FIFA 10 Review [PS3]

06 Oct 2009 at 17:07:06 by Andy Alderson
Systems used to review this title: (PS3)

You’ve got to give EA credit for the way that it has turned around the FIFA series. Once the poster child of the cosmetic annual update - and understudy to Konami’s super-slick Pro Evo - FIFA is now top dog in the world of football gaming. FIFA 08 fired a warning shot across Konami’s bow, while FIFA 09 blew it to smithereens with tight, realistic gameplay and true innovation both online and off. But how do you improve on the success of FIFA 09? Well, according to EA Canada the answer was to concentrate mainly on gameplay refinement, while dabbling in a wee bit of innovation. What you’ll find in FIFA 10 is, in terms of gameplay mechanics, the best FIFA game to date but, when it comes to some of the game modes, EA still has work to do.

The first aspect of FIFA 10 most players will notice (assuming they’ve played ’09 or, indeed, any football game of the last few years) is that you now have much more control over the movement of your players thanks to the 360 degree dribbling. It’s hard to overstate the importance of this in gameplay terms – where once you were hamstrung by eight way movement, relying on a combination of skill moves and blind luck to beat defenders, it now feels like you have much more freedom. So long as you’re not sprinting, you can turn quickly in any direction meaning you’re much more likely to create enough space to get away from opposition players or to release the ball. The new directional controls also have implications when it comes to off the ball running in other game modes as it’s much easier to curve your runs and stay on the right side of the offside trap.

It’s clear that EA has actively engaged with the fan community in developing FIFA 10 and criticisms of the last game have been taken on board with the intention of creating a more realistic and balanced game. Crossing in FIFA 10 is a prime example – many fans (including myself) felt that crosses in FIFA 09 were too slow and floaty, giving defenders more time to position themselves. In FIFA 10 crosses are quicker, with a flatter trajectory and much more swerve meaning that it creates more excitement in the box when you whip in a devilish cross. Lofted through balls have also been tweaked. No longer a dead cert to catch the defence off guard, the lofted through ball is less accurate and, when you take into account the more intelligent defensive AI, you’ll realize that you need to be a bit more creative if you hope to put your striker in a one-on-one scenario with the keeper.

Again, for the sake of balance, the right stick knock-on has also been addressed. In FIFA 09 it was far too easy to put the ball out to a winger and have him charge past defenders using the knock on. You’ll find this much more difficult in FIFA 10, largely due to the improved jostling mechanic. If you find yourself alongside a defender, you’ll see them colliding and tussling as they physically struggle for control of the ball. The result is that jostling often goes on a lot longer than in previous games and it’s a lot harder to predict who’s going to come out with the ball. It’s an intelligent system and one which demonstrates the commitment to realism in the game.

However, while the vast majority of the gameplay tweaks are welcome, some are not. For instance, we’re not exactly sold on the refereeing in FIFA 10. On the plus side, you’re less likely to receive yellow cards when you slide and an opposition player simply runs into you. But, if you’re the kind of player who screams at the TV when you see a horribly unjust refereeing decision, you'd best warn your neighbours before buying FIFA 10. See, the refs are unrealistically lenient in the game to the occasional point of extreme annoyance. Professional fouls are a prime example of this. Defenders are now much more likely to put a cynical challenge in from behind when you’re through on goal, which wouldn’t be so bad if the accompanying refereeing decision adhered to the real-life rules. All too often you’ll get clattered from behind when through on goal only to have the ref run over to warn the offender whereas in real life football he’d be shown the red card.

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