After months of hype, the first footy video game in four years, AFL Evolution, has arrived and the reviews are… not terrible.
Compared with a monolithic developer like EA Sports, the Melbourne-based Wicked Witch team are running a skeleton staff, so to expect a game as polished as the FIFA or Madden series is a bit unreasonable.
But after hitting shelves a day early, the early prognosis is this is a perfectly playable adaptation of our unique sport, albeit with some glaring areas of improvement for future patches or sequels.
Here’s the view of the BigFooty crowd:
The good
“Ok, this game has a lot going for it. It’s not a tackle fest, I’m missing shots, I’ve strung together some nice plays. There are some rough edges, but Im keen to see how much better it gets with realistic player edits.”
– Kid Vicious
“I just played my first game (Anzac Day rematch) and lost by 1 goal after being up 8 points at 3 quarter time. I’m honestly pleasantly surprised at how fluid the game plays and I think the interface especially is the best it’s ever been. The controls do have a learning curve, which is good, and for the life of me I couldnt take marks when it counted. But seeing things like dribble goals and handball intercepts makes me think this game is definitely the best AFL game yet and on the right track.”
– fearthebeard13
“It’s a lot of fun, and that’s probably all that matters.
There are dodgy bits – the commentary is inexplicably bad, the AI goalkicking is horrible, the cut scenes/replays are pretty gross and marking/spoiling is maybe a bit clumsy – but none of them are enough to outweigh the genuinely great bits.
Being able to win a ball in congestion and burst free with speed or an evasive move is wonderful, and crucially isn’t OP in that you are never too far from more pressure. Goalkicking is good, the fact you can fumble and tap on is good, and it’s possible to play a pretty realistic style of footy.
I haven’t got into game modes or anything yet, and I only really feel like I’m beginning to get the hang of the basics after a couple of hours. Longevity will be a different test, but more importantly playability seems to get a tick.”
-toshowyouwhy
“I returned Live 2 after one day. I will not be returning this.
This is better. A lot better.”
– kickpuncher
The bad
“A lot of people will be taking this back to EB next week. I’m confident of that.
This game is like a frozen meal. Looks way better on the box than it actually is and by the time you actually get to eat it you realise you’ve gotten what you paid for. Cheap crap.
I wonder how much of a budget wicked witch had for this. It’s AFL live 2 with much better graphics and some gameplay tweaks. The stench of live 2 still lingers underneath however.”
– Temploar
“Against the AI the game is rubbish. It is just a kick to one on one fest which they mostly win. Spoiling is so clunky that it rarely is effective in what seems to be a certain marking animation for the AI.
Set shots require no skill. No effort was put into making what is an art of the game feel challenging or rewarding. Yeah judge the wind which barely affects footy these days mind you and pull the stick back. C’mon WW make it fun.
Kick ins are shocking!
Game sounds are so poor. The crowd. Sound of the kicking, tackling, marking are all terrible. It’s not hard to replicate accurate sound.
I had a lot of fun online and feel the game was how it was supposed to feel and play in this mode.
There are great moments such as handball chains and when you can actually hit a player with a good kick into space.
Players faces look excellent.
It’s a 5/10 game.”
– Grechy
“Richo’s commentary is so bad though, he said “Grundy is a slippery customer who you cannot afford to have any space” and said the momentum was shifting towards North as they kicked a goal reducing the margin from 67 to 61 points with 7 minutes to play.”
– NinjaSwan
The ugly
This seems a bit much.
