The Story

Pocket League Story is a quirky football management app where your aim is to build the amateur Sun Rays into major league contenders. To conquer the soccer world, you must mould a ragtag team of misfits into an outfit of stellar quality while building your fanbase and roster of sponsors. All this is conducted with Super Soccer-esque graphical aplomb plus a well-refined sense of humour. We’re hooked!

The Experience

Your Pocket League Story experience begins with a notice in the local gazette:

‘There’s a new soccer team on the block: The Sun Rays. The new team, from an area somewhat removed from the bustle of the big city, is enjoying the support of the local residents. “I hope this will be a boost to the economy,” said a local cheese maker.’

If this all seems a little too twee for your liking then step away now. This app isn’t getting any less garish and, in all honesty, we wouldn’t want it to. Life Of Android’s past grievances with sports management games have all stemmed from their incredibly dry nature. Setting up complex training routines and choosing between players based on their varying strength, speed and kicking abilities has previously seemed a prospect as enticing as ITV’s World Cup coverage. For some reason though, we found ourselves drawn to PLS like a moth to a cotton candy flame.

We suspect part of this is because, PLS is a football management app for people who don’t like football management apps. There are no officially licensed teams and while your team selection options are varied, they’re hardly so extensive that you’ll find yourself lost in menu hell. Neither are you compelled to partake in an endless array of tutorials where each option is talked through to eye-gouging levels of tedium. Almost every gameplay necessity can be accessed in three touchscreen taps, thereby minimising confusion and ensuring the fun times are only a minute away.

Even if you’re lacking in the basic football fundamentals (offside rule, 4-4-2 vs 4-3-3, irrational hatred of Manchester United), the game is intuitive enough for you the grasp almost every essential and you’ll get the hang of the rest of them after playing through a few matches. Each match is computer-controlled, bar the odd bit where you can super-charge a player once his Aurora bar is full plus a few tactical options, meaning that victory is something you achieve through rigorous pre-match practice.

And practice you will because PLS is that rare beast of an Android app where pick up and play charm is matched with some serious longevity. We envision it sticking around on our Android smartphones for quite some time.

The Bottom Line

Whether you fancy yourself as the next as the next Alex Ferguson or have no idea idea who he is, Pocket League Story is will provide your with hours of Android-based entertainment.

Additional Info

Version reviewed 1.0.1
Requires Android 1.6 or higher

Download the Pocket League Story app from Android Market

Check out more app reviews here