Alexi Lalas International Soccer PS1 Review

Alexi Lalas International Soccer is a football game that was developed and published for the PlayStation in 1999. The game was also given an earlier adaption and is also known by the Three Lions game in the European regions and was rebranded as Alexi Lalas International Soccer for the North American region in 1999 that was published by take two interactive. 

This game did get different releases across different regions and actually rebranded and renamed multiple times depending on the country it was released in and depending on the countries the game was released then also had different types of native footballers that were reflective of the regions that were endorsed by popular soccer players of the time. 

But where the game is primarily known as is three lions which was considered to be the official England Team game upon its time of release. 

The game itself got average to mixed reviews stating that it didn't really add anything new to the variety of soccer games that were actually out there and a lot of the reviews are based off of the complexity of the controls and the playable systems that were available stating that the game was flawed but it was still enjoyable to some degree. 

While the graphics themselves aren't considered to be anything special when you compare it to later adaptions of soccer games with the likes of FIFA and ISS Pro because those two series of games pretty much set the standard not just in how football games played but even with the visuals because they were among some of the best looking soccer games ever seen on any console at the time but those two series really set the standard. 

And the reality is even for the amount of football games that were coming out still after the success of those two iconic Brands a lot of the soccer games still paled in comparison when compared to what was an offer. 

Because likes of the FIFA series had grown in popularity while the games themselves during its early days with the likes of FIFA 96 and FIFA 97 weren't considered to be overly great games but it was when FIFA 98 Road to World Cup came out that's when things started to change. It started to evolve into something else and the same with the ISS Pro series. 

The problem is other games would come out and where playable and enjoyable for the most part even when you consider it to even earlier games on the PS1 with the likes of the Adidas Power Soccer series, there's a lot of them that just couldn't compare. 

They were playable in their own right but the truth is is by then everybody was just literally playing ISS or FIFA, there was no real need or even want or desire for other soccer games because people just didn't really play them all as such. 

The only other soccer franchise that did do somewhat well alongside of FIFA and ISS would have been the likes of the World League Soccer series and even the this is football series that will come out during the later years of the PlayStation's life cycle although World League Soccer would only see really life on the PlayStation and wouldn't move forward into the PlayStation 2 whereas this is football proceeded to have multiple sequels on the PS2 years later and was considered quite a popular franchise in its own right. 

So with other games that were coming out it was just hard to find a place to fit in because again FIFA and ISS not only had the playable factors, the control systems but it also had the graphics because they were among some of the best looking soccer games ever seen visually whereas a lot of these other games coming out just really could not match up to that and I think that's what actually happened with a lot of the reviews with the likes of magazines because everything at that point because ISS and FIFA was so good everything after that was compared to it that it didn't really leave much room and much chance for other soccer games to really gain any traction as such. 

Now even for my own personal perspective like when you look at these type of games, yes they definitely don't compare to those games but they do offer something unique, they do play very differently. Some of these games do tend to be a bit more finickity and tricky and even sometimes have quite a number of flaws as they're not as well fleshed out compared to more mainstream soccer games but they still do have something to offer. 

And with the likes of this game now had this been released a lot earlier during say the first couple of years of the PlayStation this here would have been considered to be one of the definitive games but anything that came out after 1998 with regards to FIFA and ISS it had to really step up its game if you will in order to be able to be comparable or even compete at that level and most games that came after that just couldn't do it which is a shame and it's a pity as well. 

Because some of these games did have some unique features but just again just as wasn't as well fleshed out because by the time more mainstream soccer games started to come out people's demands had changed and people were looking for more realism and people would notice different flaws and different things going on with games that they would pick out and they would be more critical of these type of games because they'd be thinking to themselves like why would I buy this when I know I can buy FIFA 98 or FIFA 99 or any of the ISS games that are technically a lot better and  that play a lot better and there are more fleshed out and they don't have the same level of flaws. So that's what usually would have happened with a lot of these games. 

A lot of these soccer games were literally just falling into the realm of obscurity and nobody even knew that they've even existed in some cases. 

But in saying that some of these games did sell in decent numbers but just nowhere near the level of more mainstream soccer games. But how does it play overall in general? 

Well from my own personal perspective if I was to compare it to the likes of those two iconic series you can definitely tell the difference straight away but for what offer, it does do it quite decently but there are flaws like even graphically it's not as good but I don't really judge a game so much on this graphics because I just love the PS1 style and I just love the quirky nature of the graphics even the games that don't visually look that good for me I just think that they are very appealing. 

There's a unique challenge to them but in terms of how it plays there are better soccer games out there, now it is playable you can definitely move the ball around you can dribble around players compared to other soccer games with this game you can actually utilize various aspects, you can pass the ball you can string a few passes together you can dribble the ball around players but it's just as hard to do anything else because you won't score too many goals in this game. 

It can be a struggle to make things really work on it but it is what it is that's just the thing because a lot of these soccer games as well they were trying to compete in a crowded market and the majority of developers they were either starting out or what it was is they were usually more focused on working on other games like RPGs or racing games or different type of genres but trying to fit in to a genre that they didn't really have much experience around it was always going to leave them open to some sort of criticism because they were never really going to be able to create stuff that would be even somewhat comparable to the heavy hitters of the franchise or the genre in general. 

But that doesn't take away from the status of the game, it is playable and you will get enjoyment out of it it just if you do want more of a mainstream platform you're better to go with FIFA or ISS but again it's all about the memories and it's all about the nostalgic feel that these games have to offer and this game does have that In fairness it does. 

It really just depends on what you make of it but like I mentioned had this game been released much earlier during the earlier stage of the PlayStation this would have got a lot more recognition and would have been a lot more widely received. A lot of these games it's usually just it's all down to timing of when it's released. 

They where released at times that just didn't fit well because there was already better games out there so that was always usually the downfall of many of these titles. 

Developers were trying to compete and unfortunately you feel like they were just fighting to lose in battle in all respects but it is what it is that's just the reality of it but it's still interesting to see all of these type of old games and that's the one thing I love about the PlayStation is that there is a different style of game to suit anybody pretty much out there. 

Whether you like the more mainstream games or if you even do like the more quirkier style games such as this here even though it may not be considered as good people will still enjoy it I'm sure there are fans of this game out there and it does have something for everybody there is a different style of game out there for everybody because during those early days of 3D games development there were so many nuances and quirks around what they were trying to do and there were so many cool ideas. 

And the one thing I can respect is the fact is that all these companies even though they may not have been able to produce as good a quality games they weren't afraid to take the risk they weren't afraid to try new things in some cases they worked out, in some cases they didn't but at least they tried and that's what I love about the likes of that generation or the fifth generation of consoles is the fact is that the ideas were there. 

But when you really think about it and I do always say it that a lot of these quirky and unusual ideas really did help to pave the way for a lot of the games that we do play today and I do believe that only for the fact is that these games exist if they didn't exist the games that we do play now would have been very different, it's just a simple fact. 

So a lot can be said for these games regardless of what people think of them whether they like them or they don't or regardless of the reviews. 

They do hold the place in history to some degree because they did help to set the foundation and pave the way for games to come after it so I do believe that they should be held and somewhat high regard due to that nostalgic reason. 

But I'd love to know your thoughts on Alexi Lalas international soccer or three Lions, what are your thoughts of these type of soccer games did you enjoy them or maybe not so much or did you prefer the FIFA or the ISS series on the PlayStation?

 I'd love to hear your thoughts on these type of soccer games so be sure to share them down in the comments below and be sure to keep watching to see more content on other games similar to Alexi Lalas International Soccer, you can check out the blog where we will be diving into the iconic elements of these classic video games and as always keep those gaming memories alive...