Pro Jank Footy

This, right here, is the spiritual successor to Aussie Rules Footy on the NES. The 2.5 D approach works really well for footy, and this game captures the culture and the strange mix of friendship, talent and aggression that is our nation's greatest cultural icon. Not only is this simple to pick up and fun to play, it really really shines when playing against another person. Having two controllers and playing locally with this game is optimal. One part of the game that doesn't seem to get the love is the option to play normal footy. Players can get a run on and the feeling of pressure that you feel when your opponent scores three goals in a row is exactly the same feeling you get playing footy when the same thing happens. Another highlight is the tackling and bumping - the massive hits and tackles delivered just in the nick of time or just a smidge too late really heighten the intensity of this title. In Jank mode anything can happen, both teams can win right up until the end with the swap teams and swap scores cards, there's fun to be had! Take a photo and take it down to Barry's Printing and Framing, it's MAG-NIFICENT! CONS - after finding random online opponents easily in the first few days after release, I find it difficult now, - the single player AI can be cheesed in these three ways: - 1) let the opponent win the tap and tackle their rover for easy centre clearances, - 2) running along the boundary on the wing between the 50s will see you untouched by the opposition (although the AI is solid in the centre corridor), - 3) The opposition kick ins after a point are usually delivered to the same point on the ground (I've made a house rule that if I get possession inside 50 after an AI kick in, I have to take it outside 50 to attempt to score) - The rucking is determined by random button presses which fits with the theme for Pro Jank mode, but for normal footy I'd much prefer the two-click system used by Melbourne House in Aussie Rules Footy on the NES - say, tap A button to start running in for the tap, tap A with timing to tap to a rover (who gets instant possession on the next screen) or tap B with timing to go the long thump forward, with poor timing leaving the ball to appear on the next screen at the ruckman's feet. I've rucked all my life, there's an art to it! Also I'm worried I'll damage my controller over time. - I'd love a proper season mode - I'm thinking of playing each team as every other team, doing a ladder in excel, hosting finals etc etc. I know all the players have the same stats (apart from Star players in Pro Jank mode) - sometimes the player switch doesn't switch to the player you'd want it to switch to - a very minor gripe, that one. PROS: - so much fun! The most fun I've had with a footy game in YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS!!! - captures the essence of the game and the emotions involved. - really understands that a core value of being Australian is not taking yourself too seriously: this game is super intense and competitive without inducing rage as it's silly at the same time - it certainly pokes fun at itself, footy, South Australians, you for playing - it's adorable. Play to win but don't chuck a tanty if you lose and you'll love this game! - The team names, the player names (...is one of the players named after Chad Habel?), the reaction screens, the obvious love of Adelaide & South Australia, where I've lived all my life - it holds a loving satircal mirror up to SA, the greatest place in the world. 100%. - online (private and rando), local 2P and 1P and 'Season' (Mortal Kombat style ladder matches) modes available. Also training I think, haven't tried that. - easy to pick up. I could go on and on but YOU COULD BE PLAYING THE GAME! RIGHT NOW! INSTEAD OF READING THIS! PRIORITIES! So could I actually. Side rant - the 3D AFL games were never going to be as good as FIFA etc, because when you think about the economics of it all, how many units can an AFL game possibly shift? A million domestically? Much less overseas? Whereas FIFA will sell many many times more copies, enabling creators, marketers, producers etc to put more resources into a soccer game versus an AFL game. We've been in a cycle of looks over gameplay since... AFL 99 perhaps? ...and yet they haven't looked good or had the charm or character that Pro Jank Footy drips with. Thank you Powerbomb Games for breaking the cycle.

I bought this predominantly because I love AFL and want to support aussie game devs. But it needs work. What does MASH mean on ball up? Like, do I mash the button that shows up for a split second and then changes to something else? Or is that the button im pressing? Either way I can't get the bar to fill. Maybe make it mash one button, and not at the speed of light like seems to be required now. Tackling is so random, as is fending. Even in kick to kick mode I can't get fend to trigger consistently. You can tackle from miles away, even if the player is seemingly out of range. Makes it hard to run around and hold the ball at all, but I suppose that's just part of the gameplay. As other players have mentioned switching player is pretty random. It should just allow you to pick the player by direction of your joystick and then closest to ball, like most other ball sport games work. I find it seems to switch to the player automatically then I have clicked Y and it switches away, a bit too janky even for the game title. Hoping it gets better.

I desperately want to like this game but all of the things I enjoy about it, (such as the silly, fun, chaotic, arcadey gameplay; the brilliant powerup mechanic when a goal is scored; the silly bumpers that play to show the current score) are vastly overshadowed by the terrible AI (both your teammates and opponents occasionally run around like headless chickens when not actively avoiding the ball) and the unforgivable player switching (which will not ever once actually select the player you want to be in control of). There are bugs and there are other QOL issues, like why can you not save your progress during a season run, but jank is literally in the title so I give it a bit of a pass on those. The player switching, however, is too frequent and frustrating to look past. If/once that gets fixed, I know I will adore this game, because it's an absolute blast when it's behaving how you expect it to act.

Fun game but unfortunately the government put women in it

Too much of a sport I don't know to be a crazy roguelike. Too much of a crazy roguelike to actually learn a sport I don't know. Mad respect to these devs. If you get Aussie Football at all, you might love this? Maybe?

what a ripsnorter, fun with a mate, better than AFL26 and 1/5th the price to boot