AFL action will be available to all fans with consoles and PCs with the upcoming release of the hotly anticipated AFL Evolution. The game has been created by game developers Wicked Witch Software, who operate out of their headquarters in Melbourne and have brought us titles such as AFL Live 2, Shane Warne: King of Spin and Rugby Challenge 3.
A number of current AFL players from all eighteen clubs have been captured in photo shoots, but Wicked Witch Software has stated that only the best players will be featuring in the game.
Just like with the EA Sports title FIFA, where fans were able to vote for who they wanted to see on the cover of FIFA 17 and selected Marco Reus of Borussia Dortmund, AFL fans will be able to select the cover star for AFL Evolution. With AFL odds currently listing Greater Western Sydney as favourites to win the Grand Final, Brett Deledio could be a popular choice, but emerging talent such as Isaac Heeney, Marcus Bontempelli and Tom Lynch could also find themselves on the front cover.
The Game
Wicked Witch Software has revealed a few details about their upcoming game such as a career mode, pro mode and online play. Pro mode should see you take control of an existing player or create your own unique player and rise through the ranks to become a superstar with huge contract offers or see yourself being dropped to the bench. There will be lots of customizable features including body profiles, tattoos, grubber kicks, lob handballs, and even a preference for socks up or down. The career mode lets you take command of the whole team and act as a coach, although the degree of control you’ll have over aspects of the team management might well be a little limited compared to management modes in other sporting titles.
There is a welcome return of online play with a fan hub available to select your opponents and Dennis Cometti and Matthew Richardson have been confirmed as the commentators for the action.
“Trophy Pesentation” (CC BY 2.0) by AsianFC
Improvements Needed
The game is a essentially an update of AFL Live and AFL Live 2, both of which received average reviews and had great scope for improvement. The original AFL Live was brought to us by Big Ant Studios and Wicked Witch Software took up the mantle to try and give AFL fans the elite game they deserve and we can be hopeful that they have learned from the mistakes of AFL Live 2 and that this is a more polished game. It’s absolutely asking too much for the game to be at the level of sporting titles such as FIFA 17 or Rory McIlroy PGA Tour from EA Sports, as they are massive game developers with huge budgets and they’ve been plying their trade for a long time now. Yet it’s not unreasonable to expect improvements in terms of graphics and gameplay, as the previous title, although fun, didn’t offer enough as a complete AFL sporting package.
AFL fans can rejoice that there is a new title available and although we might all want something similar to the stellar titles soccer, golf and basketball fans get to enjoy, there’s reason to be hopeful about this release and if people support the game it should continue to get better and better.