Stir Fry Games Soccer, or SFG Soccer as it is commonly referred to, is an indoor 6v6 soccer game released on the indie games section of the Xbox Live Arcade. It features fully customizable teams, players, and has a career mode that spans from 4 different divisions, each with their own unique playoff rounds, and a final SFG Cup tournament.
Career mode places you in Division 4, which is the lowest division in the game and hosts some of the worst teams in the league. You'll start off with a random team, but right off the bat you're allowed to customize their name, jersey colors, player positions, player looks, and player names. One season consists of 15 games, with the top 8 teams going into a knockout playoff round. The top two teams of the playoff round get to move up a Division, and the bottom two teams of Divisions 1, 2, or 3 get moved down a division to replace the two teams moving up. The top 8 teams in Division 1, however, go into a playoff tournament to determine the SFG Cup champion of the season. There are a total of 64 teams in the game.
Each game consists of one half that lasts either 2, 3, 5, or 10 minutes, depending on your chosen preference. The teams play for the set amount of time, and the object is to get the ball into the goal. The team with the most goals scored wins, just like any soccer game. The controls are simple, and you rarely will use any of the buttons on the Xbox 360 controller. The A button serves for passing, the B button is used to shoot, and the Y button is used to lob the ball in the air, while pressing the X button will allow your player to bicycle kick the air ball into the goal. Defensively, you'll only be using the B button for slide tackling as your goal keeper will do most of the work in the box for you.
Anytime you score a goal, you're given a brief opportunity to gloat with your team. You can choose from a list of three celebrations to do after a goal is scored, and then the theme song of the game is played as your fans cheer on. Your stats are saved after each game, and you can compare your team's career stats to their current season stats. There is also the option to view the league leaders and see who has the record for the most goals, tackles, or saves for the current season.
At the end of each match, you're judged based on performance and whether you were the underdog or the favored team to win the match. You'll get a certain number of points for each goal scored, and for each goal that isn't scored against you, and you'll lose points if you play a team weaker than you, but gain more if you defeat a team stronger than you. These points then increase your level temporarily, and you're able to allocate the points into your players stats. For example, if you reach level 3 in a single match, you can choose one ability for each individual player to increase by 3 points. You'll start with a below average team and eventually work to a 5-star team.
Possible Sequel
SFG Soccer has been an instant hit in the UK and has had great sales in the U.S. as well. Users on Xbox Live voted the Indie game four stars out of five. In February of 2010, a user posted a suggestion thread on the SFG Soccer forums with one of the developers confirming a
sequel in a later post.
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