Elegence in Simplicity...
The concept is simple enough, but when you get right down to it, you'll probably find yourself having alot more fun with a free game than you really expected you would. There are two game modes to play, not counting the oddly (unintentionally) humorous tutorials. For starters, you have your basic Deathmatch mode where teams of six frantically run around a map trying to kill a set number of the other team's members before the time runs out. While it's fun to mindlessly slaughter the enemy, the real meat of the game is in the Touchdown mode. You see, S4 League is visioned after the idea of a combat sport, and as sports tend to, this one involves a 'ball' in the form of a strange creature called the Fumbi. Incidentally, these Fumbi also fill in for the Cheerleaders in the game's halftime show...
In all truth, Touchdown mode amounts to little more than a cleverly disguised single flag CTF game, but the bright graphical charm and satisfying feel of the weapons and abilities you'll learn to master will likely prevent you from even caring. You'll run, shoot, dodge and block for all that your worth in the hopes of getting to the enemy's goal in one piece. Due to the layout of any given level, scoring is almost always a task requiring coordination and teamwork. Sure, it's possible to score solo, but doing so pretty much relies on an inobservent enemy team.
The game's graphical style isn't really high end, but the bright color and clean look to the game give it a nigh undeniable graphical charm. To add to this, there are a number of clothing and equipment options for your characters, though be warned, your selection of colors is somewhat limited unless you shell out with some real world cash. Even so, there's enough diversity to satisfy most.
S4 League also boasts an impressive original soundtrack. The tunes you'll hear never seem to become grating or repetitive, but unfortunately, they're not that catchy either. Even so, they fit well within the game's frantic gameplay, and it wouldn't be surprising in the least if you found yourself with one of the game's bizarre rap/hip hop style themes stuck in your head. (The odds of you actually recaling the words used by the vocalist however, are exceedingly low.)
Due to the competitive, and team-centric nature of the game, players will likely find many different tactics, and ways of playing. A new player to the game should try to get a feel for the Touchdown matches, and decide what sort of team role he prefers. Are you the guy who grabs the ball right away and goes for the goal? Maybe you prefer to use your combat skills and defensive powers to protect whatever idiot decided to make himself a target and see to hit that he makes it to the goal safely? You could focus on diversion, creating holes in the enemies defensive lines, or maybe you prefer to stand back and blast enemies from afar with cannons, and rail guns, or heck, maybe you're just a born defender, watching dutifully over your own goal? There's even a 'weapon' for those who prefer to support their team by healing them, thus allowing them to keep fighting on through otherwise impossible situations. (Note: If the enemy is intent on killing someone, odds are he's dead no matter what you're healing him with... Sorry Medic, but no Ubercharge here.)
In the end, there's alot of fun to be had with S4 League, and alot of tactics to make yourself useful in a match. The only really downer on the game is some connection trouble, and lag issues. In fact, this is probably the only game out there where laggers get a handicap BONUS!!! Still, if you can overlook whatever slight issues there are to it, and find a clean match with 'limited' lag, it's definately worth the time of any shooting fan looking for a major rush. And, it's free, so you've really got no reason not to check it out! So if you're on the fence, just download the game and see how you like it. You may be pleasantly surprised.
((Note: The game currently does not have a U.S. Version. English speakers looking to get into the game currently must use the EU version of the game, which may account for some of the lag problems.))