Disney Bola Soccer for iPhone

Cartoon soccer game that should be shown a red card

Disney Bola Soccer is a cartoon soccer game for iOS where you're job is to take your team to glory and win the world championship. Sadly, it's a disappointing experience that shoots well wide of the mark.

The goal

The idea behind Disney Bola Soccer is to lead a team of brutish players to victory in a series of single-player tournaments, or take on your friends in challenges. Players can be beefed up along the way as they earn XP to improve their skills. You can unlock new tournaments by winning matches regularly.

The gameplay is designed to be similar to other mobile soccer games such as FIFA 14 or Real Football, but it's apparently aimed at a much younger audience, with comical storylines, simplified controls and cartoony graphics.

A match made in Hell

Disney Bola Soccer is badly let-down by its controls, which are very unresponsive. Sure, everything seems simple at first, and there's a helpful tutorial that shows you how to pass, shoot and tackle. You tap a player to pass to him, hold your finger on the goal to shoot, and swipe the screen to run.

As you get into the game, though, you quickly realize that the implementation of these controls is near impossible because of the sluggish response of the players. Sometimes you need to tap more than once to pass, or it won't respond at all. Tackling too seems very random, and shooting is very hit and miss.

Gameplay is very unrealistic compared with many other iOS soccer sims. It's easy to score from the half-way line, and the players run way too slowly. Be prepared also for your players to automatically turn and run towards their own goal whenever they get the ball.

Why the long face?

The graphics in Disney Bola Soccer are quite fun, especially the characters themselves who all have long faces and rippling bodies like they've been pumped up on pixel steroids. The between-match sequences are slick and have a polished cartoon look.

The animation in the game isn't great, though. As I said, players move very slowly and awkwardly and the collisions between them feel very fake.

Disney's own goal

Disney had a good concept on its hands with Bola. On the surface it's a fun, light-hearted soccer game that's easy enough for young kids to pick up and play.

However, the implementation of the game is so poor that it's frustrating, boring and predictable. If you're looking for a more 'fun' kind of soccer game rather than a traditional simulation, try Flick Kick Football Legends, Soccer Rally 2, or Soccer Stars.