At first glance, Super Touchdown by Apostek Software seemed like it would be a fun (American) football game, then I began playing it and found many faults. The game comes with three game play modes — Strategy, Touchdown Frenzy and Challenge; with Strategy mode consisting of a traditional game of four one-minute quarters, Touchdown Frenzy mode consisting of a one-minute game where the goal to score as many times as possible and Challenge mode consisting of different specific challenges (Defense Blitz, Star Player or Berzerk). I found the Strategy mode the most entertaining, so I’m focusing on that here.

Let’s start with the technical flaws, which only minutely detract from the game.

• Whether your team is on offense or defense, the info box on the screen flashes “Offensive Formation,” which is confusing until you learn to ignore it.
• The AI in the game is really dumb until you start winning, then they get faster and smarter. At least, that is the way it seemed.
• On multiple occasions, a quarter started and literally ended a half second later. The score board would show 56, 42, 0, 28 for the game. This is frustrating when trying to get a top score.

Now, let’s discuss the football flaws; the items that don’t follow traditional football rules.

• When getting the ball for the first time on offense, the players must line up behind the 10-yard line, not the 20-yard line.
• When time runs out in the quarter, game play abruptly stops. Traditional football rules allow for the play to continue until the ball carrier is tackled.
• Forward passes are allowed at anytime, regardless if beyond the line-of-scrimmage.

Lastly, I’d like to discuss the design flaws with the game, which I find the most egregious.

• There are only two teams to chose from — New England Pirates and New York Knights. These aren’t NFL teams, but I still think Patriots and Giants…neither of which I would care to play as (especially New England). Coincidence that they were in the last Super Bowl?
• The play clock is only visible during plays, during which I’m busy playing the game. I don’t want to take the half second to look in the corner. It would be a good idea to have that information displayed the entire game.
• Passing is near impossible. Don’t even bother. If a defender is within 30-yards, the ball will be picked off.
• If the computer player gets by you, forget about it. Chances are you won’t catch them.

Overall, the game concept is sound, it is the execution that is lacking. All of the items I’ve listed are fixable and would greatly increase my opinion of the game if corrected. As is, I don’t see myself playing it much more and will probably remove it from my phone soon. An ad-supported version of the game is available for free, which I recommend if you want to test the game yourself. The ads aren’t displayed during game play, so they are hardly noticeable.

Rating: 3/10