 |
| In Football Blitz, each team only has two players |
- Reviewed by: Mark Goninon
- Developer: Applava
- Publisher: Applava
- Release Date: 4 Jan 2017
- Time played: 3.3 hours
What is it
Applava is an indie development studio situated in Vilnius, Lithuania and has been developing games, predominantly for the mobile market, for almost four years. Football Blitz actually existed as a mobile game before being released to PC in January of last year (via Steam).Football Blitz has a few game modes but the default mode is basically a cut-down version of soccer: two teams of two compete in a game of soccer where one team member is the goalkeeper and the other is everything else (let's just call him/her the "attacker" for now). Each of the pitches have barriers meaning it works a bit like indoor soccer where you can bounce the ball off the walls. You're able to switch between the goalkeeper and the attacker; the AI takes control over the team member you're not controlling. Fouls are allowed, and rough tackles are the only way you're able to steal the ball from the opposition (unless you intercept the ball instead, of course).
How I got it
After getting a Steam Link and controllers, I was on the lookout for couch co-op games last year, ones that I could play with my daughter. I then thought that a soccer or football game would be a good game to play with her and that's when I stumbled upon Kopanito All-Stars Soccer and this game, Football Blitz. Since the games seemed to tick all the right boxes (and they were very affordable at the time I purchased them), it was a no-brainer.What I like:
Cute graphics
The game has simple and cute graphics that are appealing, especially to kids.Simple to learn
Applava has condensed the game of soccer to its bare minimum: you don't need to worry about 11 players on your team, only two (the goalkeeper and an attacker). You also don't need to worry about various rules such as offsides, throw-ins, corner kicks, fouls etc. which means the game is easier for people to pick up if they know nothing about soccer, including young children.Works on Steam Link
I've played the game on the Steam Link with my Logitech F710s and I can confirm that it works well.Customisation
The game has several things you can customise including the players, pitch and the ball (provided you've unlocked them, of course).Steam Achievements and Trading Cards
The game has 10 Steam Achievements to earn along with 5 Steam Trading Cards to collect.What I dislike:
Too simple?
For hardcore soccer fans, this game is probably a travesty: most rules are thrown out the window as well as that tactical layer you get in coordinating a team of more than two players. There's only one type of tackle (which always ends up temporarily injuring the ball-carrier) and the goalkeeper acts like a foosball goalie, i.e. the goalie can only act as a barrier and moves up and down the line. There really isn't much finesse that you’d see in games like FIFA or PES, but then again, they're in a totally different league to Football Blitz anyway.Unlocking customisations is a grind
Some customisations require you to win a lot of rounds in single-player mode in order to unlock them and it becomes a bit of a grind. Considering the game is a pretty casual game, it would've been nice if the bar wasn’t set so high or if they staggered unlocks (e.g. 5 wins you get a certain unlock, 10 wins another, etc.)Not worthwhile if just playing single player
I think this game would become boring quite quickly if you just played single player; the game is better suited as a local co-op game.Score – 7/10 (Not Bad)
If you’re looking for a simple local co-op game to play with young kids, Football Blitz is perfect. Otherwise, the game might be somewhat lacking in the longevity department due to its oversimplification of soccer and no real incentive to keep playing the single player modes (besides grinding your way towards unlocking customisations).Is the game worth $3.99 USD?: Yes, if you have someone to play the game local co-op with, otherwise it’ll get boring real quick.
If you like this game, you might like…
[ LINK: Official Applava Website ]
Comments
Post a Comment