If you’ve heard about the intense gaming experience of Strat-O-Matic Pro Football, but waited to check it out, your number is about to be called.

 

The game company is launching Strat-O-Matic Pro Football Lite 2009, an introductory version of the game available for just $19.99.

 

In some ways, the game will appear complete: It comes with all the 2008 NFL teams and all the players – Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Andre Johnson, Troy Polamalu and hundreds of other NFL stars. Lite has all the graphics and play-by-play description of the traditional game. And it has the detailed stat reports and box scores.

 

That describes a pretty complete game – at the lowest price ever for a Strat-O computer game. But veteran Strat-O-Matic players know what a richer experience comes from playing the full Pro Football game.

 

Lite is strictly Easy Mode and thus offers many fewer options that can make Strat-O-Matic complex to the novice football gamer. That complexity makes Strat-O-Matic Pro Football about as genuine as the real NFL, but it’s a lot to learn right out of the huddle.

 

So Strat-O-Matic is calling an audible to introduce new gamers to this top-flight simulation. According to Director of Development Bob Winberry, the new gamers are likely to be game-ready customers who are not yet Strat-O-Matic fanatics. But they might also be Strat-O gamers who haven’t yet tried pro football. Or veteran Strat-O gamers who want to share the hobby with friends and children

 

Something else is new: Gamers will purchase Strat-O-Matic Pro Football Lite 2009 from major download web sites.  

 

Veteran Strat-O players won’t want to switch from the full version. In addition to Easy Mode, which reduces the playbook, Lite will include only the latest-season teams, with no access to past seasons. The pre-game rule and game-play options are sharply restricted for simplicity sake: Basically, it’s just usage limits for players and sight/sound options for the interface.

 

Lite users won’t have the Card Image option, tournament mode or such league-support functions as Email League and Model League. They won’t have access to the Encyclopedia, Yearbook or Report Writer options to customize their statistical reports.

           

 “Strat-O-Matic Pro Football Lite can be thought of as a basic game (to use a board game analogy), while the full version is analogous to a super-advanced game,” Winberry explained.

 

Lite customers will be able to upgrade to the full game at a discount. And if the Football Lite game is successful then Strat-O-Matic will consider releasing a Lite version of the computer baseball game.

 

You can download Strat-O-Matic Pro Football Lite 2009 from the following online stores: