Gamersmint Review : Pure Futbol
Ubisoft decided to cash in on the World Cup fever engulfing the world by churning out a football title themselves. It’s commendable that instead of treading the tried and tested path, they decided to do things differently. The game’s cover confidently proclaims that players should be prepared to have the “most authentic†soccer experience of their lives. Not bad to have you all charged up eh? Does it successfully deliver a “pure†futbol experience or does it never manage to convert those claims into reality?
The first thing you will notice after starting the game is the way the models are created, the player models are never meant to be too realistic and have a rough and arcade feel to them, I for one liked the way they looked although the polish which could have lended a authentic look to the 230 odd roster of players plus 17 legends was always found lacking. However, Ubisoft have just did enough for you to separate the Ballacks from the Gerards. The next thing and utterly horrible might I add is the complete lack of commentary and referees (although for some strange reason fouls are still awarded) on the pitch. The only things you will hear are the player’s chatter and nothing else. If you were expecting a crowd to cheer you as you try and score that elusive goal…you’re out of luck! Crowd is another feature that Ubisoft conveniently decided to exclude.
If removing these factors make for an authentic football experience, it’s obvious that the guys at Ubisoft are not much of soccer fans themselves! The game pits you against a team of 5 players instead of the traditional 11 in locations inspired by real-world areas like the “Ring in Madrid†instead of stadiums. Pure Futbol tries to offer you with a unique gameplay experience where shots must be timed to perfection using a shot meter similar to the one found in Golf games. You will need to time your passes and your shots on goal in order to execute a pure strike. These might sound exciting at first but once you are on the pitch and try to pull them off, the fact will hit you that Ubisoft might have altogether skipped play-testing the game before shipping it out!
The controls feel really awkard and lacks accuracy or variation; you will find that all passes have a similar pacing to them irrespective of the fact if it’s the defender trying to clear the ball or Ballack trying to through ball it to a striker. The strikes at goal are no different, however hard you try, you will seldom find yourself hitting the ball in a way that you desired, thanks to the unresponsive nature of the whole passing-system. This is certainly the most frustrating control-scheme implementation I have been subject to in a football game.
Ubisoft tries to make up for the lack of commentary or an audience for that matter by bringing in some rather interesting ideas to the field. You can pull off some exciting looking moves on the pitch. Passes often result in a slo-mo sequence where both teams rough it up for the possession of the ball and well-timed shots leave a trail of smoke behind. However, the ill-implementation of the shot system and core gameplay mechanics squeeze out any fun that you might have had indulging in such features. Adding to the blemishes is the horrible A.I that you will be subject to in this game. Your goalkeeper will often be oblivious to the fact that a striker is approaching your goal and your teammates might prefer passing to that imaginary invisible friend of yours waiting at the sidelines rather than trying to pass it to your on-field self. On top of that, inspite of the rough looking players and the lack of referees, slide tackles are a strict no as a meter begins to fill once you do so and if it fills up completely results in your opposing team getting a penalty irrespective of where or how the tackle took place! Yes, penalties are awarded for tackles made anywhere on the pitch in this game and that too when there is no fkking referee in sight!
The game has the usual exhibition, quick play and campaign modes along with an online component. The campaign mode is rather mundane where you need to create a team of your own and rise up the footballing ladder in a specified period of time. You will unlock new players and arenas along the way. The campaign mode does little to redeem this flawed game as the core gameplay seems rather sluggish and illogical throughout.
I will be honest, I tried connecting to XBLA and hunted for a few games, the most I managed were two matches, one of which lagged terribly. I neither had the will or the desire to keep searching and the lack of players had made it evident that this game does not have a stellar online component either. In the online mode, you will need to create a team of your own and take it through the footballing blah blah….good luck with it as you will need it!
The visuals of the Pure Futbol are strictly average at most and have an arcade-ish feel to them. The only saving grace is the celebration animations which follow after you manage to score. The audio is non-existence with no crowds, no commentators or not even a ref. The eerily silent environments where you play deprive you of any excitement even before the flaws that the game has start hitting you on the face.
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