FIFA World

FIFA World

FIFA World is a free to play football MMO that launched worldwide on May 20th 2014. FIFA World is based off the popular FIFA series currently available on consoles.

FIFA is arguably EA Sport’s most popular sports franchise around the world, so it only makes sense that EA would adopt the free-to-play model to a game featuring the world’s most popular sport.

FIFA World takes a lot of queues from its console brethren in presentation and gameplay although the berth of features, gameplay mechanics, and graphical fidelity are lessened somewhat.

Much of this is intentional as FIFA World is not intended to cannibalize on the sales of the main franchise. Instead, the game proves to be a solid, casual football experience that can be picked up and played by sports fans of all skill levels.

There are two principle game modes: Ultimate Team and League Teams. Ultimate Team lets you create your own football club, complete with uniform, game ball, and stadium customization. You start off with a rather mediocre roster of real players and can obtain player packs through spending real money or currency earned through matches to mix and match players across various leagues.

New team members can be bid on, bought immediately, or traded to and from other players.

Players can then take their team into matches against the computer or against real players. Win enough matches and you receive more money to spend on further team customization.

League Teams mode is online-only and lets you chose your favorite real-world football club in one-on-one matches against live players. I appreciate that real-world clubs are included in the game, but it would be nice to play as them in single-player matches when you’re just looking to beat up on some computer AI or because you’re just looking to quickly jump in and out of a game. Also, League Team matches use match credits. Lose all of your match credits and you are unable to play for a certain amount of time. While match credits can be purchased for real money, you can also buy them with in-game currency. Being good at the game is also its own reward as winning matches helps match credits replenish faster.

Graphically, the game is a slight step behind the mainstream console titles, but this is likely due to allow for the game to be run across a variety of hardware combinations. The game looks solid enough and ran at a consistent 60 frames per second throughout.

The gameplay seems slightly simplified as well. Again, this is likely a conscious decision to broaden the appeal of the game and to also allow the game to be played without a gamepad. The game offers three control schemes – Mouse & Keyboard, Keyboard Only, and Controller. To be brutally honest, I hated the Keyboard and Keyboard & Mouse control schemes. While they were functional, they were far from accurate, and I never felt like I had full control over what I was doing. Plugging in a game pad makes FIFA World feel much more akin to the console games, and it’s much better for it. I’m not saying the other control schemes are impossible to learn, but save yourself some frustration and invest in a game pad if you want to truly enjoy FIFA World.

Overall, FIFA World is a fun time for football fans, and for a free download, it’s certainly worth a look. Check out the game on Origin or head over to easportsfifaworld.com to learn more about it. If you enjoyed this first impressions video, click the like button and subscribe to our Youtube channel for more gaming news, reviews, giveaways, and other general randomness.

PangYa: United

PangYa: United

PangYa: United is a new version of the PangYa sports MMO game series developed by Ntreev Soft out of Korea. PangYa is a free mmo game that combines cute anime characters with a fun, easy to play golfing adventure. Gameplay is pretty straightforward for an online golfing game, but PangYa manages to reward players for better shots and provides a low learning curve so players can hop in and play instantly.

Power and accuracy of your golf shot are determined by how well you can manipulate the power meter with three clicks. The first click activates the meter’s bar, the second click sets the power level, and the third click determines the accuracy of your shot. Players have the option of clicking on the meter or by just using the spacebar. We found that the spacebar was easiest to assess the different levels of shot performance, as it was easier to hover over and had a quicker response time than a mouse. Although, we were using a bluetooth wireless mouse at the time, so there might be some latency issues there, a nice corded mouse (Razer?) will probably perform much better.

This game is a huge hit in Korea and Japan, and they have just started expanding their servers here to North America, so jump in and enjoy a fun online golf game!

Microsoft Flight

Microsoft Flight

Take to the skies in a thrilling and visually stunning adventure that captures the powerful feeling of flight. Immerse yourself in a variety of exciting missions, or chart your own course through the skies ? your flying style is up to you. With Microsoft Flight, the sky?s the limit as you explore ever expanding terrain, aircraft, daily challenges and social connections.

This premium game will quickly have you up in the air and enjoying the free-to-play Big Island of Hawaii.  Whether using a mouse and keyboard, or fully customized controls to match your skill level, Microsoft Flight is easy for beginners while still challenging for the most accomplished PC pilots.