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Wednesday, April 17, 2013
11:40 AM - April 17, 2013. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
We got our first look at FIFA Soccer 14 earlier this week and had a chance to talk with the producers who gave us tons of information on the latest installment in the FIFA franchise.
It’s interesting—and better yet, encouraging—to see the importance of a steady philosophy on a game franchise. Rarely do you see, in this “era” of FIFAs, features coming in for a year and then getting taken out the next, or a dramatic shift in playing style between iterations—basically, no abrupt “change in direction” year to year. The FIFA team seems to have decided a long time ago (and stuck to it ever since) to basically make the game as close as possible to the sport you see on TV, and to a certain extent, the sport you play on the pitch. And it’s great news for us hardcore fans.
Read More - First Look at FIFA Soccer 14
Thursday, April 11, 2013
02:32 PM - April 11, 2013. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
Most previews described Lords of Football as "Football Manager meets The Sims." That’s not entirely accurate. While the graphics and the music will remind you a lot of EA’s popular life simulation game, the rest of Lords of Football is similar to The Sims in only the broadest sense—that you control a bunch of people.
The game’s concept is an interesting one, and one that hasn’t really been explored in other games—New Star Soccer comes closest, in terms of the amount of options you have with a player's life outside of soccer, but in it you’re only in control of your own player. In Lords of Football, you are a manager less concerned with “building” a team by transferring and scouting players, and more with keeping your current squad in good spirits and optimal condition by choosing what activities your players partake in, and punishing them when they step out of line.
Read More - Lords of Football Review (PC)
Monday, April 1, 2013
01:32 PM - April 1, 2013. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
Playing career mode with an MLS team in FIFA is like that nagging feeling you get when you're watching Man City play–everything looks good on the surface, but there's an undercurrent of inauthenticity running through it.
In real life, the biggest soccer league in the continent is an interesting hybrid of Europe and North America: While the action on the pitch mirrors a match you’d find on the other side of the Atlantic, off the field things are more North American—there’s a players draft, trading instead of buying and selling, and a salary cap (along with which comes a slew of special player quotas). But in the FIFA series, the MLS is just another league in the Career Mode, still stuck with the European management system. The MLS experience in FIFA needs improving, this much is obvious.
Read More - FIFA: Time to Improve the MLS Experience
10:38 AM - March 1, 2013. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
Football Manager 2013 was the fastest selling and one of the best reviewed iteration in the series' 21-year run. What's next for the critically acclaimed franchise?
Operation Sports recently caught up with SI Games (the studio that produces Football Manager) director Miles Jacobson to chat about, amongst other things, the role of mobile gaming, the importance of community feedback and the future for FM Classic.
Read More - Q&A with SI Games' Studio Director Miles Jacobson
Saturday, December 8, 2012
01:43 PM - December 8, 2012. Posted by Steve_OS. Written by Kelvin Mak
Where will "golden balls" take his one man brand to next?
Having announced his intention to leave LA Galaxy and the MLS, there is a lot of interest and speculation as to which club David Beckham will use as his final hoorah.
Sports Interactive placed Beckham in seven different clubs with which he was, at one time or another, linked with, and simulated the rest of his career with Football Manager 2013. If the results are any sort of indication, Becks will probably be best served heading over to France or China, as he did quite well with PSG, Monaco and Shanghai. Interestingly enough, stints at AC Milan, Man Utd, Real Madrid, and even QPR all ended up disappointingly, with Beckham making very few appearances for those teams. Though it says here that 'Arry "I'm a Football Manager" Redknapp will surely move heaven and earth to accommodate his pal David if Beckham ever moved to QPR.
Have a look at the simulation results and let us know in the comments section where you think Beckham will end up!
Read More - Where Will David Beckham End Up Playing? Football Manager 2013 Sims the Possibilities
Friday, November 30, 2012
10:08 AM - November 30, 2012. Posted by Steve_OS. Written by Kelvin Mak
With the MLS Cup coming up this weekend, don't forget to participate in our Football Manager 2013 giveaway. The big question is, of course, who is going to win it all on Saturday, Houston or LA? Follow us on Twitter @operationsports and tweet us your pick along with the hashtag #FootballManager2013, for your chance at winning a copy of the game.
In the meantime, the game's developer, Sports Interactive, simulated the final with FM 2013 (ten times, actually, just to be thorough.)
Read More - Football Manager 2013 Simulates MLS Cup 2012, Your Chance to Win a Copy of the Game
Friday, November 23, 2012
11:03 AM - November 23, 2012. Posted by Steve_OS. Written by Kelvin Mak
Operation Sports and Sports Interactive are teaming up and giving away free copies of Football Manager 2013!
To enter, simply follow us on Twitter @operationsports. We'll be asking some soccer related questions, and all you have to do is answer them with the hashtag #FootballManager2013. For each question, one lucky winner will receive a copy of Football Manager 2013, just like that!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
04:21 PM - November 20, 2012. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
Hello and welcome. If you are reading this, chances are you are either considering taking the plunge or have already purchased Football Manager 13 (and hopefully, have also perused our review of said game.)
A few final questions before you start: Are you willing to sacrifice a good chunk of your day playing the game—even when you know you shouldn’t, and just can’t help yourself—and are you willing to sacrifice the other parts of that day, when you're not playing the game, thinking about it? Football Manager is, by all accounts, addictive, and there have been stories about the game's crack-like hold on you.
So the answers to those question is yes you say? Excellent. Let’s get busy.
Read More - A Beginners Guide to Football Manager 2013
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
01:25 PM - November 14, 2012. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
When playing as an average club, you aren't Arsenal. So here's a guide how to manage your club.
It's no surprise that many players prefer playing with a medium or small club in FIFA 13's Manager Mode, rather than with one of the traditional big guns. The amount of challenges you face with a team that’s not named Manchester City/Manchester United/Barcelona/Real Madrid-- financial restrictions, less talented players-- make the mode a lot more fun to play. Of course, if you are used to playing with one of those said teams, managing a smaller club can seem challenging at first, trying to win and stay thrifty at the same time is not easy after all.
For those who may be struggling in FIFA 13’s Manager mode with an average team and a below average transfer kitty, here are some tips that may help you succeed.
Read More - FIFA 13: From Average Team to Contender
Thursday, November 8, 2012
10:17 AM - November 8, 2012. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
It’s 2am. The laundry’s piled sky high. The cat’s desperately meowing to be fed. And the girlfriend has—though this one I’m not totally sure since I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen to check—left me.
Yes, Football Manager 2013 is here, and it is as destructive to your life (sleeping patterns, especially) as ever.
Read More - Football Manager 2013 Review (PC)
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
03:14 PM - October 31, 2012. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
Slow and steady wins the race. That’s the impression I get after spending a whole week with the Football Manager 2013 beta.
Of course, there’s no point playing it slow and steady if the series didn’t have a solid base to build upon — houses and foundations and all that — but that is the case with FM, as the series’ continues to improve year after year.
It's the same "evolution not revolution" mantra for 2013, as developers Sports Interactive continue to make subtle adjustments across the board, to what is already a very high quality game to begin with. At first glance, there are no earth shattering changes in 2013 that will immediately distinguish itself from the 2012 version. But after spending a little more time with the game, you may just start to notice, and more importantly appreciate, all the little things that have been improved, and like yours truly, finally be able to let go and press the uninstall button on FM 2012.
Read More - Football Manager 2013 Demo Impressions
Friday, October 19, 2012
10:43 AM - October 19, 2012. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
Presentation, check. Player control, check. Defending, check. Player AI, check.
For the last couple of years, FIFA has improved upon almost every aspect of its game. Unsurprisingly, for a franchise that is steadfastly trying to simulate a realistic brand of football, most of these elements became deeper and more nuanced as a result. However, there’s one thing that’s crucially missing from the list: AI Management.
Now, it’s not the sexiest thing to market. You can’t see it, and possibly only a percentage of us who play the game will appreciate it. I try not to write these “wishlist” articles too frequently, but for a hardcore sports gaming site like OS, it seems apt to suggest some improvements for how the game can improve on its gameplay experience by giving its CPU managers a little more smarts. The problem with FIFA's existing CPU management is that it seems to operate inside a vacuum, meaning that its moves are usually preprogrammed to trigger at some basic benchmarks, without taking into account the entire context of what's going on in the match. And if that isn't the case, it surely isn't obvious enough, because as it stands, the CPU management in FIFA just feels a little shallow, especially when compared to the rest of the game's impressive depth.
Read More - The Next Frontier in FIFA Soccer: AI Management
Thursday, October 11, 2012
01:42 PM - October 11, 2012. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
Before the full release of PES 2013, we had five questions for the game. Now, after the dust has settled on this stellar game of footy, we have our answers. As it turns out, most of them are positive, which isn’t surprising for an 8.0 game.
Read More - Five Answers from PES 2013
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
10:38 AM - October 2, 2012. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
PES 2013 is the game that PES 2012 wanted to be, but for various reasons couldn’t.
So it comes as no surprise that when you fire up the game for the first time, not much looks different on the surface. Visually, the game is similar to PES 2012 (and 2011, and 2010), and the gameplay also feels very much the same. But, as all PES aficionados can attest to, first impressions are deceiving with the franchise. PES 2013's depth, as is the case again this year, never truly surfaces until you’re ten or twenty games in.
And yes, the gameplay, as it turns out, is different from PES 2012. And for the most part it's better. However, the laser-like focus on gameplay means that other aspects of the game are starting to show its age. The result? A lot of fun on the pitch, but just a tad less impressive off of it.
Read More - Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 Review (360/PS3)
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
12:55 PM - September 26, 2012. Posted by MMChrisS. Written by Kelvin Mak
Last year, FIFA 12 bought itself a tremendous amount of goodwill. The game revolutionized the series’ gameplay by successfully rolling out three big new features — tactical defending, precision dribbling and the impact engine— without any significant disasters. Because of that, a lot of us were quite willing to overlook some of the match engine’s slightly rougher edges. So it’s not a surprise that for FIFA 13, the team at EA Canada decided to polish those rough edges up rather than introduce more significant wrinkles to the game, and for the most part they do so successfully. But is it enough to catapult FIFA 13 to becoming an all-time classic?
Read More - FIFA Soccer 13 Review (360/PS3)
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