The Grand FIFA Review
After surprisingly getting a PS3 for Christmas in December 2008, FIFA 09 and Madden 09 were my first game purchases. Considering I was unable to even kick a short field goal on Madden, it quickly became apparent that FIFA 09 was going to steal my heart. FIFA 09 was absolutely fantastic (especially for someone new to playing a soccer video game.)
Looking back, my only complaint would be that players were offsides way too often and it seemed nearly impossible to score on free kicks (but then again, maybe that was due to my nube status — I should go back and try again one of these days). But overall, the gameplay was fun…and I loved all the (FREE!) downloadable commentator language packs. Thank you EA Sports.
p.s. I will always have such fond memories of playing as Lyon with Benzema as the star of the show. Lyon was my beloved dark horse team for FIFA 09. :)
FIFA 10, I LOVE YOU. In terms of gameplay, this is probably the best FIFA game to date. And thank you for still having downloadable language packs (even though we had to pay extra for them.) As good as FIFA 09 was, the graphics and gameplay got even in better in FIFA 10.
I’d been wanting to play with African teams (AND JAPAN!) since I first got FIFA 09, and with the dawn of FIFA World Cup I was finally able to do so. And let me just say…playing with Cote d’Ivoire is as awesome as I thought it would be. I love all the vuvuzela, the cutaways to managers & funky international fans, the South African stadiums complete with ticker tape all over the field…such wonderful details that allow you to relive the 2010 World Cup year round now. The gameplay is similar to FIFA 10 (which I love), so I was happy about that. The new camera angles took a little getting used to, but it’s not really complaint-worthy (FIFA 10 was better though.)
My primary complaint about FIFA World Cup is…you’re stuck with either English, Spanish, or French for game commentary. I really miss playing with the German and Italian commentaries. I found this omission especially disturbing, since I figured with the WORLD CUP version, there would actually be even MORE commentator languages than before, not LESS! VERY disappointed on that front.
Also new in FIFA World Cup were the penalty kick controls. The added hesitation / fakeouts on approach were a nice little addition, but more often than not, you don’t see players do that in real life, so, bottom line, I much prefer the simpler penalty kick controls of FIFA 10. I’m yet to encounter someone who actually *likes* the new (overly complicated) penalty kick controls of FIFA World Cup and FIFA 11. I highly doubt EA will bring back the simpler penalty kick controls from FIFA 10, but oh how I wish they would. I’d be curious to see EA Sports survey their user base with the simple question: “Do you prefer the PK controls from FIFA 10 or FIFA 11?” I’m pretty sure the response would be in favor of FIFA 10 PK controls.
A minor grievance: when playing vs. a friend in person, the team selection process is annoying as you can no longer select your teams simultaneously. Player 2 has to wait for Player 1 to pick their team.
I was GREATLY disappointed with FIFA 11. It felt like a step in the absolute wrong direction, thus I am worried about the future of FIFA games from here on out. I must admit, the graphic improvements were AMAZING (players look a lot more life-like, Old Trafford looks unbelievable, etc.) and players tussling for the ball is better, but other than that…the gameplay has gotten considerably worse. On the one hand, I can see why EA has made some of the gameplay changes they’ve made. It seems like they wanted to make the game lower scoring and more “realistic”, but in the process they took a lot of the *fun* out of the game.
The other day I was playing with Real Madrid, and I had numerous chances to score (with world-class players like Ronaldo, Kaka, etc.), but even though I was pressing on the shoot button, they didn’t even get the shot off! Ridiculous. In another game vs. my friend online, I played as Germany against France, and we ended up 0-0 at the end of regulation. When the game stats were displayed at that point, I was startled to see I didn’t even get a single shot off (even though I had 60+% possession) and a few relatively decent scoring opportunities. Again, ridiculous.
The lingering feeling after playing several games of FIFA 11 was not the usual lust to play more & more, but rather, profound frustration. Along the sidelines the ball goes out of bounds a lot more often, goalies will hurl the ball straight out of bounds, passes in midfield will go every which direction. These issues are greatly frustrating, and matters get progressively worse as finger fatigue sets in after a few matches. The controls in FIFA 11 are wayyyy too sensitive, just very unforgiving…which of course leads to considerable frustration and thus, less enjoyment.
Also, following the unfortunate precedent established in FIFA World Cup, there are no downloadable commentator language packs, so you’re once again stuck with the default English/Spanish/French. I can’t even begin to express how much I miss the German and Italian commentaries. If anything I was hoping that as new FIFA versions were released there would be even MORE language options (not fewer!) I would *love* to hear some Korean or Japanese commentators…but now, sadly it’s seeming less likely.
FIFA 12?
Dear EA Sports,
Please make FIFA 12 the ULTIMATE football game. Here is the recipe for perfection:
language packs and interface of FIFA 09 + gameplay of FIFA 10 + all the international teams of FIFA World Cup + the beautiful graphics of FIFA 11 = THE PERFECT FOOTBALL GAME.
But of course, perfection is something we always strive toward yet never actually achieve. So at the very least, please just bring back multi-language commentary packs and quicker-paced, more responsive, less finicky gameplay in FIFA 12.
Sincerely,
pk
