SocCars

Wherever the guys and girls at White Birds Productions go for a drink, it's fair to say the pub's clientele were probably privvy to the studio's initial concept for SocCars.

It feels very much like the result of a drunken conversation. Imagine it - what if cars played football?

Of course, there's a fundamental reason why cars don't play football, besides the fact they don't have feet. Unsurprisingly, trying to control a ball with four wheels and a bumper is an especially difficult task.

As if determined to prove that this is the case, SocCars delivers a dodgy, stodgy, and overly stuttered take on the beautiful game.

Taking the form of a head-to-head football match, the game takes place on a small football field with three minutes posted on the clock. Scoring the most goals is the top item on the agenda.

The ball itself is an over-sized affair and the cars wild and wacky – the kind of contraptions that might have graced RobotWars certainly springing to mind. If it isn't apparent that this isn't a serious contest, it becomes abundantly clear when play actually kicks off.

That's because, for want of a better word, SocCars is a wrestling contest. Most matches focus on tussles between the two vehicles, the victor being the car that manages to break free with the ball, a clear run on goal the inevitable result.

It can be fairly amusing stuff, but the controls offer nothing but frustration. Kicking the ball - i.e. shunting it with your bumper - requires a simple tap of a right-side button.

Unfortunately, the virtual thumbstick that controls movement is annoyingly sticky and all-too often fails to register your moves, leaving your car standing still like a lemon.

The only interruption to the norm is the addition of power-ups. One causes an explosion that can push your opponent out of the way, for instance. Another acts like a magnet and draws the ball close to you on contact. Still, with games so short, these power-ups have little opportunity to influence play.

Instead, it contributes to the overall novelty of a game that may have seemed like a great idea, but whose execution is off-pitch.