''AFL Evolution'' is a video game based on the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

developed by

Wicked Witch Software Wicked Witch Software is an Australian video game developer that was founded in 2001 by Daniel Visser, the managing director. Wicked Witch Software has produced 50 or more games across platforms such as Android, iOS, PlayStation, Xbox, Nin ...

and published by

Tru Blu Entertainment Tru Blu Entertainment Pty. Ltd. is an Australian publisher that is a subsidiary of Home Entertainment Suppliers, who distribute their titles. It was founded in 1999. Their debut title was 2003's Sidhe Interactive-developed ''Rugby League'' whi ...

in 2017 for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

. A demo containing player and team creation tools was released on April 5, 2017. The game was released on May 5, 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and Microsoft Windows via

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

on July 21.

Gameplay

''AFL Evolution'' has three different career modes: the players can start as a coach, a listed player, or the created character. The coach mode revolves around running a team while handling tasks such as training schedules, finances and staff management. Besides playing single matches against the AI, up to four players can play online in multiplayer. ‘Be a pro’-type modes in games such as FIFA and NBA 2K allow the player to create a character and guide them through their career. You can start as an under 18, work your way up, play in the VFL and eventually get signed by an AFL team. the player will be able to leave after the season if they don't like the team their character is placed on, while also being able to start a career as an existing player or avoid the whole pre-AFL process entirely and jump straight into the elite competition. Also returning from

AFL Live 2 ''AFL Live 2'' is a sports game in the AFL series of Australian rules football video games. It was developed by Wicked Witch Software and was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 12 September 2013. The game was ported to iOS and was rel ...

is manager career mode, which is very similar to 'be a pro' mode in the way that you can start from the U18 TAC Cup and work your way up, or you can jump straight into the

. Manager career mode also takes gamers beyond the field of play allowing them to manage the team via the drafting and trading of players, the salary cap, training, the tribunal and much more. Online mode enables the players go head-to-head in competitive and co-operative online multiplayer. During the match, the player can pull off speckies, shown in slow motion from several angles. There are two camera angle views to be chosen from: default and end-to-end with two options in locked and dynamic. The dynamic option makes the rotation change, depending on the ball's current possession. At the bottom of the screen, a mini-map can be found that contains targets indicators. As the game has a full

license,

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 1 ...

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

and

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

are integrated into the teams selection. All stadiums were faithfully replicated, along with the advertising and sponsors. In addition to that, ''AFL Evolution'' uses

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

's score graphics and commentary by

Dennis Cometti Dennis John Cometti (born 26 March 1949) is an Australian retired sports commentator, player and coach of Australian rules football. In a career spanning 51 years, his smooth voice, dry humour and quick wit became his trademark. Until his reti ...

and Matthew Richardson.

Release

On 3 May 2018,

launched a season pack which added the

Western Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September, ...

, the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

and the

North East Australian Football League The North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) was an Australian rules football league in New South Wales, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. The league was formed in November 2010, and its inaugural co ...

. It also added

Perth Stadium Perth Stadium, currently known as Optus Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in A ...

, updated

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major AFL stadium, a secondary football oval, a cricket field, an open air swimming pool, a number of ...

, the squads and guernsies.

Reception

Upon release, ''AFL Evolution'' received generally mixed reviews. Press Start Australia gave the game a 6/10. Fox Sports Australia gave the game a 6/10 and 7Sport gave the game a 6.5/10.

References

{{AFL (video game series) AFL (video game series) 2017 video games PlayStation 4 games Xbox One games Windows games Australian rules football video games Video games developed in Australia Video games set in Australia Multiplayer and single-player video games Wicked Witch Software games Tru Blu Entertainment games