While the vast majority of US gamers haven’t quite gotten the soccer bug, the sport most commonly known as football has been and continues to be quite the sport internationally. Additionally, the video-game industry has long offered plenty of options for soccer fans wanting to get their game on. Publisher/developer Gameloft has recently thrown its hat in the ring with their latest soccer offering for the Nintendo DS, Real Soccer 2009.

Real Soccer 2009 is a solid soccer game that features a slick interface, nice controls and solid on-pitch gameplay elements. However, the game does have a few glaring shortcomings, like a lack of different gameplay modes and no FIFA license, that makes it somewhat lacking when compared to other handheld soccer titles like FIFA 09. Still, the game gets the basics right and the multiplayer elements are pretty solid.

Real Soccer 2009 features the pretty basic game modes from previous soccer games. Aside from the standard Exhibition match, there’s the Cup mode, League, and Penalty Kicks. Cup mode and League mode play out in standard tourney fashion, while Penalty Kicks is just as it sounds; a way for you to make penalty shots to see how many you can get. You can check your trophies that you’ve won in league or cup play, as well.

Aside from the gameplay modes, there is also a training mode where you can become more comfortable with the game’s mechanics as well as the controls.

While the game modes are pretty basic fare for a soccer game, the on-field mechanics are much better. You can use either the D-Pad or the touch screen to control your players across the pitch. While the touch-screen controls definitely take some getting used to, the D-Pad and face button controls are pretty easy to grasp, and feel quite comfortable. The on-pitch play is very smooth and responsive, and is as good an experience as you’re likely to get on the DS.

Graphically, the game is very smooth and well animated, and the action unfolds at a decent clip. The characters are quite responsive, which helps the game maintain a great sense of fluidity on the pitch.

The sound and music aren’t really anything to get excited about, as the musical score is a repetitive loop track for the menu screens and the in-game sounds are little more than crowd cheers and the occasional whistle blow.

Real Soccer 2009 offers some pretty good on-field mechanics and plays very well for a handheld soccer game. Unfortunately, there aren’t really enough gameplay options to make it able to truly compete against other titles in the genre.

Gameplay: 7.0
The on-pitch play is very well executed, with responsive controls and smooth play. However, there is a very noticeable lack of compelling or original gameplay modes.

Graphics: 8.0
Some well-animated player models and smooth and lag-free play make this a solid visual presentation.

Sound: 6.5
Not really a whole lot here, aside from a fairly generic menu screen song and cheer sounds during matches.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.5
A solid attempt at a handheld soccer game, Real Soccer 2009 gets the on-field mechanics right but would benefit from more game modes and a license.

Multiplayer: 7.0
The game allows up to four players to play a match together via local Wi-Fi multi-cart play.

Overall: 7.0
Real Soccer 2009 is a fun and solid soccer game that works well within its handheld format. However, the game’s lack of an official license for real teams and it’s relatively slim presentation of game modes are marks against it.