Fifa 2010 - Review
Review by Cassam Looch
GONE are the days when Fifa (or any football game for that matter) were easy to pick up and master.
This latest incarnation of the always popular franchise has a bewildering number of options and gameplay modes, all of which can be tweaked to infinity. Visually, the changes seem negligible with only a slight smoothness in animation and better player recreation on offer (Mikel Silvestre still resembles a kidney bean on legs, for example).
The move set is as vast as last time out and if you struggled to master it last time out then you’ll have problems again. That said, if you did invest the required time and effort last year then the good news is that you can import most of your achievements and settings… with the game searching for all the previous game-time.
360 degree dribbling is the major in-game adjustment, and it certainly is an improvement to the action. Again, it takes a while to master fully but does allow for some fluid movement and well-crafted build up play.
The players can now engage in tussles rather than stop-start tackles and dribbles, which tended to give the advantage to the defender rather than the attacker. Also, the ability to take quick free-kicks is a great addition, allowing for fast and furious play which does away with players spending ages setting up a set-piece only to lob the ball a few yards.
The thoroughly immersive management mode is also improved with longer career modes and greater options available. The mouth-watering prospect of creating your own player (based on an image of yourself no less!), going up the ranks and becoming a multi-million pound transfer target is also now a reality.
The online options will take a while to come fully to fruition and aren’t yet functioning, but once more players go online with their teams and players the potential is tantalising.
Don’t expect Martin Tyler and Andy Gray in the commentary booth to be providing anything new here (just like the real thing then!) but overall the game has been tweaked and improved to be the best in the series.
But the bottom line, I guess, is whether this latest version remains ahead of long-time (and recently inferior title) rival PES from Konami? From what we’ve seen so far… yes Fifa is still king of the mountain.
Release Date: Out Now
Formats: PS3, Xbox360, PC, PSP, Wii, DS and PS2
Developer: EA Sports
Key Product Features:
- 360° Dribbling – The first-ever true 360° dribbling system in a football game provides finer dribbling control, enabling players to find spaces between defenders that previously were not possible.
- Skilled Dribbling – All-new animation warping technology provides unprecedented control. Skilled players now have the ability to face a defender and use highly-responsive lateral dribbling to skip past him.
- Freedom in Physical Play – Wider dribble touches and new collision sharing creates a varied, less predictable, and extended fight for possession between the dribbler and a defender.
- Player Urgency – Improved urgency AI logic, with over 50 new movement cycles, delivers more responsive positioning so your players stay focused on the ball and move at a speed appropriate to the action.
- Improved Trapping Intelligence – Players now have a better awareness of where the easiest, most natural trapping position is so they can get the ball on the ground and under control easier and earlier.
- Advanced Positioning – Defenders multi-task and play the pitch more intelligently by covering dangerous spaces left by out-of-position teammates. In attack, players analyze space more effectively, curve their runs to stay onside, create passing lanes and vary attacking options.
- More Accurate Passing – Players better analyze space resulting in pinpoint passes that give their receivers more options and time to outrun defensive pressure.
- Authentic Shooting – Refinements to the shooting system and modifications of the ball physics create a wider, more realistic variety of shots that enhance the exhilaration of scoring.
- Varied Defending Options – Slide Tackle targeting has been enhanced so skilled players have more reach and avoid tackling through the dribbler. Better effort clearance logic gives defenders more options when attempting to get a foot on the ball before an attacker. Effort, such as sliding to block crosses and overhead kick clearances, give defenders more tools to prevent goal-scoring opportunities.
- Refined Goalkeeper Intelligence – numerous improvements mean that goalkeepers now have more urgency and better perception of where to intercept loose balls, resulting in a more responsive and powerful rushing system. New animation warping technology provides game-realistic goalkeeper positioning and momentum, resulting in more varied scoring opportunities.
- Manager Mode Authenticity – More than 50 major improvements were designed to create an authentic experience to mimic the real-world game. Match results are based on team and player strengths and weaknesses.
Player transfers are determined by multiple decision points, including club finance and prestige, availability of similar players, and competition from AI-controlled clubs. Player development is more realistic with true-to-life growth curves based on factors such as age and environment
- Continuous Gameplay – Maintain the atmosphere, pace, and intensity of a match with quick free kicks and referee carding.
- New Practice Arena – Work on individual skills in a fully featured practice mode before stepping on the pitch.