FIFA 11

Oh dear god, that was horrible. If you were expecting anything different, you're an idiot.


Gotcha! I had a chance to sit down with FIFA 11 for some good old fashioned video game SOCCER this week; so I'll be doing a quick review before I head off to Bathurst for some excellent times.
Now, many publications have agreed that FIFA 10 is the must have soccer game these days. It took some huge steps from its predecessors; and was met with great amounts of praise. Does FIFA 11 do as well?

STORY
Well... this being a sporting game, it doesn't ACTUALLY have a real story to it. It has the career mode; which merges the "Be a Pro" mode and "Manager" mode from FIFA10, and allows users to be a player, a manager, or a player-manager. In this mode, player growth can be improved with advice from your coach, and your managerial contract can be extended if you meet certain criteria.

It seems to be a lot more in-depth than last years efforts; so hardcore soccer fans should love this mode.

PRESENTATION
Like most sporting franchises; one of FIFA11's biggest improvements are in the graphics. Everything looks really quite amazing; the field in particular has stopped looking like green-painted concrete.
Facial details of players and referees are some of the best to date, and the commentators truly raise the immersion. Each game in FIFA 11 feels like an actual match.
Adding to this are the stats that often pop up on screen, indicating the possession, and other various details.

One thing I've always hated about the FIFA series (at least i9n recent years), is the soundtrack. Its all really pop-oriented; and to be honest, if I'm playing a sports game, I want to feel like a badass, unstoppable player; whether in game, or in the various menus. And this just doesnt do it for me.

GAMEPLAY
FIFA 11, at first glance is largely similar to last years release; however, once you get into the harder difficulty settings and new features, you really notice the changes. First things first though; the game controls really well. Players run, kick, pass and tackle the way they should; although, as per usual, its not perfect.
Sometimes, just angling the left stick incorrectly, or holding a button for slightly too long will mess up your play; but this doesnt happen often enough to be truly frustrating.

One of the newest, and most interesting aspects of FIFA 11 is the Personality Plus feature. Basically, what this does is take any players real life stats, and apply them to their in game animations and playability. While you may think thats what they used to do too; it wasn't nearly this in depth.

Say you have a low ability player, and a high ability player. Mr. Low recieves a pass and attempts to pass it out at a 90degree angle; but due to his attributes; the shot will often go 120 degrees or more. Mr. High on the other hand, will only be off by a matter of 10 degrees or so. What this does in the big picture, is force you to think about who your passes are going to, and how you can play around their abilities.

The AI has seen a vast improvement, as I'm yet to see any of my own players running into me, and goalkeeper reaction times seem fucking unreal! It amazes me that many have saved goals that have changed direction mid-air due to a deflection, but it happens. Or at least, it does now.

Speaking of Goalies, you can now play as a goalie during matches. While this may not seem particularly fascinating; its surprisingly fun, and extremely satisfying when you save a legendary shot. That said, gameplay between attempted shots on goal will probably get boring.
On a purely trivial note; the gameplay celebrations are better... if a little gay. MAN HUG!

But yes, back to actual gameplay. The improved AI and personality plus do add a fair amount of difficulty to the game, and while not a huge step, it does bring a welcome challenge to the often boring formula of past FIFA titles.

REPLAYABILITY
Being a sports game, there are always opportunities to play against the AI, or friends in exhibition matches; as well as the online opportunities presented with gaming today. Apart from that, i suppose you could play Career mode over and over and over again.

Oh, and theres trophies.. and achievements. Thats about it from what I can tell.

OVERVIEW
While FIFA 10 was the truly groundbreaking title in the series, FIFA 11 makes some good ground on that. Updated graphics, tighter controls, smarter AI (both opposing, and team) and more features than you can take a dive at make this game a must have for "Football" fans. If you like the fifa games, and you picked up FIFA 10; this years outing may not give you enough to warrant paying full price for the brand new game.

So, as it goes with sports games, if you bought last years one and you AREN'T a soccer fan; you could live without FIFA11. Although, I was surprised at the changes, so maybe there is enough to warrant you forkin out full price.


Ok, so this weeks was early, next review should be Sunday the 17th. Which is kinda crap, coz I'll have New Vegas the week after, hopefully. Any ideas for the next one?