Every year I do the exact same thing when it comes to buying the latest football game. I run out on the day that it is released, hand over my hard-earned money and then fire up the Xbox with excitement.
And every year I’m left disappointed.
I’m a fairly hardcore football gamer, you see. Manager mode is my sanctuary and, more often than not, I’ll have spent hours and hours turning Reading into a real force in English football – turning unheard of players into big names and playing every game along the way.
So when I upgrade to the new version of FIFA, I’m always left slightly disappointed by what I’ve left behind. It’s not just a game, it’s a team. I could still tell you most of the players I had in my FIFA ’09 manager mode team, so it’s something of an attachment.
This year was no different, except that the little touches of class that FIFA 11 offer have helped to soften the blow enormously.
Where FIFA 10 rubbed salt into the wounds by coming equipped with glitches that made my new signings disappear and my console freeze every third game, the latest version just feels altogether more polished.
I’ll concentrate on manager mode because it’s where my vice lies and it’s a real improvement over the previous version.
On FIFA 11, you’re not just tied down to match days for example – a feature that made transfer windows an absolute nightmare of few real opportunities.
Instead, you can work on a day-to-day basis – more like the Championship Manager games of old.
The method of signing players is much more intuitive and, dare I say, realistic than before, without being off-putting.
The data that you’re given post-match is also beautifully detailed and for a geeky stats man such as myself, it’s truly immersive. And the opportunity to watch highlights of the game – brilliant!
There are a couple of disadvantages – the talksport.net product placement is about as subtle as a fart in a lift and a little off-putting in my opinion.
And there doesn’t appear to be a way to improve your coaching staff and stadium as in previous versions, which was something that I always enjoyed.
But overall, manager mode feels more polished.
Gameplay
Such is my addiction to manager mode that I’ve got this far with barely a mention of the gameplay. And that’s a good thing.
Another big thing that I’ve found with upgrading football games is that it always takes you time to get used to the new style of gameplay. Everything always feels a bit different, largely because it is.
Yet I didn’t find this much of a problem with FIFA 11. The first game that I played seemed to pass a little slower than I was used to, but after that I didn’t really notice it at all.
All I noticed was the little improvements that they’ve made.
The headers – oh joy, the headers!
It was only when I scored with a bullet header from around the penalty area that I realised that this was something I could never do on previous FIFA games. If you didn’t head it from the six-yard line or closer, it wasn’t going anywhere other than straight at the goalkeeper more often than not.
But this just feels a bit more, well, realistic.
The tackling too feels as though you have just that little bit more control over it and the referees reactions to them feel a bit more human too.
They let you play on more, but realise when there is actually and advantage and when there isn’t. The days of being able to foul someone, leave the ball for a couple of seconds and then run off triumphantly could well be numbered.
In general, FIFA 11 just seems that little bit more polished than previous versions. It’s not a complete overhaul by an means, but this is a good thing.
If it isn’t broken don’t fix it.
But if there is one thing that EA Sports need to take note of, it’s the commentating. Update it please!
Andy Gray’s monologues are great, but when you’ve heard them hundreds of times already, the last thing that you want to do when you boot up your brand new game is to hear them again.
So for FIFA 12, please give me something different to listen to!
