Batovi Games has just released Pixel Cup Soccer 16 for Android, not long after the company launched the game for iOS devices. This is a game that might just be the best mobile retro football game yet. Its graphics and soundtrack are a nod to the soccer video games older gamers might have played, before EA’s FIFA series changed the game, and you may be throwing back to the ‘90s, if not the ‘80s, as a result. You can play in three modes – friendly matches, competitions, or penalty kicks – and also play single player (against computer AI) or in Party Mode. And as far as competitions go, Pixel Cup Soccer 16 includes the Rio Olympics (which comes with a women’s option), Copa America Centenario, the UEFA EURO tournament, and the World Cup.
All in all, this is a soccer game designed for the casual player, with simple controls and simplified rules; this is not meant to be a realistic soccer simulator, but rather a fun diversion that won’t require you to wrack your brains like you might in management simulators. But that doesn’t mean it’s the easiest game out there, and that’s where we come in. Check out our list of Pixel Cup Soccer 16 tips, tricks and hints, and we’ll show you how to play this game the right way if you’re a first-timer. But even if you’ve played this game for some time, you might learn something new, or be reminded of something you should have been doing in the first place.
1. Need To Switch Players? Hit Pass
We’re guessing Batovi didn’t consider this to be important, as it said many times in the game description that this game is designed for casual players. But you will almost definitely want to switch players to improve your chances of scoring a goal. If the player you’re controlling does not have the ball, you can simply tap on Pass so you can switch to someone else who is closer to the ball, thus closer to scoring a goal. The game will switch you automatically, but since that may take some time, try the above trick so you can improve your chances of scoring.
2. How To Make Those Long Shots
This may be one of the more difficult things for you to learn as a beginner, but here’s how you can deal with long shot or pass attempts. If you or your opponent goes for a long pass or a long shot, you should first lift your finger off the pad. The camera will then follow the ball, and as it does that, it will switch you automatically to the player who’s closest to the trajectory of the ball. That means you can expect that player to automatically chase the ball as it prepares to land.
Things get interesting as the switch from one player to another takes place ever so slightly before the ball hits the pitch. You may end up nudging the player out of a better position if you’re moving around on field at the same time. In addition, you should also be on the lookout for opposing players who want to chase the ball down as well.
3. Never Repeat What You Did When Shooting Penalty Shots
In the spirit of Pixel Cup Soccer 16 being an arcade-style game, hitting a penalty shot could be challenging. You should always mix your type of shots around, as doing the same thing on penalties twice in a row will greatly reduce your chances of scoring successfully. The game’s AI won’t take long to cotton on to the fact that you’re sticking to what worked for you best, and that alone, and that’s especially true if you’re playing on Hard difficulty. And as a bonus tip, aim your shots by moving the digital pad to correspond with the desired trajectory for the ball; changing the trajectory around is a good way to confuse your opponent.
4. Use Power Kicks But Do Not Charge Them
We would recommend that you shoot regular, uncharged Power Kicks by hitting the Shoot button. Charged Power Kicks are easy to launch, but their super-fast movement makes it difficult to follow them properly. As for uncharged Power Kicks, you should think of them as the off-speed pitches baseball pitchers tend to throw. They don’t move quickly, but they have the ability to throw an opponent off. And when shooting penalties, you can mix up your uncharged Power Kicks with a rare charged Power Kick, and a couple controlled shots where you use the pass button. The latter move is particularly slow in terms of ball movement, but it could also confuse an opposing goalkeeper if you’ve been sticking to the Power Kicks 80 percent of the time or so.
5. Go For The Hit And Run Technique
If you’ve played role-playing games with battle features (which means almost any one of them), you’re probably familiar with the hit-and-run technique – landing a blow on the enemy, then running away to recharge your health and/or mana. You can do something similar when it comes to the opposing players who may be right behind you in Pixel Cup Soccer 16. How does this work?
For starters, you shouldn’t charge a shot if you’re being chased by another player, as there’s a good chance they will drop you and tackle you before you can even think of shooting. So what can you do instead? You can juke an opponent’s players by running around the nearest defender in circles once you’re close to the goal.
You want to be as close as possible to the defender, close enough for them to try tackling you. Once they’ve made their attempt, run out of the way so that you have enough time to charge your shot up. Indeed, this is an almost RPG-style approach to doing things, and it’s one you can use regardless of the difficulty mode in which you’re playing in.