Real Soccer 2010, Gameloft’s follow-up to the well-received 2009 version, has finally hit the app store. With much better controls, additional game modes, and online wi-fi multiplayer, Real Soccer 2010 has shown significant improvement from its predecessor.
Gameloft once again retains the license to use real team and player names, bringing that extra authenticity to the game. With nearly 50 more teams than last year, you’ll have even more choices when picking a squad. There are 14 highly-detailed stadiums in which to play. Real Soccer 2010 also brings with it a bunch of new game modes to bolster its standard fare. Training walks you through passing, kicking, and special soccer moves, as well as offering a free mode that allows you to practice your skills with no real goal in mind. Exhibition, of course, asks you to select teams and parameters such as stadium, time of day, weather, difficulty, length of halves, injuries, and more. You’ll choose which kits each team will wear and determine who is home/away. Then, you have the options to choose your formations, make substitutions, set attack/defense balance, and page through statistics. Finally, you’ll get to gametime, but not without a runthrough of the players, their positions, etc. There really is a lot of content in this game, and that’s just the basic exhibition mode.
Other modes include Season Club Master, where you choose a team and play an entire season with them. RS League includes online league play with leaderboards to track your rank among other players as you attempt to earn points for winning matches. League offers 8 leagues from which to choose and play. Enter The Legend is where you choose one player and play as that one player through each game and, if you are so inclined, through his career. Cup play gives you the chance to win any of 6 different cups. You can also engage in a Penalty Kick shootout or simply check out your earned rewards and saved replays. Of course, Multiplayer is available, allowing you to play others over Bluetooth, local wi-fi, or online wi-fi. Online wi-fi was noticeably laggy, not to the point that it was unplayable, but it felt like we were playing at half speed. We lost our connection about halfway through the game, which was also a bit frustrating. You must sign in to Gameloft Live to play. It’s possible that Gameloft Live isn’t quite ready for primetime just yet. Hopefully, this will improve in the future, as online multiplayer is a major draw for a game such as this.
The graphics are much improved from last year, abandoning the chunkier arcade look for a more svelte appearance that approximates FIFA 10 and X2 Football. Everything looked very clean and crisp. The soundtrack is pretty decent and the crowd noises really draw you into the game. At times, it really feels like you are watching a match on TV rather than playing on a portable device. The commentary, as in any sports game, is ok, but a bit repetitive and prone to making strange comments. Controls use an 8-direction pad (or optional joypad) for more precise positioning, as well as A and B buttons that control all aspects of passing and kicking through taps, tap-holds, or tap-swipes. You can also tap on a player to switch or use gestures in open areas to perform special maneuvers. Everything was very responsive and we felt that we did have better control than in the previous version. The game auto-replays shots on goal and other impressive plays. You can save replays, view from various angles, slow down, speed up, and even upload to YouTube. Real Soccer 2010 includes an option to update the player database from within the game, a nice way to stay current.
While it is clear that Real Soccer 2010 is an improvement, it is more evolutionary than revolutionary. While there are no drastic changes, the additional modes and inclusion of online multiplayer are reason enough to upgrade from RS2009. With the recent release of EA’s FIFA 10 and the upcoming release of X2’s X2 Football, only time will tell which game will take the cup as the iDevice’s king of the pitch. Replay value is very high, and the various leagues, cups, and multiplayer options should keep you engaged for months. Gameloft, as expected, released Real Soccer 2010 at $6.99, as it has done with most of its recent releases. Real Soccer 2010 hauls in a 4-Dimple ranking with a solid follow-up to this deserving franchise.
Real Soccer 2010 gets our AppSmile 4-Dimple rating:
