Game review– Tiny Striker: World Football is as good as it gets for mobile soccer
Although the matches are mostly just chances for you to show off your swiping skills, there’s a strong managerial component to the game that sets it apart
Tiny Striker: World Football
Fat Fish Games
4/5 stars
Translating a much-loved sport to a pared-down mobile release is no easy task. Equal measures of realism, reference and pure entertainment must be combined in a light and easy-to-play release. The original Tiny Striker, released in 2014, was a decent attempt to hit that mark, with an emphasis on small-scale scoring mechanics and swipe-friendly controls.
But the sequel, World Football (available for Android and iOS), significantly amps up the concept, keeping the flick-based gameplay but boosting the graphics to slick 3D and generally making it more accessible to fans of the sport. It’s a little bit Fifa, a little bit Football Manager, but friendly enough to be played by any casual gamer.
Gamers choose their favourite club (England-based to begin with, but eventually a few European sides, too), before entering a league setting. Most of the game is made up of match-based challenges, where you’ll use your superior finger-swiping skills to trick through defenders, loop balls past keepers and generally pull highly unrealistic time-freezing stunts to score the most ridiculous goals.