Ludography
Striker Pro 2000 cover

2000 · Port · Rage Software · Sports

Striker Pro 2000

Port

Striker Pro 2000 features nine mode of play, including Knockout, Super Trophy, and International Cup. Training modes are here as well allowing users to take part in soccer drills and win access to secret competitions and modes. There are 130 teams to choose from and they can be edited in areas like player names and sock color. Players can perform all of the moves that real soccer players can too, such as bicycle kicks, diving headers, sliding shots, and tackles.

Released
1 April 2000
Platforms
DreamcastPlayStation
Genres
Sports
Developers
Rage Software
Publishers
Infogrames
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Age ratings
ESRB E
Languages
English

About

UEFA Striker, known in North America as Striker Pro 2000, is a sports video game developed by Rage Software and published by Infogrames in 1999-2000. It is the final game in the Striker series following the cancellation of its sequel, UEFA 2001, the following year.

Keywords

  • regional port

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game allows players to choose from 51 European national teams, 44 domestic clubs and 20 "bonus teams", with individual players modelled with 16 different attributes. Players also have the ability to create their own teams and kits, edit existing players and edit the names of existing cups and leagues. Game modes include training, friendly matches, knockout cups, classic matches, leagues and tournaments. The UEFA licence enabled the inclusion of official Euro 2000 qualifying matches and the final tournament as a game mode, but other major cups and leagues are "cunningly disguised" with names such as the Euro Super Trophy standing in for the Champions League. Commentary is provided by Ron Atkinson and Jonathan Pearce, with Ruud Gullit providing analysis before international fixtures.

Development

Julian Widdows, a producer at Rage Software, told Dreamcast Monthly magazine that the team's intention was to "create something that felt like real football" and to allow players to "be able to draw the defenders the same way you do in real life, to make space and to make moves". The title was initially developed under the title Ruud Gullit's Striker, with Ruud Gullit involved on a "consultancy basis" and providing commentary, but this shifted when the UEFA licence was acquired.

In June 1999, German magazine MAN!AC reported that Rage Software was prioritising development of the PlayStation version, while the Dreamcast version remained at an early stage. The Dreamcast version was designed to feature player models containing four times as many polygons as their PlayStation counterparts, alongside more varied facial features, hairstyles and animated spectators. Motion capture for the game involved a professional footballer from the English Premier League.

Reception

The PlayStation version received favourable reviews, while the Dreamcast version received average reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. In Japan, where the latter was ported and published by Imagineer on 6 April 2000 under the name Super Euro Soccer 2000 (スーパーユーロサッカー2000, Sūpā Yūro Sakkā 2000), Famitsu gave it a score of 24 out of 40.

European reviews of the Dreamcast version were mixed. In the United Kingdom, Computer and Video Games awarded the game four out of five stars, praising its range of gameplay options. French magazine Player One gave it 70%, praising its graphics, fluid animation and accessible gameplay while criticising its repetitive commentary and limited longevity. AC awarded it 84%, highlighting its enjoyable gameplay and accessible controls.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
PlayStation1 April 2000North America
Dreamcast15 May 2000North America · Japan 31 December 2000

Editions and related releases

Part of
UEFA Striker
Port of
UEFA 2001UEFA Striker

Games like this

Collections1 collection

Platform libraries

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.