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Additionally, all discs at NexWave Games are carefully inspected and assessed for quality. When discs arrive, we do not accept any that are so badly damaged that they are unlikely to work. We only accept discs with light scratches at most. Discs with scratches are then treated in our professional disc repair machine. By warming the disc and polishing it with soft brushes, these machines can remove a very thin layer from the disc. This removes the layer containing surface scratches and improves the disc’s readability. This ensures the disc works properly, even on consoles with ageing lasers that have difficulty reading games! Great news for the player.
RedCard for PlayStation 2
RedCard for PlayStation 2 lets two eleven-player teams play football with plenty of room for heavy contact. You choose a national team and try to open up the defence with passes, dribbles and shots. A shoulder charge or heavy sliding tackle can win the ball back, but the referee does not disappear from the game. You set how strictly he officiates. This lets you keep a match closer to normal football rules or allow more to happen when the battle for the ball becomes frantic.
Your boost supply helps with acceleration and special actions. A powerful shot can bring the camera closer to the goal and slow down the movement, without guaranteeing a goal. Defending also calls for timing: charging blindly at an opponent can leave space behind you. Alongside the recognisable national teams, there are hidden teams, characters and stadiums to unlock. The combination of regular build-up play and a sudden heavy challenge can make an attack difficult to predict.
You can play a single match, complete a tournament or compete for a cup. Two players can play locally at the same time on the same pitch, each with their own controller; that duel does not require a Multitap. RedCard keeps eleven players per team, including the goalkeeper. On the full-sized pitch, you look for a free teammate among all the movement and collisions while the rest of your team takes up position.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
This edition of RedCard has a PAL case with a French age rating on the front. Please therefore expect French text on the packaging.
Manual
RedCard for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of RedCard
Midway developed and published RedCard for PlayStation 2 in 2002. In North America, it appeared as RedCard 20-03; the European release uses the shorter name RedCard. The year in the American title therefore does not mean that the original PS2 game only appeared in 2003. Midway already had its own line of sports games presenting familiar sports in a harder, faster and more exuberant way. RedCard brought football into that approach too.
The design retained a striking amount of an ordinary football match. Full eleven-player teams take to the pitch, and passing, positioning and preparing an attempt on goal remain important. The differences lie mainly in the permitted contact, boost and exaggerated movements. The adjustable referee also shows that rules are not simply absent. The player can decide how many interruptions belong in the match. Alongside the over-the-top action, a recognisable foundation of football therefore remains intact.
The original PAL packaging combines real nations, players and stadiums with unlockable secrets and special shots. GameCube and Xbox releases followed in the same year, but those versions have their own technical characteristics. The PS2 release retains its local duel for two players. RedCard thus sat alongside series such as FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer with a different emphasis: the direct battle for the ball and the opportunity to break through a normal attack with a sudden burst of extra power.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Pro Evolution Soccer 2 on PlayStation 2 also lets you play with full teams and look for space through passes and player runs. Konami places greater emphasis on careful build-up play and developing a team across matches. RedCard adds heavy shoulder charges, boost and exaggerated shots, while allowing you to make the referee less strict. Both ask you to recognise a free player, but the battle for possession consequently plays out differently.
This Is Football 2003 on the same console offers recognisable football with national teams and clubs, plus a career that can take a school team into higher competitions. RedCard directs its extras more towards heavy actions and hidden teams or stadiums. Building an attack remains important in both, but the reward for playing longer takes a different form. With Sony, you develop a team through a career; with Midway, you also explore the more exuberant sides of a football match.
FIFA Street 2 on PlayStation 2 moves football to small street teams, with considerable attention to tricks, ball skills and Gamebreaker actions. RedCard instead uses eleven players per team on a full-sized pitch. The similarity lies in exaggerating football actions and building up extra power. You notice the difference in the available space: a trick among a few street footballers calls for a different perspective from finding a pass between two full eleven-player teams.
FIFA Football 2004 on the same console also uses full teams and lets you pull a defence apart with passes and player runs. Official competitions and building a career give its matches a longer-term context. RedCard mainly chooses international football, heavier contact and an adjustable referee. Both require good positioning for a shot, but with Midway you must also account for special actions that can suddenly change an ordinary challenge.
Pro Evolution Soccer Management on PlayStation 2 makes selecting, training and guiding a team its main subject. The computer carries out your match plan while you intervene from the touchline. RedCard asks you to pass, shoot and react to tackles yourself. The same eleven players thus take on a different meaning: in Management, you assess their cooperation as manager; in RedCard, you use direct control to find the moment to break through.
