FIFA 10
Back of the net?
Football, football, football. It's our national pastime, and when the latest annual update surfaces, we always find ourselves asking the same old question. Which one should we buy this year? FIFA or PES? It used to be a cut and dry decision for the discerning purist who'd plump for Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer every time. After all, it's the game the footballers themselves play boasting hearty endorsements from the likes of Thierry Henry. And it used to be the superior gameplay experience of the two by some margin, providing an unmatched, effortlessly fluid and intuitive game of football.
These days however, PES has started to lose the comfortable foothold it's taken for granted, with the inauspicious 2008 instalment failing to live up to expectations before EA Sports waded in with the first decent FIFA in years. Jump forward a year and both FIFA and PES upped their games considerably, leaving console footy fans with a genuine dilemma for possibly the first time ever. The 2009 versions of both games were very evenly matched offering an unreservedly excellent experience, each boasting a similarly bloated list of special features including Become A Legend and Be A Pro.
This year, EA Vancouver are ensuring that FIFA 10 brings its 'A' game to the table in an effort to tempt more PES fans away from the fold. Hell, I once considered myself a PES devotees, but we could well opt for FIFA on the strength of what we've played so far of EA Sport's offering for the 2010 season.
The dev team has truly outdone itself, cramming in more features and innovations than you can shake a stick at. Arguably, most are refinements and tweaks to components from the previous FIFA, but they're welcome nonetheless. Gameplay is top of the agenda though according to EA Vancouver's Line Producer David Rutter, so naturally the majority of improvements have been centred around the core football experience. In fact, during his presentation Rutter states that 70% of development resources were focused upon refinement and improvements (some of which were based on fan feedback) and 30% were devoted to innovation.
Fine-tuning the movement has been the main priority though, with a 360-degree dribbling system one of the most significant new implementations. In previous football games, movement is restricted to an eight-directional axis, so you'd be forced into planning a run at an acute angle, requiring an abrupt motion to change course. 360-degree dribbling may sound like a subtle change, but it enhances the fluidity of the game immeasurably. Skilled dribbling therefore is not only made satisfyingly effortless, but you can now round the keeper which was nigh-on impossible in FIFA 09.
There's also greater freedom in physical play complemented by updated AI that reacts with greater urgency and an increased logic. Players now respond to situations in a more realistic manner, contextually jostling into position for defensive and offensive plays. Beyond making the game more physical, there're the usual modifications to the passing, shooting, free kicks and goalkeepers, which combine to potentially make this the most authentic and intricate FIFA yet.
Playing the game at EA's Guildford office, we found these alterations to FIFA's core mechanics immediately apparent. The ability to make curved runs and weave between players alone represents a huge leap in gameplay terms, transforming FIFA into a remarkably organic game of football. The dozens of additional improvements might not be as obvious, but they're undoubtedly there. Essentially, FIFA 10 plays exceptionally well even at this stage of completion, which is currently somewhere around the 75% mark we're told.
FIFA 09's Manager Mode also makes a comeback, addressing the authenticity issues that the team admit made for a somewhat disappointing supplement. Isolating 50 key areas for improvement, FIFA 10's upgraded Manager Mode now features authentic transfers, believable player development and realistic match results. Like the central game itself, Manager Mode's fundamentals have been completely overhauled in an effort to replicate the feeling of being surrounded by a plausible football world.
Perhaps the most exciting brand new addition to FIFA's swelling bag of extra options is the newly unveiled 'Create A Set Piece' tool, which allows you to freely sketch out players movements to customise your very own plays. You can record motions using a face button, manipulate the timeline using the right analogue stick and then experiment with your creation until you're finally satisfied with the results. Once you've finished putting together your set piece you can then assign it to the D-pad, meaning you can have four bespoke plays mapped at any one time. 'Create A Set Piece' is something EA hope will be a "compelling and useful" piece of unique user-generated content that you can utilise in matches.
Online too has been given a major lick of paint, fixing the mode's frustrations in response to requests from the community. There have been over 275, 000,000 games of FIFA played online apparently, so obviously this is something the dev team has been keen to bolster by formulating a more robust service. Multiplayer also extends to the practice arena now, so you can have a training kick about with a friend both online or locally.
EA Vancouver has seemingly thought of everything for FIFA 10, scrutinising every conceivable facet of the previous game in a concerted endeavour to perfect the elements they felt weren't up to the lofty standards that they set themselves. EA Sports' bigwig Peter Moore has said that he wants FIFA 09's Metacritic score of 87 to increase to at least 90 for FIFA 10, and on the basis of what we've played so far, things appear to be right on track.
Fundamentally, the game simply feels right and looks great. An increased emphasis on authenticity means FIFA 10 is shaping up to be the most playable and comprehensive since last year's exceptional effort reshaped everyone's expectations for the franchise. Final score? We'll let you know as soon as we get a chance to play the full game, but until then let's just say FIFA has banged a screamer right into the back of the onion bag. 1-0. Your move PES...
Comments
scaica gioco
this looks like a fantastic game, the p.e.s days are over!!!
fifa 10 rules!!!!!!!!!!
d
cool