AFL Challenge for PSP

[RunningMild]

I just saw an ad for this, and they said it was out September 10! Will we finally get an AFL game that delivers, or will it be another massive let-down? Discuss!

[RunningMild]

Sorry, false alarm. This is one of the worst AFL games ever made. You can lock this thread now if you want.

[Ingram]

At least explain what makes it one of the worst?

It's a pretty big selling point in the JB PSP bundle!

[grimace06]

Sorry, false alarm. This is one of the worst AFL games ever made. You can lock this thread now if you want.

Is this that platforming thing with the Mascots?

[Watchers]

Nothing can top AFL on the NES. I don't even follow the sport, but that shit was awesome.

[RunningMild]

Grimace: No, this is the proper AFL game. The Mascot thing is on DS.

Ingram: Everything about the game sucks. Handballs never go more than 50cm, so your only option is to bomb, pray, mark, repeat. Ruck taps can‘t be aimed AFAIK, and the whole thing is slow and clunky.

Marking is bullshit too. You need front position to do a screamer... yes, you take screamers over thin air.

The rosters are even worse. You have a set team of 18, you can‘t change their positions, and you can‘t sub in reserves. Want to recreate the epic Mooney/Gilham battle of the 2008 GF? Tough shit, coz neither of those guys made the game. Bulldogs fans can look forward to Ben Hudson on the wing, and as an Eagles fan I was outraged to find that Josh Kennedy had missed the cut.

The stats look like they were made up on the spot. For example, Eddie Betts is much slower than Fev but much stronger.

Overall, the game reaches levels of sucktitude not seen since Live 2004, even when judged purely on gameplay.

Anyone know where I can get a torrent of AFL 98?

[grimace06]

Grimace: No, this is the proper AFL game. The Mascot thing is on DS.

Ingram: Everything about the game sucks. Handballs never go more than 50cm, so your only option is to bomb, pray, mark, repeat. Ruck taps can‘t be aimed AFAIK, and the whole thing is slow and clunky.

Marking is bullshit too. You need front position to do a screamer... yes, you take screamers over thin air.

The rosters are even worse. You have a set team of 18, you can‘t change their positions, and you can‘t sub in reserves. Want to recreate the epic Mooney/Gilham battle of the 2008 GF? Tough shit, coz neither of those guys made the game. Bulldogs fans can look forward to Ben Hudson on the wing, and as an Eagles fan I was outraged to find that Josh Kennedy had missed the cut.

The stats look like they were made up on the spot. For example, Eddie Betts is much slower than Fev but much stronger.

Overall, the game reaches levels of sucktitude not seen since Live 2004, even when judged purely on gameplay.

Anyone know where I can get a torrent of AFL 98?

Sounds like some school kids hacked a version of AFL 97 and ported it to the PSP - but then again that had full rosters.

[RunningMild]

Sounds like some school kids hacked a version of AFL 97 and ported it to the PSP - but then again that had full rosters.

I've never heard of AFL 97. Did you mean AFL 98?

If so, the comparison is not apt. AFL 98 may have had an over-reliance on tall forwards (and at least in that game, you had to be behind your opponent to take a screamer), but you still had other weapons. You could handpass effectively to get things moving. You could play on after marks. You could use speed as a weapon.

None of that applies in AFL Challenge. Handpassing is a waste of time, they never go further than a metre and even if you handpass to someone standing right next to you, it'll still miss. You can play on after a mark, but it will always result in you getting tackled so it's useless. And forget using speed to your advantage, because everyone moves at the same slow-arse wading-through-treacle speed. So basically, all you can do with any player is get the ball and heave it forward before you get tackled.

Other things I forgot to mention are that the rules are stupid. If you get brought to ground, it's always holding the ball, whether the player had prior opportunity or not (so you better get that kick away fast!). When lining up a set shot or free kick, people will run past and touch you as they run around you. This doesn't affect the game per se, but it pisses me off that there's so much blatant infringement and no 50m penalties. Also, you can't even bump. If you try tackling with the 'Aggressive Modifier', you just do a diving tackle. A footy game without hip and shoulders = fail IMO.

Also, like all other AFL games, the difficulty is ridiculous. Easy is too easy, hard is too hard, and only medium comes close to anything decent. If the opposition scores a single goal on easy, you're useless. If you score a single goal on hard, you're a freakin' legend. Why do these games insist on going to extremes?

I can't believe that AFL 98 is over a decade old and still more realistic than this game.