Soccer Gaming

This is the Soccer Gaming review of Ubisoft’s new 5 a side football title, Pure Football. The review is taken from the Playstation 3 version of the game. At the bottom of the article, we have two free copies of Pure Football for the X Box 360 to give away!

Pure Football is Ubisoft’s first football gaming offering since the launch of the current generation of consoles. In a market dominated by EA Sports and Konami, Pure Football had to be something different and unique in order to turn the heads of the passionate footballing gaming world. Fortunately, it is, and perhaps equally fortunately,  it’s a bloody good alternative too.

Pure Football is based heavily around Futsal, the five a side game currently played all over the world. Unlike the five a side football of old, Futsal is played using a pitch, as opposed to playing off walls, and the ball is allowed over head height. Set pieces must be taken within 4 seconds of the ball being placed on the touchline (5 seconds for Pure Football) and players are allowed in the penalty area, with Goalkeepers also being allowed out their box. These rules allow for some pretty end ot end, fast paced games, and require players with good technique and ability to be affective in this format of the game.

Pure Football takes all of this on board, and then turns it into a Football Gaming friendly title. Futsal is played indoors, whereas Ubisoft have decided to offer some over the top, exceptionally fancy outdoor venues in major cities across the globe. Also, Futsal is very strick on fouling, with players getting fouled out in a similar way to basketball. Pure Football uses a very unique penalty system, but never punishes individual players. As a result, Pure Football ends up being the best 5 a side football game ever made, and whilst it is more arcade based than PES or FIFA, it is a much more enjoyable experience than any of the FIFA Street titles, and much more playable too!

As mentioned, Pure Football is five a side, and features players from the worlds top footballing nations. There are 17 international teams plus 3 legendary sides, combined to feature over 230 players. Quick maths will tell you that leaves around 12 players per team, small by modern day squads, but more than enough for five a side. You can pick any combination of players on your team, or simply use one of the preset formations for attacking or defending. These can be changed quickly during play, and are very user friendly for people not wanting to get bogged down in the tactics. Of course, stat fans may feel slightly left out here, but for a first offering, I can understand Ubisoft’s decision to go for simple as opposed to confusing!

The in game action is where Pure Football really feels different. The game plays in a manner you would expect from an arcade title, but again, provides just enough depth for even the most dedicated football fan. The control system sets up on the PS3 controller the same as FIFA 10 and 2010 World Cup, with one exception, the L2 shoulder button is used to block tackle or jostle your opponent off the ball. Whilst feeling unnatural, the in game tutorial makes this something you can practise and eventually becomes tolerable. Strange choice, as face buttons are free during times when you don’t have possesion. Passing works well, and actually feels very responsive. At times, you genuinely feel that you have full 360 control over the passes, which does result in more than the odd stray pass. However, with time this allows for some swift passing moves and exploitation of space, something which Futsal thrives on. 

The shooting & crossing system provide a real marmite experience too. Some gamers will love the bullet time crosses, when the camera slows the action down, giving you time to control your player in the middle, but I personally found it taking me out of the action a little too frequently. One bonus to this though is during multiplayer games, every header has to be worked for in the box, and a volley or headed goal is earned as opposed to being a case of luck. The shooting system relies on a power bar popping up as soon as the shoot button is pressed. The idea is to stop the power bar in the green for a shot on target, or the white area to unleash a super ‘PURE’ shot. This is a lot harder than it may sound, and slightly mistiming the shot results in the ball flying over the bar. For every shot on target, you also build up your Pure meter, which when full gives you a free PURE shot next time you shoot. This allows weaker players to still get the opportunity to score a goal, but once again really lends to the arcade feeling of the game.

Finally, as very well documented in the promotional videos, there are no free kicks in Pure Football. The game is very physical and a poor challenge results in a portion of your penalty meter being filled up. The meter feels at different speeds, depending on the severity of a tackle, and its location on the pitch. As soon as the meter is filled, the opposing teams gets a penalty kick, featuring a street fighter style build up and a very arcade, low down camera angle. The mode works well, however on more than one occasion you are left yelling at the screen as the AI takes out your player and runs away with the ball unpunished.

Graphically, the game is true to its arcade stylings. With a low number of players, physical appearances are very good, and most are recognisable without the need for names. The pitches look very cartoon like, and the goal celebrations and cut scenes would sometimes be more at home on the Cartoon Network, but again, this can’t really be a criticism, because realism isn’t something Ubisoft have focused on. In a similar way to Mario Kart or LittlebigPlanet, the cartoon aspect of the game feels at home, and this is something that was a gamble, but seems to have paid off. 

I have been unable to test the online mode at the moment, however the Career mode is a very typical rags to riches story featuring your own custom player. You start off with a team of nobodys and a long list of whicg your custom team sits at the bottom. You play matches against the other nations, with challenges set to unlock new players. Getting a shot on goal might unlock a striker, or allow less than five shots to bring in a new GK. As you progress, the challenges become trickier, but the rewards become greater. Getting a Messi or Rooney isn’t easy, but it’s worth sticking at it to have a player of quality. The mode works well, but lacks the longevity of other sports games, something which I personally believe is Pure Football’s downfall.

Pure Football is a short term fix, and one that for a couple of weeks will keep you thoroughly entertained. Having a few mates round and playing a couple of winner stays on matches is great fun, and the career mode will give you an alternative until it’s completion. But once the novelty wears off, and once the game modes have been exploited, Pure Football doesn’t seem to have the legs to keep you coming back for game after game, something which other football games do. It is a harsh truth, an also a feature that is apparant in 90% of other video games on the market, but once completed, there is very little that is will offer you. The lack of club teams also means that after the World cup and International football dying down, people will return to their FIFA and PES of their club football fixes. This isn’t Ubisoft’s fault, however it is and inevitability that any review should include!

To conclude, Pure Football is an excellent alternative to to the current football games on the market because it pairs football with gaming very nicely. It doesn’t try and compete with the exisiting titles and the market and because of this, Ubisoft have carved out a nice little niché that they may be able to exploit in years to come. The game is definitely worth a play, perfect for a party or student house, and will provide gamers with a fair few challenges and hours of football. Ultimately, how much it gets played will result on your passion for real football, and the 2010/11 season will see the big boys return, but for what it is, there is nothing quite like Pure Football on the PS3 and 360 (FIFA Street 3 is a joke!), and therefore it gets my personal approval.

Soccer Gaming is running a competition to win TWO COPIES OF PURE FOOTBALL for the X BOX 360. The competition is free to enter and the prizes will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis with the correct answer to the below question.

Q: Name One Other Video Game Associated With The Company, Ubisoft.

E-mail your answers to dan@soccergaming.com, along with your name, age and location, and please note due to postage restrictions, we can only send games out to the United Kingdom this time. The first two correct entries will be notified by e-mail, and we will announce on Soccer Gaming when the two winners have been found and the competition closes, so get going quickly.

Pure Football is available now on Playstation Three and X Box 360.