Today in Barcelona, Gameloft showed off a near final product of Real Football 2011 with special guest, and World Cup winner, David Villa.
While I was waiting for the presentation to kick off (pun intended), we are shown trailer footage of the game to wet our appetites. First impressions show the animations have been significantly improved, as well as the graphics receiving a cleaner and more detailed makeover.
The onscreen control layout has also had a face-lift, giving it a silvery button look rather than the yellow found in Real Football 2010, but wait, and what’s that extra button? Sprint! Proof that the designers have been listening to feedback by correcting one of the main control flaws from Real Football 2010.
At this point David Villa and the Gameloft Product Manager take center stage to officially introduce us to Real Football 2011!
See the video below to see how that all went down.
After the official breakdown of the game, David Villa is given an iPhone and iPad to play the game for 5 minutes before the interviews begin… So patiently and with overwhelming amounts of jealousy, I watched… Luckily I got my chance to play though!
First impressions from actually playing the game are; it plays smoother, looks better and Gameloft have taken full advantage of the iPhone’s retina display.
I now had to reluctantly give the game back so I could head off to have a chat with one of the Gameloft guys. I just want to stress at this point here the gentleman I spoke with has recently joined the Real Football family, but says he will be involved with the next game all the way. Was that a Real Football 2012 hint already eh?
During my one-on-one with Gameloft I can reveal the following!
- There are an additional 100 players and more teams added
- Last year’s 8 leagues has been expanded to 14.
- Gameloft have secured a FIFA license too so we can expect real player and team names.
- Improvement has been focused on graphics and animations to make it more realistic, securing the title of ‘Real Football’
- The retina display on the iPhone 4 helps to make the game look more like a match on the TV, rather than a videogame.
But it didn’t stop there, Gameloft have really gone to work on Real Football this year, also improving on:
Customisable formations, custom team AI and a sprint button added. When defending, switching players by tapping is not as random as it used to be, there’s nothing worse then tapping the screen and having the player you didn’t want to use, selected. You now have direct control by tapping the exact player you want to use. This feature in particular is interesting as it gets one up on console football games. You will be able to upload replays to your youtube account to show off your skills. Multiplayer wifi and bluetooth and Gameloft Live.
Most pleasantly surprising was the new History mode. In History mode you’ll be thrown into monumental games from the past and your objective is to replicate the result of the past, or change it. As with the previous version weather conditions still exist within the game will affect how the game plays out as well.
After all of this incredible information overload, It was time for my …
Chat with David Villa (translated)
How did it feel to hold the world cup?
Happy and proud and very happy for doing a good job.
Did you have any direct input into the game and make decisions?
No, Gameloft are the professionals and they make the decisions in regards to the game, but i have seen all the pictures and video and I am happy with that.
If you could have made any decisions about the game, would you have changed anything?
I would not have changed anything, i like how it is, I like how I am portrayed and my team mates, playability and graphics, i would not have changed anything.
How do you feel about your likeness in Real Football 2011?
Great, I feel identified with what i see, i like very much how they made me look in the game.
What type of iPhone games do you play other than Real Football?
Basically sports games, tennis and basketball, I like sports very much so any games related to sports and some table games.
Is it important for you to get an opinion or read a review of an iPhone app before you purchase?
Of course it’s always important that if i go to buy a game or an app, i take a look at the reviews and opinions, and if i can play with previous editions it’s better but for now I always look at other peoples opinions.
With a lot of games now going multiplayer on portable devices, especially sports games, do you think with younger people playing these games it takes away from them actually going out and playing the game in real life?
No, I don’t think so because they are completely different things, video games are great but playing real football is also great and we understand there are both things for everything nowadays.
Any advice for anyone wanting to become a Footballer?
Not to think of only being a professional player, but enjoying the game everyday because its a wonderful one and trying to learn everyday. When you’re professional to learn new things everyday and even more so when your not professional, so we have to try to be better everyday, learning new things.
In conclusion
After a long and rewarding day, I can confidently say, Real Football 2011 should be a game for all football fans to look out for! Coming soon! In the meantime, check out the screens below:
