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Brought to you by leading local games publisher IAHGames,
EA Sport's FIFA franchise is back with a vengeance. Hot on the heels of
the well-loved EA SPORTS FIFA Series, EA
SPORTSTM FIFA Online 2 is set to take Singapore, and the rest of Southeast Asia
by storm by offering a stunning combination of MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online)
game play and the real gritty essence of football.
With over 15,000 authentic footballers and 33
officially licensed leagues, including the Italian Serie A and the English
Premier League, football fans can definitely get their fix of offside action
even when the football season winds down. FO2
boasts enhanced game controls, an engaging Career mode, and micro-transaction
functions amongst its stable of new-fangled features so that gamers can enjoy
the full football experience off the pitch.
The
collaboration between EA and IAHGames
looks to be a promising one, what with EA Game's 15 year experience in creating
best-seller football games, and IAHGames'
steady success with MMO games like Granado
Espada and Hellgate: London.
Furthermore, the first Korean version of FIFA
Online weighed in at over 6 million users, a testament to the immense
potential of FO2. IAHGames hopes to hit up to 10 million users
with their staggered release of the game in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam,
Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines. What
this means for gamers is a highly interactive game with the possibility of
pitting yourselves against top gamers in the region - overall enhancing the
quality of game play.
To make
the deal even sweeter, FO2 is F2P
(Free to Play, in game-speak) and only requires gamers to pay if they want to
one-up their rivals by purchasing upgrades and additional items to enhance
their team(s).
Clearly
both EA and IAHGames are putting a
lot of effort into making FO2 into a
seamless football experience for both fans and gamers alike: in order to keep
up with the dynamics of real-world football, EA will be actively and regularly
updating the stats of both players and teams in the game.
First Look at FIFA
Online 2
HOOKED was graciously invited by IAHGames to
give FO2 a go. The game is still
awaiting it's closed-beta (CBT) phase but if you can't wait to get in on the
action, you can still register online at the official website and download the
CBT client.
When we think of football, we
usually immediately envision slick moves and fancy footwork around the pitch.
Likewise, a football game should be able to mimic the smooth passes and
effortless dribbling - here's where FO2's
new game engine comes into play. While retaining their legacy of seamless
controls that the FIFA franchise
offers, FO2 combines familiarity (so that followers of the
franchise can automatically pick up and play the game) and simple controls,
making it easy for newcomers to get into the game immediately.
Personally, this reporter's last
encounter with any FIFA series was
years and years ago so getting into the game needed some getting used to. The
learning curve for FO2 is not a very
steep one. Once you get past the mechanics of switching between your players
in-game and the controls for shooting, passing and dribbling it's really up to
your own tactical skills and reaction-time in order to win a match.
Setting up an account and a team
is easy enough - FO2 is probably as
idiot-proof as it can get, with detailed tutorials teaching you the basics of
the game even before you get down and dirty on the synthetic grass. You pick
your team from the variety of leagues offered (Barclays, Serie A, Serie B,
K-League, Coca-Cola League are a few of the many) and assemble your team.
You're given a set number of
"League Points" - the game's euphemism for cash - to purchase your new team.
Obviously, hot favourites like Manchester United and Liverpool are too
expensive at first, so you'll have to work up from lower-ranked teams.
Geared up with Everton, the first
trial match was against Manchester City. Needless to say, being a total newbie
with the controls, Everton lost their match with Man-City to a respectable 1-0.
FO2 works much like an RPG in that
after each game, your team of footballers get a boost in experience points, and
your team itself gains League Points. In addition to this, gamers get to pick 1
out of 3 gift boxes, each containing a "Uniform Card" which you can either
exchange for a player (as indicated on the card), or auction off in the market
place.
Slightly bruised from the initial
skirmish, I headed over to the buy/sell function to take a gander at what was
being offered. The Player Trade Market is at the moment, exclusive to your own
client, and allows you to sell or purchase players for your team. I stuck with
my current line-up for now and proceeded for my next match against the computer
A.I.
After a few matches, and properly
warmed up, the computer assigned me to take on Arsenal - a team that Everton
would definitely have some trouble with. However, armed with enough experience,
Everton managed to have a 3-2 win Arsenal, with Yakubu taking 2 of the 3 goals.
One feature to look out for is the awesome variation of camera angles available
once you score a goal -- your beautiful moment is captured and replayed in
every possible angle, which simply just adds to the adrenaline rush.
The win meant that the team
gained an exponential increase in experience points, with the Man of the Match
goalkeeper Howard increasing one level. With this, you can up the skill-points
for your players (e.g. +2 AGI in a traditional RPG), creating your very own
unique team in the process.
Final Say
If you've enjoyed Championship
Manager and the FIFA series, FO2 is definitely a combination of the
best of both worlds. FO2 has more
unique online multiplayer features available, like 1v1 or 2v2 multiplayer games
and matchmaking - all of which will come alive once the game goes online.
FO2 will see
physical clients being distributed this month (September) via Playworks,
GameAxis and selected gaming stores around the island. There will be limited
copies so be sure to grab them before they're all gone.
HOOKED says Joga Bonito! in response -- FO2
is indeed, a beautiful game. HOOKED
Images courtesy of IAHGames and EA
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