Community will be important
I couldn't help thinking that the best players in the world at Empire of Sports will surely be those who have spent the longest time developing their characters. Therefore, unless you've got hours to waste away you're never going to be able to compete with the best PvP players. It's actually not going to be as simple as that. Each sport requires a certain degree of skill and coordination - it isn't purely down to who has the best stats. Of course, stats will help as you'll be able to unlock special skills to use during matches, such as speed bursts or a super smash in tennis, but there's still the potential of human error in matches and in team games especially it's going to be far more about team communication with your fellow player then the team who has the higher levels, best attributes and skills.In the city you'll find the various sporting arenas, which you'll enter to take part in friendly matches and tournaments against human opponents (in the PvE element of the game you may face an AI opponent as you go through certain missions or training drills). The first game I tested out was tennis, which has been designed from the ground-up specifically for the PC. The game sits somewhere in between being an arcade game and a simulation of the sport, with bars at the top of the screen showing your heart beat, energy levels and metabolism, but a fast-paced feel to the gameplay. Your actions on the court not only affect these bars during the game, but various movements may affect different parts of your body, meaning that over exertion could lead to injury.
There are a number of factors that will be taken into account when you're playing a tennis match. If you run your player ragged he'll burn energy faster meaning that he moves slower, therefore, just like a real game of tennis, you may need to tactically decide when you want to use these bursts of speed. The WASD keys are used to move around the court whereas single or double clicks of the left and right mouse buttons are used to pull off a range of shots, from top spins to lobs. Down the left hand side of the screen will be special skills (currently not active) which you'll unlock as you progress through the levels. The game was extremely easy to get to grips with, but in order to win, you still required the knack of predicting shots, guessing where your opponent’s movements on the court, good accuracy and decent hand to eye co-ordination. There will be plenty of factors involved in winning matches in PvP games, including the type of racket that you're using and shoes that you are wearing, but it will still be skill that will ultimately win the day.
Click for larger imageIt's the PvP aspect which makes Empire of Sports so intriguing and they'll undoubtedly be some fierce battles between teams and individuals online in a bid to be the world’s best, but F4 were keen to point out that there is room for the casual gamer, through the PvE side of the game or the taking part in casual or friendly PvP tournaments.
Ultimately, it's the community that will make or break Empire of Sports. If gamers fully embrace the idea and are willing to test out the water during the beta testing phase and upon release, then I'm certain that they'll want to stick around for the long term. I've already got my name down to be on the closed beta test in the hope that I'll become the new 'Tim Henman' of the sport's gaming arena (now that would be embarrassing).
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