The collection aspect is reminiscent of games like Pokemon, but also of the Panini football sticker books, and Inazuma attempts to play on the compulsion to collect. The primary hook of Inazuma Eleven is building your team, recruiting new players, training them up, and then facing off against a variety of teams in both a national and a regional tournament. It's suitably silly, and from the outset it's clear this is not a realistic take on football. Characters with names like Axel Blaze and Kevin Dragonfly find themselves caught up in a tale of conspiracy, intrigue, and suspicious maids. And the story plays out much as you'd expect from a Japanese role-playing game. It's a typical underdog story-lazy, apathetic footballers whipped into shape by circumstance and Mark's own determination. Sporting a look which falls somewhere between Chris Waddle and the Karate Kid, and with the voice of Luke Triton, Mark serves as a refreshingly upbeat protagonist surrounded by characters who just can't be bothered. It centers on the tale of one Mark Evans, a plucky goalkeeper and the leader of the Raimon Junior High football club. Originally released in Japan three years ago, Inazuma Eleven is the first game in the series to make its way to English-speaking shores. Inazuma Eleven finally combines football with a Japanese Role Playing Game. It may be charming, but that charm alone isn't enough to win you over. There are a host of issues, ranging from fiddly controls to an erratic difficulty curve, compounded by the feel of repetition throughout. It's pleasant, with an endearing plot, but it doesn't capture the thrill of football. The problem with Inazuma Eleven isn't that it combines two unexpected genres, but rather that it does very little to play to the strengths of either genre.

The footballing world doesn't feature giant burning dragons or ludicrous conspiracy plots like Inazuma Eleven does-well, not the giant dragons anyway-but the marriage of football and role-playing game is definitely a logical one.

Players train to raise their stats, managers recruit new members into the 'party,' and statistics fly fast and furious. The sport itself isn't dissimilar to a role-playing game either.

Games like FIFA and Football Manager have been doing it to a smaller extent for years. UK REVIEW-The concept of a football role-playing game isn't as outlandish as it might seem.

Inazuma eleven mark evans