Emlyn Hughes International Soccer - History

History

It debuted on Commodore 64, but versions were also developed for Amstrad, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and Amiga as part of Audiogenic's general cross-platform strategy. Upon its release it was hailed by some as the most realistic football simulation ever made, and gathered enthusiastic reviews, in particular from ZZAP!64. The program was in the UK computer games charts for over three years following its release, and it still enjoys a small but enthusiastic cult following almost 20 years after its release.

Every version of the game was programmed by Graham Blighe and produced by Peter Calver, with graphics created by Andrew Calver, and playtesting by Jeremy Wellard; the strategy section was coded by Michael McLean (in later versions Terry Wiley). The music for the Commodore 64 version was written by Barry Leitch.

The inspiration for the game came from International Soccer, a highly successful cartridge game for the Commodore 64 that had been released by Commodore themselves in the early 1980s. Indeed, EHIS offered an optional mode in which the controls were deliberately limited, to simulate the restricted options available in the earlier game. This both provided an easy introduction and helped to emphasise the extent to which the controls had been enhanced.

At the time of its release EHIS faced heavy competition from titles such as Match Day II (1987), Kick Off (1989) and Microprose Soccer. However, what made EHIS different from the other games of its time was the fine balance between playability and simulation - it was not as slow as Match Day II, nor as reflex-driven as Kick Off and Sensible Soccer. As a result, the appeal of EHIS was strongest among those who preferred skillful, tactical football to frantic arcade action. Despite limited graphics, and a side view of the action (whereas Kick Off had recently introduced the bird's-eye perspective), EHIS held its own because of a powerful control system that gave the players unprecedented control over the game.