Real Soccer Online 2: Sports Simulation Given the MMO Treatment

Ask the average gamer if they have played a soccer video game on PC and chances are they sampled both Electronic Arts’ Fifa and Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer. There has always been little to choose from within this sporting arena. However, a little-known PC soccer title appeared within my sights recently that takes a stab at re-shaping this sphere and challenging EA and Konami.

During my visit to the ChinaJoy event in Shanghai, I chanced upon a booth that stood out from the rest. Amidst the sea of fantasy and action-themed posters adorning the other studios, this booth showcased a soccer game. I stepped in to enquire further and discovered it is simply titled Real Soccer Online 2, developed by a Korean company known as Neovian using its own proprietary game engine.

Owning Your Player

Although a sports title, the game is developed in the mould of an MMO rather than the familiar format of Fifa and Pro Evolution Soccer. Within the game, you can only control a single soccer player using purely the mouse without any complementing keyboard controls. In some ways, it is like a team battle one normally sees in other more conventional MMO titles but done in the framework of a soccer match.

The ‘armor in this case come from the players’ kit – their shorts, boots, and jersey – which modify the character’s attributes. Like any other MMO, they represent your personal in-game avatar and stay with you as you level them up further. Although it is free-to-play, its monetization avenues include in-app purchases for premium kits that provide superior stat modification.

Created with the goal of making it eSport friendly, one of the key features touted was its ability to support a full 11 versus 11 match with 22 human players. The game has already found increased visibility via televised league matches between professional clans on Korean television beginning from its original Real Soccer Online.

Neovian has said it is presently about to begin closed beta testing for the game with plans to make multi-platform mobile sport simulations in the future.

This is part of our Chinajoy coverage.

Edited by Steven Millward