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Club Football - Hands On Preview
Chris Leyton
05/09/2003
We check out an 80% build of Codemasters competitor to Koanmi's crown...
Whether itās right or wrong, any football game that comes into the TVG offices is automatically judged against Konamiās mighty āPro Evolution/Winning Elevenā series; itās probably this reason alone why thereās a lack of any decent competition these days.
Step up Codemasters with a bold new foray into the genre and an interesting take on the all-important license issues. Realising that FIFA performs so well based on its franchise, Codemasters have secured the exclusive rights to 17 different clubs from the Premiership and Europe, and in an unparalleled move will release 17 different versions of the game.
Yes you read that correctly, Codemasters will release 17 different versions for both the Playstation2 and Xbox, each of which are tailored to the individual club with authentic player models, stadiums and menu screens in the clubs colours. As a United supporter through and through, I thought it was hilarious when the package came through the post and contained the āArsenalā and āReal Madridā versions ā“ well about as hilarious as a season without silverware. Thankfully the games exhibition mode allowed me to take control of my beloved United complete with Kleberson, Djemba-Djemba, Ronaldo and the rest of the season signings ā“ Club Football certainly has the authenticity down to a tee.
The full line-up of clubs currently consists of:
- Arsenal
- Aston Villa
- Celtic
- Chelsea
- Leeds United
- Liverpool FC
- Manchester United
- Rangers
- Borussia Dortmund
- Hamburger SV
- FC Bayern Munich
- Ajax
- Real Madrid
- FC Barcelona
- AC Milan
- FC Internazionale
- Juventus
The games main modes are the āDomestic Seasonā and āSuper Leagueā, both of which allow you to compete in Domestic and European competitions. In a move that will appeal to the fans, the game features an exhaustive āCreate Playerā mode, which allows you to create your own avatar and place them in the team. Thanks to a wide range of different customisable attributes such as the width of your nose and the bushiness of your eyebrows, you can really go to town and ensure the player looks just like you ā“ moreso then any other sporting game to date.
Onto the actual game and you can tell where Codies have taken their inspiration. Club Football unashamedly lifts ideas from the āPro Evolutionā school of football, right down to closing down a player with the X button, calling in another player to assist you with the Ā button or making the keeper come out with the ∆ button. The control system is identical to āPro Evoā, although sadly the game only contains one type of run.
Whilst the game is currently showing a nice recreation of the sport and looks authentic, thereās a few niggles with the 80% complete build that need addressing if the game has any hopes of competing with the mighty Pro Evo. Firstly the games tempo feels a little slouchy compared to Konamiās efforts, when attempting to take Giggs for a mazy run down the wing he felt anything but fast and nippy.
Unfortunately the game also contains that feeling as if your players are skating around on an ice-rink, the same problem that plagued the FIFA series for so long.
Having got the complaints out of the way, Club Football does offer an entertaining game of football at times. A lot of this stems from the excellent presentation; the chants are all accurate to the club, the stadiums look fantastic as do the player models especially with the excellent depth-filtering effect that is used throughout.
The game also contains some lovely animations and a good physics system, we were left gawping when a crude challenge from behind upended a player who promptly slid down on to his knees instead of the usual collapsed heap that greets any foul in Pro Evo.
Without doubt the strongest aspect of Club Football gameplay is the after-touch. Itās more defined then Pro Evoās and allows you to whip in deadly curving crosses from the wing, or send rocketing 30-yeard screamers into the top corner.
We would certainly like to see more depth to the game; Pro Evo succeeds by having a substantial layer of depth portrayed through the games two different run speeds, mastering these allows you to do a wide range of shimmys, feints and sudden bursts of speed; unfortunately none of this was immediately forthcoming in Club Football, perhaps itās a result of Codemasters going for the mass-market, but we certainly would appreciate a wider scope of moves and depth to the gameplay.
One particular area that needs to be addressed before the games release are the atrocious goalkeepers. A simple backpass with no pressure seemed to confuse the keeper to the point of breakdown, as he watched and followed it as it dribbled into the net. Other hilarious examples included one keeperās unwillingness to catch anything, whilst another simply let any high ball through him and usually into the net ā“ and no it wasnāt David Seaman before you ask.
