We’re living in an age where every second thing that a footballer
does is described as brilliant.
As much as it pains us like a
ruptured ACL to say it, that means AFL Evolution is a first
thing.
True to its name, it’s an evolved version of
the last-gen game, which was
big on features but about as solid as Ben Griffiths’ head
gameplay-wise.
This too is feature-packed. It’s huger than
Aaron Sandilands in fact. Pick a league, any league. From TAC Cup to
the home and away season (including the Ansett Cup, or whatever it’s
called nowadays) to the AFL Women’s league (respect!), they’re all
here. Current team rosters are in place and detail is great – even
down to Benny’s Stackhat.
Commentary comes from Dennis
Cometti and the great god Richo. It’s. As. Stilted. As. Ever. It’s
also comically wrong at times, telling us a team is ahead when
they’re five points down and confusing Jack Riewoldt for Alex Rance.
There are oodles of Cometti-isms in there though. The man’s gift for
wordplay being brilliant in the actual sense of the word.
You
can play exhibition matches, full seasons, online, offline, up to
four players and more. Most every variable you could name is, well,
variable. Presentation’s truly ace – save for some totally
non-brilliant songs in the menus (somebody must have really owed a
mate).
The main issue with the previous game was how it
played. It suffered from delusions of adequacy, as it was more
complicated than trying to fit “Anthony McDonald Tipungwuti” on a
business card. Sadly, the utter convolution remains, especially when
marking. We spent most of our weekend playing and still couldn’t
nail the intricacies.
There’s still no easy control method
option, either, meaning AFL Evolution is no party game. It
takes oodles of work to get anywhere near competent (so we suppose
it’s much like the real thing). It’s a more wasted opportunity than
Richmond drafting Conca over Heppell!
Ultimately, while
we had high expectations of this latest draft pick, they’re merely a
good ordinary player.