ercles on 23/8/2009 at 13:35
I had a quick poke around and couldn't find a similar thread, and was wondering how much loving there is for sports gaming in these parts. There's clearly plenty of people watching sports judging by threads in commchat, and it's rare that I find a sports fan who doesn't enjoy a well made sporting franchise.
Although I understand why a lot of people throw a lot of hate Madden's way for what seem like marginal improvements each year, the reality is that each year recently has produced a far more realistic and balanced representation of the sport. There is certainly some value in the argument that the games might benefit from being released every two years, rather than yearly installments. But when you clock as much time as I do (and I have no doubt my efforts would pale in comparison to the hardcore madden fans), retooling things like pocket protection and the run game (both of which are unplayable in previous years after playing Madden 10) along with the roster update mean that I'm queuing up each year for a new copy.
Madden aside, I basically own some version of every sports game around (NBA 2k, Fight Night, FIFA, Tiger Woods, NHL 2k, Cricket, Rugby, Top Spin). I think the combination of being a sports nut with the fact that they don't require long sit downs to play mean that I can't get enough. Also, they just about all make amazing companions to drinking with a friend.
So what about you guys, is anyone else turning up to buy each new edition of sports franchises, year in, year out?
june gloom on 23/8/2009 at 18:58
MADDANNNNNN
FOOTBAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL
POWERBAAAAAARS
COLDPLAAAAAAAAAAY
Tomi on 23/8/2009 at 19:12
I used to follow the Pro Evolution Soccer series with great interest, but I've been quite disappointed with the last three games as there has been little or no progress. The Wii version of the newest PES seems fun, but the multiplayer modes on it are absolutely crap.
I got FIFA 2008 last Christmas, I hadn't played any FIFA games since 2001, but I was positively surprised with this one. However, it doesn't run well enough on my computer, so I haven't played it a lot. If I do upgrade my computer though, I might be more interested in playing FIFA than PES.
Nowadays I just play the good old Sensible World of Soccer or Sensible Soccer 2006, when I'm in the mood for sports gaming. I don't really follow other sports, so the only sports games that I play are football (soccer) games.
Koki on 23/8/2009 at 19:56
People who complain about lack of new content in sports games always kill me.
I mean, what exactly do you want? Can you even answer that?
It's not like they can add any gameplay elements, or more levels, or more characters to choose from.
Complaining about lack of new content in Fifa or PES is like complaining about lack of new content in Chessmaster 9000. Still two identical armies on 8x8 square grid board? Boooring
Kuuso on 23/8/2009 at 20:35
I played Fifa and NHL when I was younger. NHL -96 is a great game.
Nowadays I find them overally boring. I guess, when I am gaming, I'm not looking to get into something that is so normal.
Tomi on 23/8/2009 at 20:58
Lack of content? How about a proper career mode where you can build your team and buy players and watch them develop as you play. Also, for me a big part of the fun in football games is choosing the tactics and then choosing the players that best fit them, the tactical side in PES and FIFA are already okay (if I only want to be the manager, I can always play the Football Manager games!), but there's still space for improvement.
Quote:
It's not like they can add any gameplay elements
New moves and actions for the players, new tactical & training stuff for the manager, etc... There's a lot that can be added.
They can always add some more challenging tournaments, and of course improve the computer AI that makes games harder to win. Chess simulators can be improved too especially in this field - I guess that even the most modern chess games that aren't run on some supercomputers are rather easy for the most advanced players? I have enough difficulties beating the CPU even in the old Windows chess game though, so I don't know how true that is. :p
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or more characters to choose from.
The amount of available teams and players is ridiculously small in all the modern football games, it wouldn't hurt to add some more teams to choose from, not just the usual Champions League teams. (I understand that it's mostly because of licensing reasons though - it costs
a lot to get a permission to use real team and player names in a football game.)
Perhaps if you're not interested at all in football, then these things don't matter to you. However, the actual gameplay (the bit where the players chase the ball and kick it) can always be improved too. Some games just aren't fun to play even if they're somewhat realistic, and playing some games doesn't even remind you of football.
ercles on 23/8/2009 at 22:49
FIFA has a pretty staggering amount of licensed teams, right down to like the third division of English premier league, and all around the world. Hell, they even have the Korean league (go the mighty Pohang Steelers!).
As far as features go, aside from the obvious examples of franchise or be a pro modes (both of which need a thorough do over), the main features that make a genuine change in sports games are those in the interface and control of the game. The way that sports games have changed drastically (I can't think of one which hasn't) in the last couple of years of any franchise, and these changes have allowed you to replicate much more realistically what players can do on the field. For me, these are the "features" that make the most change when I play a game, although the presentation of Madden does need a severe overhaul.
gunsmoke on 24/8/2009 at 09:27
Quote Posted by Kuuso
NHL -96 is a great game.
I used to play that religiously on the SNES. Good fun.
EvaUnit02 on 24/8/2009 at 09:31
From what I understand, FIFA is much better than PES these days.
Pidesco on 24/8/2009 at 15:52
Quote Posted by EvaUnit02
From what I understand, FIFA is much better than PES these days.
It's a bit more complicated than that. I hear that on the PS3 and 360 that is true, but if you are on the PC, FIFA gets seriously shafted by still being the same game as years ago. Personally, on the PC, I still find PES much better than FIFA, even if neither play like football, yet.
