Foosball HD is a pretty easy and straight forward setup with the exact same elements as of a real foosball table including a goalie and rows of men. A choice of two modes is available with either two player mode or you can play against your iPad in either hard, medium or easy options. Playing against the iPad is a great way of learning how to use the game and is a huge amount of fun but playing against a person is even better. The screen is plenty big enough for two lots of hands and therefor works fine.
The controls took me sometime to master and when first beginning to play I was immediately annoyed and frustrated with them. However with a bit of persistence I got the hang of it and the fun was found. To actually control your men you simply swipe down on one of the three rows which triggers movement and you can swipe on them in either a left and right direction to hit the ball. The faster you swipe the further the ball goes and the degree of accuracy is very realistic. Once you get a real feel for the rows you begin controlling two or all three at the same time which it’s completely designed for.
From the menus to the gameplay graphically it’s quite quirky and I like that a lot. Illusion Labs didn’t go for realism and instead dived into a cartoony modern look which it’s definitely better of for. All action is fluid and sharp and the physics of the ball is very realistic with little bounces towards to screen when huge impact has incurred.
The sound effects are very realistic with kicks and ball bounces of the side of the fine detail of the reflection in sound when spinning the rows fat different speeds. Everything is very precise and tight and I especially enjoyed all the background music built into the game which is a rarity.
Overall Foosball HD is a very well made attempt at bringing a digital version of Foosball to the iPad. The controls are great and very responsive, the graphics are charming and the sound effects are realistic. If you like Foosball i’d highly recommend picking it up at just $2.99.
