Patrick Willis Stars in His Own Mobile Video Game

Patrick Willis Stars in His Own Mobile Video Game

For the first time in four years, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis isn’t preparing to play in the NFC Championship Game. Playing his own mobile video game will have to do.

On Thursday, Distinctive Games will release Football Unleashed with Patrick Willis — the United Kingdom studio’s first foray into bringing American football to a mobile platform, with help from a seven-time Pro Bowl selection who grew up playing Tecmo Bowl and Madden NFL.

“I like it because it gives me a feel of what I always wanted,” Willis told USA TODAY Sports. “I wanted a game that was easy to play but also had a little bit more style.”

It’s five-on-five, arcade-style action on your iPhone or iPad, with animations built from motion capture, exaggerated movements in the tradition of franchises such as EA Sports’ NFL Blitz and Willis’ likeness (complete with his tattoos) plastered everywhere, including in your lineup.

The release will follow the growing “free-to-play” model, in which the download costs nothing but in-app purchases are available to enhance and extend the experience. Play long enough, and you might have to wait for another try unless you purchase an “energy drink” to keep going.

“There are a few similar games out in the marketplace,” said Nigel Little, managing director of Distinctive Development. “But we really thought that we could bring something new to it and up the quality stakes quite substantially.”

It’s not a simulation like Madden and thus figures to skew toward younger gamers. The goal, Little said, was to create a game that was more accessible and appealed to a wider audience.

Play calls are limited. Every motion is controlled with a tap or a swipe on the screen. Users can unleash “game changers” such as lightning strikes that electrocute the opponent. There are no kicks and, much to Willis’ delight, no penalties.

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Rather than simply selecting two teams to play an isolated game, users progress through 10 on a map with stages of each season — 100 available on launch. Some levels are skills competitions, others full three-minute games. Users can link to their Facebook accounts to compare progress with friends and amass points to “draft” better players with every win and big play, including tackles. “You’ve got to have sound, and if you’ve got headphones, throw your headphones on and turn it up,” Willis said. “It sounds like something is crunching when you hit.”

The licensing agreement with Willis – who will share in revenues generated by the game – follows a similar partnership with a National Hockey League star on “Patrick Kane’s Arcade Hockey,” which has performed well, Little said.

The company doesn’t have deals with the National Football League or its players association, so your team (with Willis the only “real” player) wears a generic red and gold uniform. Opposing teams in the game carry names such as Vengeful Vultures and Slippery Seals.

Distinctive hopes that won’t matter, based on the depth of the experience it has created. An update with another 100 seasons is in development.

“With the free-to-play business model, we love to keep people engaged for a large amount of time,” Little said. “It’s about as many levels as we can possibly muster.”

For Willis, who finished the season on injured reserve with a toe injury, it’s a welcome distraction, not to mention the fulfillment of a dream.

“It just makes me want to fight and get back on the field that much more,” Willis said. “But to be able to play my app on my phone is pretty cool, too, especially when I’m getting treatments. ‘Hey! I just knocked somebody out!'”