With the football season here in the UK drawing to a close, it seems that the sports coverage is reaching a fever pitch, as it tends to at the end of the season. Along with that we’ve just had this rather interesting FIFA 12 video leaked this week. Whilst I’m a pretty casual fan of football, I mean I like to watch games but I don’t pay much more attention than that, I’m not really a fan of football games at all. I’ll play FIFA, badly, if someone else is playing, but I don’t think I’ve owned anything I’d class as a sports game since FIFA ’98. I mean the only thing I do have is the SmackDown vs Raw series but that’s hardly a sports title.
I can hear some of you screaming that I’m hardly qualified to talk about sports games really, and that may be a fair criticism. However, I’m still going to and you can’t stop me. I mean I’ve already written this by the time you’re reading it, unless you can jump back in time about twenty hours, get to my house and beat me with a sock filled with batteries I’m going to keep going.
[drop]I don’t really want to talk about the typical ‘developers need to stop yearly updates’. I honestly don’t think they’ll change the business model unless there’s suddenly a huge consumer revolt. Sure, roster updates via DLC or as cheap add-ons would probably work out better for gamers, but I think the developers are starting to make the new releases more than just a roster update now. I mean look at FIFA 10 to 11 and now to the leaked footage of 12. There’s obviously a clear lineage between the games but they seem to be piling in more and more features every year. Not every game is there yet, but I think things are starting to move in the right direction.What I really want to see is a different career mode. I know games are, for the most part, escapism, but I’d love a sports game that starts you off at the lowest point. The TNA Impact! game was sort of like this, when you started out in career mode you weren’t actually wrestling in TNA. In fact I don’t know if I ever got up to TNA in the short period of time I had the game for, I was just wrestling in almost empty halls, with a few dozen people watching.
As far as I know there aren’t any sports games that start out like this. If you’re playing FIFA you don’t start out playing in an academy as a kid, slowly working your way forwards. If you’re sitting down to have a bash at Madden you don’t start off playing college football.
Of course something along these lines wouldn’t be for everyone, I can imagine quite a lot of people would hate having to wait for their character to become a star. I know you don’t start off as the key player for your club when you play through the FIFA career, but you don’t start off in the lower leagues, working your way upwards. That’s what I’d love to see, some real progression, decisions to be made about where you should go to move your playing career forwards. That’s something I could get behind, for me it’d just feel so much more involving.
That’s why I can take or leave sports games really, in the same way that I like playing fighting games but can easily not pick them up. There’s no real hook that draws me in. I know that’s not the point of those games, that they’re meant to be games you sit and play with your friends instead of being an engrossing single player experience. There’s nothing wrong with that pick up and play attitude to gaming, but adding something a bit deeper or meatier would be a nice move for the genre in my opinion. Maybe I just want everything in every game.
Crocadillian
Nice article, it’s the kind of thing my brother complained about when I was encouraging him to try Super Street Fighter 4 on my 3DS (and I secretly knew but didn’t say). This is why I really enjoy games like Fable 2 and Uncharted 2, and makes me think that might do better by being more genre-less, rather than just present to people a scenario and game mechanics and push them into it like an arcade game. It’s not enough.
Gaztee
I’m of a different train to everyone else. I just want to play as my favourite team. I’m not interested in starting from the bottom, or being just one player in a side. I love my US sports -‘I just want to jump into madden & play as the Titans. I’m not bothered about running a franchise, just let me on the field! The NHL game is even worse! Why can’t I jump in & play a full season as the red wings? I don’t want to play with a brand new franchise :0( I don’t have any problem with this kind of thing in a game like tiger woods.
Never liked FIFA anyway, but all these stupid modes actually put me off sports games!
BigCheese
See, I do know where you’re coming from. Being an Arsenal fan, it’s nice to just jump in and play with the first team and plow on through the seasons. But as an optional Career Mode running alongside Manager Mode, I think the above suggestions are very welcome. Just please, EA, DON’T remove or totally change the normal Manager Mode!
Roynaldo
All I want is to take York City to the Cahmpions League trophy *shakes fist*
TURRICAN-808
There’s been no or little games of Horse Racing or Cycling. Considering that Tour De France is world renowned as being one of the toughest sports, its surprising that no devs have stepped up to make a good officially licensed cycling game!!!! aarrggjhhh
OneShotWook
Pitch invasion options,guitar hero styled crowd chant minigames,online mexican waves and vu vu zella(?)showdowns,pie eating contests,minigames involving hiding cans of special brew as you pass through the gates,stand up comics doing giggs at half time.
Trouble is licensed sports games are now a genre in themselves,they have to be like the last one but a little better and good luck to getting any new ideas in them,saying that i did enjoy the story mode idea in this years Fight Night,reminded me a little of the old Def Jams.
Greek-BBQ
Haven’t bought a football game since pes5, I git bored once I won the league 5 times, and eventually began buying players from other clubs, not to use but to eliminate competition LOL. I Have tried the new fifa round my mates house but dunno if I’m committed enough to buy it. It’s fun when you play it with a mate when they come round but I recon il get bored if it quick.
I prefer fps’s and racing games etc, but sports games are always a laugh when playing them round a mates house, more fun than most other games.
Apart from that there’s no real need for me to buy one.
nemesisND1derboy
United won the tophy today yeoooow. Also am dunk so dont take this srsly for gods sake comon united waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
nemesisND1derboy
i appleologiseseses
mugsybalone
Pfft. It’s only a game.
nemesisND1derboy
ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye
3shirts
Well done, I assume you were personally involved in some way?
RFC2007
Personally speaking I am not interested in this type of ‘rags to riches’ playing as a single player experience, as far as football games go anyway. I don’t really enjoy ‘Be a Pro’ and always choose to play as the whole team in my FIFA11 career.
All I would like to see, is the most accurate simulation of football in a game possible, where I am controlling all 11 players.
I’d like FIFA to have less modes, but make the career mode mode as detailed and polished as physically possible.
iamtdogg
I’m totally into the tennis games at the moment, with Top Spin 4 pipping Virtua Tennis 4 for me, mainly due to the silly ticket system and power shots, but i’m also a big social animal with FIFA … it’s pretty much the only game i play online.
I am however looking forward to the new Rugby World Cup game due out in August and hoing like hell that they don’t make a pigs ear of it.