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Developers World Championship: Match Report - England v USA (Group C)

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (England) vs Spore Origins (USA)

Developers World Championship: Match Report - England v USA (Group C)
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ENGLAND GTA: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar)

VS USA Spore Origins (Tricky Software)

BP v Exxon. Rooney v Donovan. St George v Uncle Sam. England v USA.

Without a doubt the most eagerly anticipated match-up at the iPhone Game Developers World Championship hitherto was upon us with two of the most prolific app-publishing nations squaring up.

In preparation for this grudge match of all grudge matches, the English coach had selected his biggest and most recognisable talent, Rockstar Leeds' Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.

Not to be outflanked, the Americans had chosen to field a title from the arsenal of the most successful third party publisher on Planet Earth, EA. Tricky Software’s Spore Origins was the older of the titles on show here, but would experience topple youth on this occasion?

This promised to be an explosive encounter.

Kick Off: 7.30pm, 12th June The critical view: Right from the off, the tempo to this tie was furious. Shots rained in from all manner of angles, as GTA’s varied gameplay, entertaining storytelling, and compelling personalities sought to gain the initiative for the English side.

Spore Origins’ rearguard was holding firm, allowing the lush visuals and clever customisable options for your microorganism to gain a relative foothold in proceedings. Guiding the primordial creature from one end to the other was proving a joy.

In spite of very minor deficiencies in the two sides' defences, namely a targeting system in GTA and multiplayer fare in Spore, resistance was broken at both ends in a flurry of action half an hour in.

With both managers proudly wielding Gold Awards on the sidelines, the referee blew for half time oranges.

Half time: England 1 – 1 USA The Fans' 45: Perhaps unsurprisingly, home field advantage proved overwhelming amongst the voting crowd as UK fans rallied behind the English title non-stop in the second period, demonstrating once and for all the effect the 12th man can have on its team as GTA raced away to a second goal and rapidly stole a third.

Though there was considerably more than a microscopic response from those in red, white, and blue, it wasn't enough to turn the tide and indeed the Leeds-based player went on to notch a fourth, assisted perhaps by the recent addition of six new stations to Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars' in-game radio.

A great spectacle for the neutrals then, but when the final whistle blew it was a victory for England, which ensured the tournament hosts raced to the top of Group C and left to a thunderous ovation.

Full time: England 4 – 2 USA Latest Group Tables - Fixtures & Voting - Squads

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Richard Brown
Richard Brown
With a degree in German up his sleeve Richard squares up to the following three questions every morning: FIFA or Pro Evo? XBox 360 or PS3? McNulty or Bunk?