| Introduction
Go Go Beckham marks Rage's second release exploiting
their David Beckham license and is a radical departure
from the first title, which was a straight football
SIM. The game centres on England and Manchester United
footballer, David Beckham's efforts to protect Soccer
Island from the evil Doctor Woe by using his soccer
skills to solve various puzzles and defeat The League
of Monsters. Platformers have long been a staple and
well-supported genre for both the GBA and GBC but has
Becks got the makings of a memorable platform hero?
Who knows, but I for one certainly want to find out...
GamePlay
There are so many different gaming aspects to Go
Go Beckham it's difficult to know where to begin. Let's
start by saying that the football is THE most important
piece of kit in the game. It won't always be by your
feet at the beginning of each level though so you'll
sometimes have to root it out because without it you're
defenseless. it's not only a weapon but also a means
of collecting bonus items; ignoring these will place
you in a very difficult position later in the game.
It's also a means of protection, kicking it at a monster
knocks it out, whereas one of the many monsters knocking
into you is a foul and too many of these means restarting
the level.
As a weapon your football is not only highly maneuverable
but also very powerful becoming more so as the game
progresses. This happens automatically as you need to
master a handful of trick shots in order to defeat some
of the more determined monsters. You'll also notice
that the different monsters will react to your presence
very differently and while some will simply ignore you,
others will actively pursue you until you knock them
out. Hitting them with the ball again will also usually
release a crystal or gem of some description, which
are always worth collecting as they go towards your
final score.
Collecting items is a must as they're all over Soccer
Island and some of them are very valuable. The coins,
for example, are plentiful and collecting 100 of them
gives you 'Golden Boots' which not only make you a more
skilled footballer but also allow you to collect bonus
items whilst the ball is in your possession rather than
having to kick it at them. You'll also need the ball
to open locks, flip switches and, most important of
all, to complete the various levels. Finally to make
the title truly portable Denki have included the same
battery backup system that accompanied their last title
and levels are saved automatically on completion.
Controls
In what could be a reasonably tricky area for this
title, developers Denki have decided to employ an aspect
from their previous title and set up a full tutorial
section. This is known as 'The Trials' and everyone
must play this before they're able to explore the rest
of the island. It's a great idea and I've always felt
that these kinds of walk-through are far more informative
than the instruction booklets. This section by no means
explains everything but whenever a new concept is introduced
later in the game the 'help' section automatically pops
up and all is revealed.
Graphics
For anyone who sampled last years Denki Blocks, Go
Go Beckham will seem strangely familiar. This is largely
due to the fact that it's by the same development house
and features a similar visual style. For those who don't
have a clue what I'm talking about, Go Go Beckham features
some wonderful cartoon inspired graphics with big bold
characters and pleasing animation. It's nice to see
this unique look adapted to another title and, to be
honest, it seems to suit a platformer even more than
the original puzzler.
Sound & Music
Unusually here the music is a lot better than the
sound effects as everything is accompanied by a wonderful
soccer inspired calypso soundtrack even 'in game'. The
sound effects are limited to the odd bleep or whistle,
which do their job but never really get above the bare
minimum. The music more than makes up for all this though
and you'll be donning your grass skirt and coconuts
before you know it.
Final Comments
This really is a back to basics platformer although
gaming historians will no doubt draw comparisons with
Soccer Kid which will also be released soon on the GBA
courtesy of Telegames. It is all highly enjoyable though
and the mixture of the football based story line and
unique visuals make for a very satisfying gaming experience.
There are some weak areas however, not only would a
multi-player option of some type have been a good idea
but some areas do tend to become a little repetitive.
If all this leaves you unsure Rage offer the ultimate
'try before you buy' with an online demo so why not
swing over to the 'Go Go Beckham' site and have a go
for yourself.
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