Axis Football 2015 Review (PC)

[RaychelSnr]

When Axis Football 2015 went live on STEAM last Wednesday, July 15, the Greenlight program's latest graduate hit the field stumbling and bumbling around like a broken, buggy mess. Most –- but not all -- of those gameplay glitches have since been bandaged up by the version 1.3 patch. But there's no hotfix for Axis Football 2015's biggest problem: it's simply not much fun to play.

The game's one noteworthy feature –- using mouselook to aim your passes -- just feels like an alternative to traditional icon-based passing rather than a revolutionary replacement. All other aspects of Axis Football 2015 come across as amateurish and archaic. A more apt title would have been Axis Football 96, because that's the era of football gaming –- the Nintendo 64's and Sony PlayStation's early 3D efforts –- the on-field action and off-field options most closely resemble in their current state.

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[iloveparkmin]

dang that game is worst football game ever

[HypoLuxa13]

Guess they weren't kidding when they said this was a 1 man dev team that made the game for $450.

[bxphenom7]

Well, not unexpected. Hopefully this is a game that grows into something larger in five years or so. I'd support it but I don't have a PC for gaming.

[herropreese]

Re: Axis Football 2015 Review (PC)

The only problem I have with the review is it keeps comparing the game to Madden. This game was never advertised as a simulation style football game. It certainly could become one with enough time and effort, but to compare it to Madden at the moment isn't fair imo.

[Fist Of Kings]

Re: Axis Football 2015 Review (PC)

Ryanmoody21 interviewed the guy that made this game. Yeah, it's easy to bash it, as I'm sure it's horrible from what I've seen, and I've said myself I would play Madden 92 on the genesis again before this. But this guy did most of the work himself, and had a budget of $500 total for the game.

Having posted that, I think it's insulting that this guy is trying to unload this game for nearly $20 bucks. The worst was the guy listing everything that the game didn't have, but it would be in the '2016' version if enough people bought this year's version. There aren't any ol/dl interactions, no stiff arm, no spin moves, no break tackles etc.

I would love a customizable pc football game, but this isn't the answer, not by a longshot.

[herropreese]

Re: Axis Football 2015 Review (PC)

Ryanmoody21 interviewed the guy that made this game. Yeah, it's easy to bash it, as I'm sure it's horrible from what I've seen, and I've said myself I would play Madden 92 on the genesis again before this. But this guy did most of the work himself, and had a budget of $500 total for the game.

Having posted that, I think it's insulting that this guy is trying to unload this game for nearly $20 bucks. The worst was the guy listing everything that the game didn't have, but it would be in the '2016' version if enough people bought this year's version. There aren't any ol/dl interactions, no stiff arm, no spin moves, no break tackles etc.

I would love a customizable pc football game, but this isn't the answer, not by a longshot.

He was quite honest about the game being a little overpriced. If the August update adds the new player models/animations, custom logos and uniforms, and Franchise mode as intended (and he hasn't lied in the past about updates) then $20 would be fine. Then again, "worth" is entirely subjective. I'm having fun with the game considering it isn't trying to be Madden.

[jyoung]

Re: Axis Football 2015 Review (PC)

If the August update adds the new player models/animations, custom logos and uniforms, and Franchise mode as intended (and he hasn't lied in the past about updates) then $20 would be fine.

Franchise mode won't be making it into Axis Football 2015, according to several posts the developer has made on the product's STEAM forums:

http://steamcommunity.com/app/370090/discussions/0/535151582675999523/

It's looking like Franchise mode won't be [released] until around July 2016. Purchasing Axis Football 2015 now will get you several free updates throughout the year, but Axis Football 2016 will be a separate purchase. Axis Football 2015 will still be playable, but we'll stop updating it around February 2016.

These are their current targeted features for the August update:

• New player models
• Uniform modding
• Season stats
• Coach mode
• Upgraded camera movement

[daflyboys]

Re: Axis Football 2015 Review (PC)

The only problem I have with the review is it keeps comparing the game to Madden. This game was never advertised as a simulation style football game. It certainly could become one with enough time and effort, but to compare it to Madden at the moment isn't fair imo.

So true.... I wonder how the critics would compare this football game to Madden...

Spoiler

[herropreese]

Re: Axis Football 2015 Review (PC)

Franchise mode won't be making it into Axis Football 2015, according to several posts the developer has made on the product's STEAM forums:

http://steamcommunity.com/app/370090/discussions/0/535151582675999523/

These are their current targeted features for the August update:

• New player models
• Uniform modding
• Season stats
• Coach mode
• Upgraded camera movement

Ah, missed that. Still. I think those things added would make the game worth $20. I have little issue with throwing some bucks at him as a sort of kickstarterish way of support if it means 2016 is more robust game.

[FaceMask]

He had a kickstarter and nobody spent any money, although it was the worst Kickstarter attempt of its kind by far.

Anyway, making any comparison to Madden is beyond ridiculous. I'm sorry, but the author of this should know better than that. You're talking about a game made by basically one guy on a nothing budget, versus a game made on a multi-million dollar budget with a staff the size of a military offensive unit.

[sportyguyfl31]

Re: Axis Football 2015 Review (PC)

The game isnt good. Needs a ton of work..but I thought it was unfair to stack this effort up against a giant corporation.

You have to be honest, and not give it a pass just because it is made by a handful of guys on a shoestring, but I dont think there is a need to draw Madden comparisons.

[Hooe]

Re: Axis Football 2015 Review (PC)

I see no problem in attempting to compare this game to Madden. They are both at their hearts simulation-style football games.

Yes, one was made by one guy. Yes, one doesn't have a multi-million-dollar budget and the licensing arm of the biggest sports entity in the United States behind it. But they are both still 11-on-11 simulation-style football video games vying for the video game consumer's money. To that end, any comparisons in quality are valid. If the game were designed as a seven-on-seven arcade affair or as a nostalgia-invoking throwback-style game, then perhaps the comparisons with Madden wouldn't be as valid.

I am pulling for the guy, though. I hope his efforts in supporting the game in post-release he's promised clean up some of the issues people have with the game right now.

[FaceMask]

Re: Axis Football 2015 Review (PC)

Let's compare a Bentley to a Ford Taurus. They both have 4 wheels and an engine inside.

Let's compare a Pop Warner football player to an NFL Football player. They both wear a helmet and pads.

When the scales are different, comparisons are incongruent. One reading this review has to wonder if the author came into it with the state of mind to take the game for what it is, or take the game on the value of comparing it to Madden.

[jyoung]

Re: Axis Football 2015 Review (PC)

We grade every game we review on the same scale, because the history of gaming has repeatedly proved that good games can come from small companies (Super Mega Baseball, The Golf Club, OlliOlli, Wrestling Revolution 3D), just as easily as bad games can come from large companies (NBA Live 14, NHL 15, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, WWE 2K15).

Most consumers do not care how many employees or how much money it took to make a game. Consumers generally only care about which games are worth their money, and which ones are not. And since the primary purpose of any product review is to aid and educate consumers, we take that same stance.

On a scale where Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is a 5, and NBA Live 14 is a 3.5, Axis Football 2015 could fit nowhere else but the 2.5 it was justly given. The game in its current state is simply nowhere close to the standards that gamers expect of any 11 vs. 11 football title (big or small) released in 2015.

Madden 08 is mentioned because it is a superior product in the same genre on the same platform as Axis Football 2015. We will always present alternatives to our readers in any review where the game we are writing about is not worth recommending.