Real Football 2008? More Like Real Crap

Football, otherwise known as soccer to the Americans (for lack of common sense), can be found in almost every single modern video games platform. Given that the Nintendo DS is one of the more popular platform, it's not suprising to have another football title grace the two-screened handheld console.

Both Konami and EA have cornered the market with their Winning Eleven and FIFA titles but now here comes Gameloft with Real Football 2008.

Both Winning Eleven and FIFA 08 come with their own sets of strength. Winning Eleven has the cool World Mode, not-so-dumb AI, the gashapon machine and the 360 degrees playback camera. FIFA 08 looks like the old FIFA 98 or 96 for the PC, which is saying alot for a Nintendo DS game, has high production values, a myriad of licensed teams/players, and a rocking soundtrack.

What does Real Football 2008 bring to the table which is already occupied with two heavy-hitters? Nothing much other than very fast but pong-ish gameplay. It looks like a water-down, el-cheapo version of Winning Eleven, and I thought developers can't go any worse than Winning Eleven.

The lack of licensed teams doesn't really matter but the oddly named players, in an attempt to mimic the names of their real-life, licensed counterparts, are in bad taste. Is that Patrick Viera on the cover of the game?

I would stay away from this game if I were you. The lack of any redeeming factor shows that you are better off with FIFA 08 or Winning Eleven.

Scoring an Own Goal With Fifa 08

You know how sometimes Nintendo DS owners get the short end of the stick with games that look like their ancient, 10-year old iterations on the PC?

Such is the case of Fifa 08 for the Nintendo DS. As an EA release, it has practically everything from the "E-A-Sports, It's in the game" intro announcement, a rather nice soundtrack that sounds like they hired a bunch of hooligans to sing for, lotsa nice teams to choose from, a bunch of gameplay options and online play (I think). And while it's missing an intro movie...it does sound rather complete doesn't it? The whole shebang..so to say.

Once you start the game however, you'll be met with some of the ugliest looking graphics this side of wherever. To me, there is no point in having a brand new 3D engine just to dish out bland looking textures. Game developers should spare gamers from this sort of garbage by opting for no close-ups..or heck, cel-shade the entire game, give it an entire new look and feel.

It is a shame though as I thought the commentary was brilliant, given the limited resources available on EA's DS cartridge.

Personally I prefer the smooth, crisp graphics of Fifa 06 and Winning Eleven DS. Sure they didn't have close-ups of players in their (paper-thin) 3D models all the time not unlike Fifa 08, but those games were fun to play and you don't feel the need to barf looking at them.

Click here if you absolutely need to purchase Fifa 08. Personally, I can't wait for the release of Winning Eleven DS: Goal x Goal! this October.

Winning Eleven - When a Spade is not quite a Spade

Konami has released the English version of Winning Eleven DS in the form of Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 for the US market and Pro Evolution Soccer 6 for the European market. Essentially, all three are the same game, the only differences are superficial ones such as language, font size and header screens.

However, dig deeper and you'll find something utterly disappointing in the implementation of all three releases in terms of Nintendo WFC online play. If you bought Winning Eleven DS for cheap at Play-Asia with hopes of getting into matches with European gamers owning Pro Evolution Soccer 6, you can forget about it.

Owners of the European version of the game will not be to play with both Winning Eleven DS and PES 2007 owners despite the fact that these practically the same game. The three versions are WFC "region-locked" and in my opinion is a mistake on the part of the developers as there will be no such thing as "world-wide" WFC matches.

I guess that buying the European version of the game is the way to go. I wonder who wants to play with Americans with their US version of Winning Eleven, knowing that their idea of football is running around CARRYING a ball while wearing body armour. Body armour is for wimps, try playing rugby sometime.

Video Game Hijinks

This post is inspired by a friend of mine, his Winning Eleven DS hijinks never fail to amaze me. Today he managed to utilise the goalkeeper to score a goal and he left my DS in hibernation mode just to show me the replay, which was really very cool.

Come to think of it, there are other games that allow you the opportunity to do some pretty crazy stuff. Animal Crossing Wild World lets you plant pitfall seeds into the ground. Watch and laugh as visitors and townfolk fall into holes when they step over these seeds.

In Mario Kart DS, you'll need to be a little lucky to get two Blue Shells in a row in the time where you hit one power-up followed by hitting the immediate power-up down the track. But if you are lucky, you can torment the race leader with two successive Blue Shells hits; which would probably make him/her pretty pissed at you if you are doing it in a WFC match (but its worth it for a good chuckle).

Worms: Open Warfare is pratically a large sandbox for performing crazy stunts. Take one of the fearless worms of your team on a ninja rope and drop a land mine on top of a previously inaccessible opponent or shoot a rocket against the wind and see where it lands. It's a pity though that the game has sub-par graphics.

Merry Christmas and Gift Recommendations!

Christmas time is probably an exciting time for gamers, not only they might get games underneath the Christmas tree, but other stuff as well such as consoles and LCD TVs and stuff. On the other hand, Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ (least you forget), and what matters is the giving, not the receiving. So don't forget to spread the cheer all around you!

Should you feel yourself in a pinch, and you have not bought a gift for someone, here are some suggestions (abeit casual gaming style)...some of the items below were previously reviewed on this blog, for games, take a look at the links on the left:

1. Nintendo DS Lite
   Probably the best handheld video game console you can get for your money and have change for several great games! Available in several colours at Play-Asia.com (here)
   
   
2. New Super Mario Bros
   For the old-school gamer who likes his games in new digs, New Super Mario Bros combines the excellent gameplay of its predecessors with totally new graphics for some real fun! Available at Play-Asia.com (here)
   
   
3. Winning Eleven DS
   Your friend a football (or soccer, so they say in America) nut? This will keep him/her happy for days and with WFC/local WiFi play, that person will be a happy camper. Available at a super low price of USD 19.90 at Play-Asia.com (here)
   
   
4. Mario Kart DS
   Like Winning Eleven, this is a personal favourite of mine. Featuring tight gameplay, a host of characters and game modes (Grand Prix, Battle, Time Trial, etc) as well as WFC/local WiFi play, this games delivers in more ways than one. With excellent replayability, it's available at Play-Asia.com (here)
   
   
5. Tetris DS
   Tetris is probably one of the more well known casual experiences on handheld consoles and this is an update for the timeless classic. Recommended by a friend, it's available on Play-Asia.com albeit the Japanese version, but who need to take note of the language in a game about moving blocks? (here)

There are alot more games and stuff that you can look for your gamer pals, the Play-Asia bargain bin (here) is a good start but one does not really need to venture online for a good bargain. Go to your local game shop, stuff like controllers, memory cards or even CD/DVD racks (you might not find these in a game-shop but IKEA does help) make thoughtful gifts for your gamer friend.

Getting Some WFC Action With Winning Eleven DS

So you decided to get Winning Eleven DS, more for its price (you can get it here) rather than the fact that the game is in Japanese. Having experienced the single player game, you feel ready to head online and trash some real opposition but before you can do so, you hit a snag. How do you go online in the first place, given the screens are in Japanese?

Don't fret, here's a guide that will have you playing online in no time (maybe). For starters, it might be helpful to note that my descriptions precede the respective screenshots..so remember, description first then followed by the screenshot.

1. Go to the third option in the main menu of the game:











2. This will bring up the list of sub options, go for the 2nd one, labelled Wi-Fi:











3. This will bring up a new menu, with three options. The first option is to proceed with connecting to the WFC, the second one shows you your friend code and allows you to add friend codes to your game, and the last option allows you to setup the game's wireless settings used to connect to the WFC.











4. The last 2 options are pretty straight forward, so lets proceed with the first option, connecting to the WFC! Selecting this will bring you to a confirmation screen, just hit the first option on that confirmation screen and the game will connect to the WFC











5. Once the game is connected to the WFC, you'll see a new menu with 3 options. Option 1 being Friend Code play while the two other options are either Worldwide or Regional play (I'm not too sure). WFC play on Option 2 seems to feature more lag compared to that of Option 3 (or is it the other way around) but both are better alternatives if you do not have any friend codes added to the game:










For my original review of Winning Eleven DS, click here

Football's Winning Ways

Playing football on a handheld console is a pretty good time killer but most of the time, you'll be stuck playing on your own against the game's AI which might lead to a not so fun time. With Winning Eleven DS, you can take your game on the road (or to the local cafe) and challenge people via local wireless connection or via the Nintendo WFC if a hotspot is available.

There are a variety of game play modes available in the game but since I purchased a Japanese version of the game, I might be wrong in some of my descriptions. First up is the Exhibition mode, where you can select a team and play in an exhibition match or in a penalty shootout.

The penalty shoot out mode is interesting in a sense the player utilises the touch screen to determine where the shot is made and where to block the ball.

The World Tour mode, is well, a World Tour which is self explanationary. The Konami Cup mode provides some knock-out tournament experience for those itching for it. Basically the player can choose to have 4, 8 or 16 teams in the tournament. There is as well a customize your own team mode, a training mode, a mind-your-progress mode as well another mode which I still can't make out.

Graphics wise, I bought this game without expecting much knowing that it is a Nintendo DS title but it does serve its purpose. I liken the graphics to that of EA Sport's FIFA games in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and although its nothing to shout about, it is in 3D. Before I forget, the game suffers from an invisible referee, the man in black is no where to be seen but you can sure hear him whistle.

Sound wise, the game does have some nice touches such as the crowd's noise in the stadium and the nice music in the menu screen.

Despite its shortcomings, Winning Eleven DS makes up with its gameplay, which I makes for quite engaging matches. There are a number of gameplay options that I have not explored, simply because of my inability to read Japanese. The replay feature has this great camera panning system to give a more TV like feel to the replay.

Getting onto the WFC was pretty easy once I had sorted out which menu does what and I have had 2 WFC matches since. The experience so far has been 50/50 with my first game experiencing heavy lag and the second one played out smooth as silk.

To get your very own copy of Winning Eleven DS from Play-Asia.com, click here! For a guide on how to get the game going on WFC, click here.