Lego Soccer Mania (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.0 stars Mediocre
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 4.6 (2.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Trey Walker
• Reviewed on: 07/10/2002
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 06/30/2002
• Originally published on GameSpot: Lego Soccer Mania (PC) Review

Lego building bricks are as much a staple of late-20th century American childhood toys as Barbie, G.I. Joe, and Hot Wheels, but unlike these other toys, their appeal is primarily their potential to unlock a child's imagination as they take the bricks apart and rebuild them. There was a time when Lego pieces were sold by the bucket, to be built into a spaceship, a farm tractor, a hot rod, a boat, or a medieval castle, but over the years Lego sets have been released that are geared toward specific themes. One recent example of this is Lego Soccer, a series of toys that feature the classic Lego figures as soccer players in arenas built out of Lego bricks. To complement this line of toys, Lego Interactive created Soccer Mania, an arcade-style PC soccer game starring Lego characters. While the game can be fairly entertaining for a while, it does little more than slap little Lego people into a mediocre soccer game.

On the surface, Soccer Mania has everything it needs to give Lego fans an enjoyable alternative to playing with Lego bricks. The game can be played in several different modes, including quick start, exhibition, skill zones, Lego Cup, and story mode. Quick start and exhibition are basic game modes that let you get in, play a fast match, and get out. Skill zones--such as gate crasher, canyon chaos, and shoot the booty--are like tutorials that focus on specific controls or skills. Once you complete a skill zone, you unlock a new player to add to your team. Lego Cup is just a Lego version of the World Cup, in which you choose a team and enter a tournament that features 32 teams from around the world.

The story mode is a bizarre campaign that sets you on an extensive quest that is essentially a string of soccer games set in various Lego environments. The story begins with you winning a trophy after beating three teams, but before the trophy can be presented, Brickster, the villain, steals it and runs away. You must then embark on a quest to recover the trophy. Along the way, you will need clues or assistance from different Lego people, but for some reason these Lego people always challenge you to a soccer game before offering their assistance. Eventually you will chase Brickster through dozens of arenas from the tropics, to the arctic, and off into space--an admirable effort to recover a trophy.

While the story is enough to give a vague context to an otherwise random assortment of Lego people and places, the most entertaining part of the game is watching the scripted team celebrations after each goal. These celebrations include break dancing, dogpiles, airplane runs, and even suggestive horsy rides that push the boundaries of what can be shown in a children's game.

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