attempt to meet their idol, Lola. Dante tried to get them to be with him (but ultimately failed) and gave them candy hearts. Through these hearts, the girls were given the "heartbreaking" power of Cupid's warriors. The team is faster than Volta.
  • Team Robo: Three robots that were made by Rumiko: heartbroken troublemaker Pi, cowboy Diode and super-intelligent Mecha. They were the results of Rumiko's invention of robots with enhanced human emotions that did not come to fruition. Seeing the failure, she tried to destroy the robots but they had already gained invincibility and wanted to turn back on her. All three of them have the same stats, and are better at shooting than Tsunami.
  • Team Ohm: Wearing gold jerseys, the team consists of former Burmese rebel leader Dakai, Chinese martial arts master Damo, and ditzy Indian soccer-loving chef Jishen. Dakai was secretly practicing alchemy in a dastardly attempt to create an elixir of immortality, and managed to create superhuman powers for his team, but did not tell Jishen or Damo what he had done. The team is similar to team El Fuego, but is more aggressive and has superior shooting abilities.

Reception

The GameCube and Xbox versions received "favorable" reviews, while the PS2 version received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[6][7][8] AllGame gave the GameCube original three stars out of five, stating, "Outlandish costumes, ridiculous accents, and goofy expressions are wrapped around an intuitive control scheme that offers players the flexibility to perform a variety of moves, without making them complicated to perform."[33] In Japan, where said original was ported for release on September 26, 2002, Famitsu gave it a score of 27 out of 40.[12]

GameSpot named Sega Soccer Slam's PlayStation 2 version the third-best video game of March 2002,[34] and its Xbox version the best Xbox game of September 2002.[35] It won the publication's annual "Best Game No One Played on GameCube" award, and was nominated in the "Best Alternative Sports Game on GameCube", "Best Alternative Sports Game on Xbox", "Best Graphics (Artistic) on Xbox" and "Best Game No One Played on Xbox" categories.[36]

Sega Soccer Slam was also criticized by various sources for its portrayals of characters, viewed as highly stereotypical and racist.

References

  1. ↑ Dubin, Jayson (March 19, 2002). "Sega Releases Soccer Slam for GameCube". GameZone. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "What's New?". Eurogamer.net. 2002-10-18. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  3. ↑ Dubin, Jayson (August 20, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam Ships for Xbox". GameZone. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  4. ↑ IGN staff (September 17, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam Ships". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  5. ↑ "What's New?". Eurogamer.net. 2002-10-25. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  6. 1 2 "Sega Soccer Slam for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Sega Soccer Slam for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Sega Soccer Slam for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  9. ↑ Edge staff (July 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam (GC)". Edge. No. 112. Future plc. p. 102. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  10. ↑ EGM staff (May 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam (GC)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 154. Ziff Davis. p. 113.
  11. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (October 29, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam (Xbox)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  12. 1 2 "セガ サッカースラム [ゲームキューブ]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  13. ↑ Kato, Matthew (April 2002). "[Sega] Soccer Slam (GC)". Game Informer. No. 108. FuncoLand. p. 78. Archived from the original on August 27, 2004. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  14. ↑ Kato, Matthew (September 2002). "[Sega] Soccer Slam (Xbox)". Game Informer. No. 113. FuncoLand. p. 88. Archived from the original on November 15, 2004. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  15. ↑ Pong Sifu (March 20, 2002). "[Sega] Soccer Slam Review for GameCube on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 22, 2004. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  16. ↑ Major Mike (August 20, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 28, 2005. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  17. ↑ G-Wok (April 2002). "[Sega] Soccer Slam Review (GC)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  18. ↑ G-Wok (September 2002). "[Sega] Soccer Slam - Xbox Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on February 12, 2004. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  19. ↑ Varanini, Giancarlo (March 20, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam Review (GC) [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  20. ↑ Varanini, Giancarlo (September 16, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam Review (PS2)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  21. ↑ Varanini, Giancarlo (September 4, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam Review (Xbox)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  22. ↑ Sabine, Mike (April 11, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam (GCN)". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 14, 2005. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  23. ↑ Steinberg, Steve (November 10, 2002). "GameSpy: SEGA Soccer Slam (PS2)". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  24. ↑ Steinberg, Steve (October 6, 2002). "GameSpy: SEGA Soccer Slam (Xbox)". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  25. ↑ McElfish, Carlos (October 17, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  26. ↑ Bedigian, Louis (September 9, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  27. ↑ Schneider, Peer (March 15, 2002). "[Sega] Soccer Slam Review (GCN)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  28. ↑ Perry, Douglass C. (September 23, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam (PS2)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  29. ↑ Schneider, Peer (August 21, 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam Review (Xbox)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Sega Soccer Slam". Nintendo Power. Vol. 155. Nintendo of America. April 2002. p. 148.
  31. ↑ Zuniga, Todd (November 2002). "Sega Soccer Slam". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 62. Ziff Davis. p. 190. Archived from the original on June 28, 2004. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Sega Soccer Slam". Official Xbox Magazine. Imagine Media. October 2002. p. 108.
  33. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Sega Soccer Slam (GC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  34. ↑ The Editors of GameSpot VG (April 5, 2002). "Video Game of the Month, March 2002". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 16, 2003.
  35. ↑ The Editors of GameSpot (October 5, 2002). "GameSpot's Game of the Month, September 2002". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 18, 2003. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  36. ↑ GameSpot Staff (December 30, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 7, 2003.
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