Flick Kick Football

I was hesitant in writing this review as I'm trying to focus on games that offer something new. I've already reviewed Flick Kick Field Goal and elected against Flick Kick Rugby as, correct me if I'm wrong, it looked too similar to the aforementioned title. Enter Flick Kick Football, with that being football as in Europe, and maybe we've got something a little different. I was correct. And this is the best soccer shoot out style game I've seen, with that being soccer as in the USA, having tried several. I guess it makes sense when you've got a good graphics and physics engine for kicking a ball to milk it as much as you can. Although, at a dollar a game I suppose I can't make too much of an argument in terms of milking the title. Code reuse is good...

Flick Kick Football features three main modes of play in addition to a practice mode. They are arcade mode where you take shots until you miss, bullseye mode where you not only have to put the ball in the net you are also aiming at various bulls eye targets, and a time attack mode where you score as many goals as you can in a minute. Each of these modes has a bit more to it than that such as arcade mode allowing you to earn extra lives (i.e. misses) and having the goal potentially defended by several cardboard cutout soccer players. The cardboard cutout thing is actually kind of neat as when you plink one with the ball it gracefully topples. The game, as with other Pik Pok titles, features Open Feint support for sharing and comparing scores with other players.

The graphics are comparable to Flick Kick Field Goal and the sound is great with a crowd cheering, good 'ball contact' sounds, ..etc. There's plenty of similarity to the field goal version of the game so what's different? Well, obviously you're kicking into a net that has a top. You can overpower the ball and send it sailing too high. The big difference, though, is the kicking. There's no wind to worry about, but instead you have the ability to curve your flick and have the ball curve around any defending players. Don't pay attention to those negative app store reviews... this does work and I don't know if other users are having problems on low end hardware or what (and this review was done on a Motorola Droid so hardly top of the line hardware as of today). The curving is kind of interesting as it can be challenging to control. I will say that when I don't need it I avoid using it. A straight kick has proven far more reliable. However, as the game's difficulty progresses you'll need to weave a shot through some defenders here and there and thus learn to excel with those curve shots.

Pik Pok has easily captured the crown respect to flick kicking games. Should I be expecting Flick Shot Hockey soon? That I don't know. Should you get this game? That depends on your love of flicking a ball at a goal. If you've got the field goal game and play it extensively (as I do) this will easily be a dollar well spent. If you don't yet own a Flick Kick game then I can't see too many people going wrong with such an addition. If you've got one of them and aren't totally enamored with the idea then you can probably skip acquiring more. This is a 5/5 star title that shares a substantial amount with its cousins, but not everything. And at the dollar price tag it's a winner.

And now for a video that has almost nothing to do with the game it advertises...