Ask someone to give a genre that Namco is least known for in the United States, and the answer will probably be sports. They've done puzzle games, action games, an RPG or two, and their racing and fighting games are legendary, but for whatever reason, their sports efforts have remained almost completely confined to Japan. Probably it's because they've adhered to a very Japanese style in most of them, like their once-popular World Stadium series - Konami has since conquered the genre with Jikkyou Pro, but for a good long while Namco was the king of superdeformed baseball simulations.
Libero Grande 2could be the first of their sports titles to make it over here, as soccer gradually develops beyond its niche audience in this country. It fills something of a gap left by the more simulation-oriented FIFA and International Superstar Soccer franchises, instead presenting a single-player arcade-style game that should be familiar to players of Virtua Striker. The first Libero Grande, which was released for the PlayStation a couple of years ago, was criticized by many for its imprecise control and lack of depth, but hopefully Namco has taken those comments to heart when retooling the sequel. Recently-released screens and movies look quite good - Namco just might be able to make good on their promise of complete immersion in the game.
You only control one player per game, from a very close third-person view. The rest of the game is more or less up to the computer, meaning you have to put a fair amount of trust in your AI allies. However, from game to game you can choose to play any position - defense, forward, midfield - so the you aren't as stuck in a particular role as you might be. Despite the variation of positions, you're probably already thinking that it'll turn into a one-man game, but given that that was a significant problem in the first Libero Grande, representatives of the development team have said that they're trying very hard to simulate a single player's integration into the team, rather than creating a one-dimensional experience of repeated solo heroics. Knowing when to pass is as important as knowing when to break loose and charge for the goal.
In order to give players a clearer awareness of the game around them, one of Libero Grande 2's most important elements is its commentary, recorded by Eight Hiroshi and NHK's Kurashiki Yasuo (NHK is one of the major Japanese TV networks). The voice-overs illustrate what's happening when you aren't directly involved in the game. The realism of the on-field action benefits from the licenses of the U-23 international teams, as well as the Japanese J-League teams, not to mention some very well-designed player animations.
Libero Grande is still an exclusively Japanese series, but we'll see how it develops in the future. If this sequel promises to be as much of an improvement as it might, an American release could wind up in the cards, and even if it isn't, we'll try and bring first-hand impressions of how it turns out.
SCREENSHOT
DOWNLOAD
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar