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Thursday, December 19, 2013
10:24 AM - December 19, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
Ah, it’s that time of year again. Perhaps you’ve treated yourself to one of the soccer games on sale, or maybe a copy of it is waiting for you under the tree. Either way, it can be a little daunting (and maybe frustrating) getting the hang of the games, especially if you’re not too familiar with the sport. Here are some tips to help you get the most of each match.
Read More - FIFA and PES: Soccer for Dummies
Read More - FIFA and PES: Soccer for Dummies
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
11:42 PM - November 12, 2013. Posted by DustinT. Written by Kelvin Mak
Simplified?
Is that really a word that gets used in a Football Manager review? After all, the franchise is one of the most sophisticated simulation (or for those who are still hanging onto the outdated view, “glorified spreadsheet”) games available. Initially, however, the answer appears to be yes for FM 2014.
Read More - Football Manager 14 Review
Monday, October 21, 2013
11:53 AM - October 21, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
For these look-backs as a part of our ongoing Oktoberfest celebration of the current generation of sports games, the obvious choice would be to find the current-gen soccer game that received the highest score.
But, of course, that wasn’t FIFA 12.
FIFA 11 was that game (though I’d argue that was a product of our scoring system change more than anything, but I digress), and, with the benefit of hindsight, us writers gave FIFA 13 the Oktoberfest Award.
So why look back at FIFA 12? Personally, I think in the context of FIFA’s development this generation, that was the watershed game.
Read More - FIFA Soccer 12: Changing the Course of the Franchise
Thursday, October 3, 2013
11:39 AM - October 3, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
Pro Evolution Soccer 2014: Great on the pitch, not as great off of it.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 is like that raw, young, promising player who gets thrust into limelight a few years too early. The promise is clearly there, but at the moment there are just too many unpolished elements in its game for it to play consistently with the big boys.
The more time you spend with the game, the more you may find it to be a bit, shall we say, bipolar. There are definitely moments of gameplay brilliance that will wow you, but by the same token there are also some frustrating flaws that can follow immediately which make you wonder how you can be playing the same game.
Read More - Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 Review (PS3/360)
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
11:23 AM - September 24, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
FIFA Soccer 14 is the cherry on top of a very successful era for the franchise.
Here we are again, the end of another console generation. For FIFA, a series that has very much raced out of the gate and dominated—its own sport at first, then the wider landscape of sports games in general—the better part of the cycle, maybe now is the time when the option that makes the most business and creative sense is to play it safe and save its bullets for next gen consoles.
And safe, mind you, doesn’t necessarily mean bad. Plenty of people liked FIFA 13, and all safe really means in this contextis FIFA 14 built and added upon what worked last year. Do that without tearing down and rebuilding any core elements and fans should leave happy.
Considering the game’s great reception last year, the basic and safe approach is probably not the worst idea in the world.
Read More - FIFA Soccer 14 Review (PS3/360)
Monday, September 16, 2013
05:06 PM - September 16, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
Pro Evolution Soccer's incredibly rich gameplay experience seems to be alive and well with this year's iteration in the series, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014. We had some of our staff writers pen a few thoughts on their experiences with the demo from the past week. Click the link to find out their thoughts.
Read More - Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 Demo Roundtable
Monday, August 26, 2013
03:59 PM - August 26, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Glenn Wigmore
The NHL 14 demo dropped last week, giving fans their first chance to play the new edition of EA Sports' newest hockey game. Here are some of our thoughts on this year's demo, be sure to comment with some of your own!
Read More - OS Roundtable: NHL 14 Demo Impressions
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Another June has passed. Which means another year we've heard the familiar refrain: “PES is back.”
In the past, this is what usually happened next: October rolled around, the game is released, and the refrain is then amended to “PES is on its way back." It’s been like that for quite a while now — encouraging signs here and there, but still some ways away from a thoroughly polished product that can reach out to soccer gamers of every stripe, like the releases from its halcyon days. Yet every June, hope springs eternal, and PES is back.
Hey, at least the current outlook is nowhere near as morbid as those dark days in 2008-09, when the game fell into a funk, and you wouldn’t be completely out of line to legitimately question the future of the series. Now, we may disagree on how much improvement it has made and how it bodes for the future, but at least there is a future.
Read More - The State of PES
Thursday, May 30, 2013
10:51 AM - May 30, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. Written by Kelvin Mak
New Star Soccer won this year’s British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ Best Sports/Fitness game, beating out the likes of FIFA 13 and Forza Horizon. Here's our belated take at what makes it so impressive.
Stripped down, yes. But less fun? Definitely not.
How do you port a soccer game over to phones and tablets? Simple, just take out the boring parts. Who needs to command your player to run continuously when you can just do the kicking?
Of course, it’s much more complex than that. Yet amazingly, in New Star Soccer, developer Simon Read has figured out how to make a soccer game incredibly fun to play on a touch screen device of your choice.
Read More - New Star Soccer Review (Android/iOS)
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
12:40 PM - April 17, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. 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
Monday, April 1, 2013
02:32 PM - April 1, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. 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
11:38 AM - March 1, 2013. Posted by RaychelSnr. 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
02:43 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
11:08 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
12:03 PM - 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!
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