Some more FIFA 10 demo impressions just before I leave for my (belated) honeymoon;
I will revise my impressions - the more I play the more I am really enjoying the changes they've made. The new dribbling is very subtle but you start to notice it at slow speeds and subtle movements/turns - still not the revolution EA Sports were making it out to be but improved nonetheless.
Player movement without the ball is completely analog with regards to speed - i.e. if you just want to jog back into position slowly you just move the analog stick slightly. This will be great for online team play if you want to get back into position but there's no rush to do so.
I retract my statement about player interactions only being graphically impressive - after more games I think it's a big change. You can now foul or even shove players off the ball just by moving the stick (you don't have to hold down A/pressure or the speed burst button) and you can really tell the difference between stronger and weaker players.
The ref often gives cards without resorting to a cutscene - it's all done in game and seamlessly. Likewise, you can take free kicks quickly without any cut-scene or change in camera angle. I know Winning Eleven has done this the past few games but neat to see it here. Also, you can take quick goal kicks and the players don't automatically teleport back into position by the time you've got the ball.
Free kicks are still ass but you can now select the free kick taker without going into the menu - just hold down R2.
I love the shooting - you can really drill the ball with certain players and Fat Frank (Lampard) has one hell of a shot.
There are a few weird bugs (my keeper clearly stopped a penalty shot from crossing the line and it still counted) but overall I'm really enjoying this the more I play it.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
FIFA 10 Demo (PS3) Impressions
After what seemed like forever Sony finally posted the FIFA 10 playable demo up on PSN. Some quick thoughts after six or seven matches;
i) Lots of new tackling animations and in particular last-ditch tackles and shot blocks. These are really neat and make the play even more dynamic around the box with more rebounds, blocks, and ricochets. There are more than a few times players will hurdle over a tackle and this will take them off stride - I`m not sure I`m totally keen on this. On one hand it`s neat that a player can dodge a tackle and keep his balance, but there were other times I would rather my player go to ground and win the foul.
ii) Player interactions (i.e. shoving/shoulder barge) graphically look very impressive but functionally I`m not noticing much of a difference.
iii) Ball physics are improved, the ball is less floaty than last year and the crosses are almost perfect now with a fantastic degree of whip with good players. For some reason the long cross-field balls still seem to hang up a bit in the air too long. Shooting is improved with more pace on the ball and I scored from outside the box once in those six matches.
iv) Again, I`ve only played six or so matches but I`m not seeing a massive differences in the dribbling and nothing as of yet groundbreaking with the `360 degree` dribbling.
v) Keepers are very agressive coming off their line but I`m a bit concerned that this might lead to more chipped goals as in those few games I think I saw at least four chipped goals.
vi) You can dribble around the keepers - I sold Cech on a beautiful step over and fake shot with Messi before walking the ball into the net.
vii) Response times are very good and at this point I`d say they`re as good as Winning Eleven without having those pinpoint turns on a dime.
That`s all for now, I`ll write more later but color me impressed. My favourite demo moment was when a CPU Ashley Cole took the ball of Messi and in response I tried to mow him down with a flying slide tackle using Toure and not only knocked down Cashley but followed through and hit little Messi as well!
i) Lots of new tackling animations and in particular last-ditch tackles and shot blocks. These are really neat and make the play even more dynamic around the box with more rebounds, blocks, and ricochets. There are more than a few times players will hurdle over a tackle and this will take them off stride - I`m not sure I`m totally keen on this. On one hand it`s neat that a player can dodge a tackle and keep his balance, but there were other times I would rather my player go to ground and win the foul.
ii) Player interactions (i.e. shoving/shoulder barge) graphically look very impressive but functionally I`m not noticing much of a difference.
iii) Ball physics are improved, the ball is less floaty than last year and the crosses are almost perfect now with a fantastic degree of whip with good players. For some reason the long cross-field balls still seem to hang up a bit in the air too long. Shooting is improved with more pace on the ball and I scored from outside the box once in those six matches.
iv) Again, I`ve only played six or so matches but I`m not seeing a massive differences in the dribbling and nothing as of yet groundbreaking with the `360 degree` dribbling.
v) Keepers are very agressive coming off their line but I`m a bit concerned that this might lead to more chipped goals as in those few games I think I saw at least four chipped goals.
vi) You can dribble around the keepers - I sold Cech on a beautiful step over and fake shot with Messi before walking the ball into the net.
vii) Response times are very good and at this point I`d say they`re as good as Winning Eleven without having those pinpoint turns on a dime.
That`s all for now, I`ll write more later but color me impressed. My favourite demo moment was when a CPU Ashley Cole took the ball of Messi and in response I tried to mow him down with a flying slide tackle using Toure and not only knocked down Cashley but followed through and hit little Messi as well!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
FIFA 10 Demo Out Tomorrow!!
Unfortunately, the demo's only available in Europe on PSN and Xbox Live however it's fairly easy to create a dummy European PSN account and I'll definitely be posting impressions tomorrow. The demo will be available in North America next week. I have no idea why they would bother with the delay. The teams available in the demo are; Chelsea, Chicago Fire, Juventus, Bayern, Barcelona and Marseille.
On the official FIFA site there's a great new trailer showing a glimpse of some new features including some new animations, particularly for keepers and defenders, and some great player-player interactions like shoulder-barging players off the ball. You can check out the video here.
Another one of my favourite franchises releases in full retail next week, NHL 2010. Last year’s game was fantastic and by the demo that was released recently there’s every indication that the 2010 incarnation will be even better. If you’ve tried the demo and weren’t impressed be sure to set the gameplay settings to ‘Hardcore’, then you’ll notice much more realistic passing (the success of passes is far more dependent upon player positioning (rather than 40 foot tape-to-tape backhanders), there’s a slower pace to the play and some brilliant board play. You can now pin players to the boards and really work the puck down low. It’s really neat. Regrettably, I won’t be around next week so I won’t get to play the game on release but I’ll be trying to play the heck out of it before FIFA comes out .
Of course, that’s when I’m not playing some of the other top notch games coming out this fall! I was looking up the release dates of games I’ll be picking up and I’m not sure when the heck I’m going to be able to play them all!
NHL 2009 - Sept 15
Scribblenauts DS - Sept 15
Bad Company 2 - Sept 30
Gran Turismo PSP - Oct 1
Uncharted 2 - October 13
FIFA 10 - October 20
Borderlands - October 20
Forza 3 - October 27
Ballad of Gay Tony - October 29
Modern Warefare 2 - November 10
Gran Turismo 5 - Dec 29
I’ll pretty much be picking up all of those games and I still have a number of games I’ve purchased but have yet to get to most notably Mirror’s Edge, Infamous and Fable 2! That said, as a gamer I’d much rather have this problem than the opposite. Oh to be back in high school or even undergrad where you can pull of those marathon 10 hour gaming sessions. I remember playing the original Quake on MPlayer via dialup late into the morning during highschool. Not sure work, or the wife, would appreciate that now!
Lavan
(getting his butt kicked online in Battlefield: Bad Company - that's what you get for playing a game a year after everyone's already got used to it)
On the official FIFA site there's a great new trailer showing a glimpse of some new features including some new animations, particularly for keepers and defenders, and some great player-player interactions like shoulder-barging players off the ball. You can check out the video here.
Another one of my favourite franchises releases in full retail next week, NHL 2010. Last year’s game was fantastic and by the demo that was released recently there’s every indication that the 2010 incarnation will be even better. If you’ve tried the demo and weren’t impressed be sure to set the gameplay settings to ‘Hardcore’, then you’ll notice much more realistic passing (the success of passes is far more dependent upon player positioning (rather than 40 foot tape-to-tape backhanders), there’s a slower pace to the play and some brilliant board play. You can now pin players to the boards and really work the puck down low. It’s really neat. Regrettably, I won’t be around next week so I won’t get to play the game on release but I’ll be trying to play the heck out of it before FIFA comes out .
Of course, that’s when I’m not playing some of the other top notch games coming out this fall! I was looking up the release dates of games I’ll be picking up and I’m not sure when the heck I’m going to be able to play them all!
NHL 2009 - Sept 15
Scribblenauts DS - Sept 15
Bad Company 2 - Sept 30
Gran Turismo PSP - Oct 1
Uncharted 2 - October 13
FIFA 10 - October 20
Borderlands - October 20
Forza 3 - October 27
Ballad of Gay Tony - October 29
Modern Warefare 2 - November 10
Gran Turismo 5 - Dec 29
I’ll pretty much be picking up all of those games and I still have a number of games I’ve purchased but have yet to get to most notably Mirror’s Edge, Infamous and Fable 2! That said, as a gamer I’d much rather have this problem than the opposite. Oh to be back in high school or even undergrad where you can pull of those marathon 10 hour gaming sessions. I remember playing the original Quake on MPlayer via dialup late into the morning during highschool. Not sure work, or the wife, would appreciate that now!
Lavan
(getting his butt kicked online in Battlefield: Bad Company - that's what you get for playing a game a year after everyone's already got used to it)
Monday, September 7, 2009
While I’ve been waiting for my copy of Batman Arkham Asylum to arrive from BestBuy.ca I played and finished Prince of Persia for the Xbox 360. I love this game – everything from the art-style to the audio and the great controls is top notch. Yes, it’s true that you pretty much can’t die (your companion Elika saves you at the last minute) I think it works well and encourages exploration by not punishing you if you try a jump that doesn`t work. I also love the interactions between the two main characters, the `Prince` and the Princess Elika. At numerous times through the game you can hit the Left Trigger to initiate a conversation between Elika and the main character and these really help flesh out the story of the world. Of course, if you don’t give a crap about the story you don’t have to hit the trigger and you can just play but I think you’d be missing out. Not only are these conversations written well, there is some genuine charm behind the banter between the two characters. The fact that Elika also serves a gameplay function further helps to really create a tangible bond between these two characters. Unlike, that idiot Dom in Gears of War she wasn’t a clichéd annoyance tagging along for the ride – she’s actually a character you enjoyed having around, much like Alyx in Half Life 2.
However, what prompted me to write today is the ending of the game. Now, if you haven`t finished the game skip the next few paragraphs – or better yet, go play the game and come back.
At the end of Prince of Persia Elika dies. Okay, not a big deal, there have been other tragic endings in videogames but what makes this one stand out is what Ubisoft pretty much force you to do afterwards – bring her back to life and the only way to do this is by freeing the evil god Arhiman you spent the entire game trying to imprison! Upon awaking Elika`s first, and only, word is; “Why?” A good question because she willingly sacrificed herself to save her kingdom from Arhiman.
Now if this sequence was a non-interactive cut-scene it wouldn`t be that perplexing as the protagonist has his own motivations for bringing back Elika; throughout their conversations during the game it`s apparent that he values human life more than the inanimate structures of the Princess` kingdom, he doesn’t believe in fate, and of course, he has feelings for her.
But it is not a non-interactive cut-scene. There is a cut-scene where you imprison Arhiman and Elika sacrifices herself and is placed on an altar outside the great temple. Thereafter, the player is given control of the protagonist and there is nothing else to do in the game but save the princess by releasing Arhiman again. There`s no choice of leaving her, honouring her sacrifice and ending the game. Instead the only way to `finish` the game is to undo everything you did in the last 8 or so hours. It`s a very strange feeling to be almost forced to do something you don`t agree with and it`s also the first time I can remember when my motivations have been polar opposite to the motivations of the character I am controlling in the game. Yes, the `Prince` would want to save Elika but I don`t want to and I am controlling him! Again, if this was all out of my hand then I think I would have been able to accept it but to be given the illusion of choice was a bit off-putting. Even my wife who watched the ending was asking why I was releasing Arhiman and my only answer was that it was the only way to finish the game.
While the ending didn’t sully my enjoyment of the rest of the game it did leave me feeling a tad manipulated. Of course, not everyone will share my opinion of the ‘right’ thing to do and if you wanted to save Elika then you’re motivations would be absolutely congruent with the Prince’s and the ending would be fine.
In the grand-scheme of things it does allow Elika to be present in the inevitable sequel which is a positive (though Ubisoft could have just kept her alive at the end of this game).
Lavan
(would willingly let a woman die.....to save the world)
However, what prompted me to write today is the ending of the game. Now, if you haven`t finished the game skip the next few paragraphs – or better yet, go play the game and come back.
At the end of Prince of Persia Elika dies. Okay, not a big deal, there have been other tragic endings in videogames but what makes this one stand out is what Ubisoft pretty much force you to do afterwards – bring her back to life and the only way to do this is by freeing the evil god Arhiman you spent the entire game trying to imprison! Upon awaking Elika`s first, and only, word is; “Why?” A good question because she willingly sacrificed herself to save her kingdom from Arhiman.
Now if this sequence was a non-interactive cut-scene it wouldn`t be that perplexing as the protagonist has his own motivations for bringing back Elika; throughout their conversations during the game it`s apparent that he values human life more than the inanimate structures of the Princess` kingdom, he doesn’t believe in fate, and of course, he has feelings for her.
But it is not a non-interactive cut-scene. There is a cut-scene where you imprison Arhiman and Elika sacrifices herself and is placed on an altar outside the great temple. Thereafter, the player is given control of the protagonist and there is nothing else to do in the game but save the princess by releasing Arhiman again. There`s no choice of leaving her, honouring her sacrifice and ending the game. Instead the only way to `finish` the game is to undo everything you did in the last 8 or so hours. It`s a very strange feeling to be almost forced to do something you don`t agree with and it`s also the first time I can remember when my motivations have been polar opposite to the motivations of the character I am controlling in the game. Yes, the `Prince` would want to save Elika but I don`t want to and I am controlling him! Again, if this was all out of my hand then I think I would have been able to accept it but to be given the illusion of choice was a bit off-putting. Even my wife who watched the ending was asking why I was releasing Arhiman and my only answer was that it was the only way to finish the game.
While the ending didn’t sully my enjoyment of the rest of the game it did leave me feeling a tad manipulated. Of course, not everyone will share my opinion of the ‘right’ thing to do and if you wanted to save Elika then you’re motivations would be absolutely congruent with the Prince’s and the ending would be fine.
In the grand-scheme of things it does allow Elika to be present in the inevitable sequel which is a positive (though Ubisoft could have just kept her alive at the end of this game).
Lavan
(would willingly let a woman die.....to save the world)
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