It's already started. Read the early advance word on this latest attempt to bring Sensible Soccer kicking and screaming up to date, and phrases such as "it hurts us to say it" and "we don't enjoy telling you this bit" give you some flavour of the fiercely loyal fanbase the original game enjoys.

But this new edition simply isn't very good. In fact, were you to put it side by side with the PC's mid-90s version of Sensible World Of Soccer, it's an absolute no-brainer. The wise move, simply, would have been to update the latter, add gamepad support, bring the stats up to date and then leave well alone.

Instead, we now have a forced viewing angle, a highly abrupt camera that zips around to the point of causing a little motion sickness, and no proper intuitiveness to the simple passing that Sensible used to do so well. Goalkeepers make stunning saves, it's very easy to foul an opponent and rack up numerous cards in the process, and the game, bluntly, comes nowhere near the magic of yesteryear.

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But it does still have a few ticks against its name. Wisely eschewing the need for ultra-realism both in the gameplay and in the suitably exaggerated graphics - which do look odd when the game cuts to a close up, but work perfectly well from distance - the game gives you just a couple of controls to remember, allows you to set up a flexible range of tournaments (fake player names and a few national team omissions present and correct) and in little time, you're on the pitch.

And, at times, the game hangs together. Matches, at their best, have a pace and urgency about them and it's possible to string some great little moves together. Sadly, the passing engine is nowhere near as good as that we saw in SWOS all those years go, and while practice will stop numerous passes going wildly astray, there is an element of battling, rather than working with, the software.

Ultimately, Sensible Soccer 2006, while better than the last attempt to bring the name back a few years ago, still doesn't work. It's laden with frustrations, lacks the full zip and flow of the game's heyday and, all considered, it's nowhere near as much fun to play. And while, for its sub-£20 price tag, it has some value as a fun little kickabout, you really shouldn't let the great name fool you. A disappointment.

Not the game we were hoping for, by a long shot. It has its moments, but Sensible Soccer 2006 simply doesn't measure up either against its modern day competitors or the predecessors that bear its name.