Should your plans with friends or fifa 14 loved ones

While I applaud the fifa 14 coins developer, Nd Cube, for not simply pulling a Call of Duty and slapping a new face on an old product, this system actually feels like a step back for the series. The amalgamation of Stars and Coins into Mini-Stars actually takes away from the game, making it feel smaller, as if they only took our Stars and limited the number of Coins. Where before, players would battle to have the most of both items, carefully balancing the quantity of each in the long run, they now only have a single currency to fight for, limiting the overall depth of each round. It’s like if Monopoly took away buildings, leaving players with only money to fight for.

The single vehicle concept mentioned earlier adds a new strategic element; players need to think ahead and adjust their dice rolls to ensure that they get to the next set of Mini-Stars or land on certain spaces, and that their opponents don’t. This system in itself is an interesting concept, but the actual play fields make it lose a bit of its shine. The boards are essentially one big winding line, with only a few branching paths, all of which simply come back to the main line after some extra spaces. What made other MP titles great were their alternative routes and optional passages, which gave each course a large sense of diversity – even after multiple laps around them.

While looking good on paper, this new setup diminishes the game’s replayability and customization, which is a key aspect of party games.Not all changes in MP9 weaken the game though, as quite a few actually step it up; the most obvious being the Boss Battles. At certain points on the field, players will be forced to stop and play a boss mini-game. Here, all four players work together to battle a powerful enemy, by taking actions like “ground pounding” certain weak points or using cannons to damage the foe, while also competing for the most points. Although the linear design of the maps isn’t ideal, the Boss Battles definitely help take the edge off.

Your standard Mini-Games are also incredibly fun, using the Wii-mote in a variety of ways. Whether you’re flicking the Wii-mote in various directions to look at certain points, holding it sideways to use the D-pad to avoid being crushed by falling boulders, or point-and-shooting various objects, the Mini-Games stand out from one another and are very entertaining. There is a wide array of team setups as well, ranging from free-for-all, to one vs. three, and even co-operative games where two players take on Bowser Jr. in a fight to not lose Mini-Stars. These Mini-Games can even be played from the main menu, without having to start up a full game. All in all, these games are a www.fifa14world.co.uk blast, regardless of how you choose to start them.

Should your plans with friends or loved ones get canceled, but you still feel up for a game, MP9 has you covered. A nice little feature called Solo allows you to play through all the courses in a kind of story mode, where the character of your choice attempts to get back the stolen Mini-Stars. This is also where those spies I mentioned earlier come into play. One of your three AI-controlled opponents will be a Bowser Spy, and if he wins you’ll have to play the entire level over again. As long as anyone other than the Spy wins, however, you’ll move on to the next board. Those looking for a bit of a story-based adventure will find it here, and it’s a very welcomed addition.