Today we recieved an updated press disk, which contained every image (which can be viewed in the media panel) as well as the bonus '100 years of football' DVD that will be included free with the game. To celebrate this we have updated our impressions of the DVD.
The '100 years of Football' DVD is divided up into twenty five chapters. The DVD itself goes for a total of two hours, which is a decent amount of time for a free DVD. The video quality isn't great, and a lot of it looks television quality, but it is definitely clear enough to watch.
The twenty five chapters are; Introduction, Football in the 30's, The aboriginal players, Bob Pratt, John Coleman, Footy Humour, Violence in Football, Ted Whitten, Norm Smith, Bob Davis, Graham Polly Forever, Ron Barassi, John Kennedy, Tom Hafey, 10 Year Rule Ron Barassi and the Rise of North Melbourne, Peter Crimmins, 1977 Drawn Grand Final, Kevin Sheedy, Dermott Brereton, National Competition, Gary Ablett, The Colliwobbles, Football today, surgery and football & new player contracts. As you can tell, there is seriously something for everyone in this DVD, and it accurately follows the history, or at least the prominant people in AFL.
We're not Lion, the game is out in three weeks.
Overall the DVD itself is a great little bonus, we're hoping the high production values of the DVD transpire onto the game, speaking of which..
Before we look at AFL We really should point out some of the facts behind our coverage of AFL Live and the AFL Live series. We gave AFL Live 2004 a score of 2.0 and AFL Live Premiership Edition a score of 3.0. We didn't think it was particularly up to scratch and the negatives of the game and the low production values really didn't make this the game of choice for AFL fans.
A year and a half after the release of AFL Live Premiership Edition we're being treated to AFL Premiership 2005. AFL Premiership 2005 was without a publisher for a few months after Acclaim went bust at the end of last year, however Sony have picked up the publishing rights, meaning we are unlikely to see AFL Premiership 2005 anywhere but on the Playstation 2.
AFL fans everywhere have been calling for online play since the introduction of the franchise, and IR Gurus have heralded their call. Online play will be supported. It will be two player online play, with eighteen players to control on each side. The game still has a few months of development left, so if their are any more progressions, you can be sure we will report them.
The less said, the better
For the first time ever as well in an AFL game, the Eyetoy will be supported. AFL Premiership 2005 will support a face mapping feature of the Eyetoy, meaning gamers can insert their face onto the face of a famous AFL player - this time you are able to be in the game.
IR Gurus have reworked the AI of the game, and are promising it will be better than the dummy AI that has been present in previous games. It isn't going to be too hard for IR Gurus to improve the AI of a game that originally barely had any, but it is a welcome addition.
The game will also play a lot more realistically, with rough play on field and player fatigue becoming a factor to consider in matches. Players will also look better with higher polygon counts, as well as individual faces for each player. Players will also be motion captured.
The ball controls have been refined and ball physics have been altered. Overall IR Gurus really are trying to make AFL Premiership 2005 a more realistic title.
AFL Premiership 2005 will feature real-time lighting and shadows on players. The graphics have apparantly been remarkably updated and look significantly better.
Those who played a lot of the original AFL games would have memorised the commentary that became very repetitive after ten minutes. Dermott Brereton, Denis Commeti and Dipper will now be commenting for the game, and should have significantly more lines than in previous versions. As long as we don't hear the same line twice in two minutes we will be pleased.
A beautiful shot there
The national anthem will be played in all finals games, but the main inclusion to AFL Premiership 2005 is the Dynasty Mode. This is where players play a decade worth of seasons as they go to create the perfect team. If this mode is done well then it could be a huge new game play mode for the game, even if it has been apparent in American sports games for years.
As always, AFL Premiership 2005 will feature the full 2005 fixture and play list, and IR Gurus are promising their will be plenty of unlockables, such as added cheats, video unlocks and modes (We are hoping for some comic modes which will make the game a little more lighthearted). In total there are 692 official players and all sixteen teams.
The AFL tribunal will be in the game, with reports and suspensions. At the end of the season players can be traded, adding another touch of strategy. The match statistics will also be much more indepth, so you can analyse those players who aren't pulling their weight.
AFL Live 2005 has been in development longer than any other AFL game released. IR Gurus seem to have really put some effort into developing the game, so it should be better than its predecessors. But we aren't getting too excited until we get to actually play the game in less than two months.
AFL Premiership 2005 is set for release exclusively (for the time being) on the Playstation 2 on September 8th, 2005. The game has officially been classified 'G' by the OFLC, and will come with a bonus '100 years of football' DVD. PALGN will be delivering one of the first verdicts on this highly anticipated game, so keep checking back daily for the latest news on the title.
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