Written by: Mark

 

 

 

Electronic Arts FIFA series overtook it’s rivals as the greatest console football series several years ago thanks to some incredibly detailed gameplay and innovative inclusions and with each year that passes the game includes more tweaks to raise the bar even higher.

 

In this review we take a look at this seasons effort "FIFA 11" to see just how (or if) EA have managed to make the sublime even more perfect.

 

 

With every year that passes I cannot believe how the FIFA experience can be improved and upon the release of FIFA 11 gamers were promised several new features that would make the experience even better. The first of these is the ‘Real player personality’ feature which promises that real life professional players individual behaviours are replicated within the game. With the vast amount of players contained throughout the thirty plus leagues I was sceptical as to whether this would actually work and if it did then surely the game would become even more phenomenal and highlight the amount of research gone into this years release.

 

Secondly the successful ‘Be a pro’ returns only this year with the inclusion of ‘Be a pro goalkeeper’ which was the only missing part from previous be a pro offerings. Next we have an improved career mode which now gives the player the option to play through a fifteen season career as a player, manager or even player manager and finally we have an increased amount of customisable options to make the game even more authentic, this includes more options to customise teams, individual players and import your own crowd chants from your favourite teams.

 

Admittedly this new features make the game sound even more appealing than ever before but the question is whether they would improve the already sublime gameplay and set the game even further ahead of it’s closest rivals?

 

 

Lets start this section by stating that FIFA 11 is without doubt a football simulation and attempts to replicate real life football with it’s realistic AI and this means that there will be very few stupidly high scoring matches thus requiring a patient and tactical approach. Personally I find this superb and means that the game really does replicate real football and this sets it ahead of most sports games not just those with a focus on football.

 

 

The new real player personality feature also seems to improve how matches pan out although in some cases the individual behaviours is not particularly noticeable. Personally I support a team in the second tier of the English leagues and feel that it is hard to notice how this feature impacts on individuals however does seem to improve things from a team perspective.

 

Graphically however the game really shines with each individual bearing good resemblances to their real life counterparts in the looks department and also kits are authentic in the way in which they have been presented. In fact the only thing missing is numerous real life stadiums which seems to be an area which needs a little work.

 

There is no denying that EA Sports seems to improve the gameplay in the FIFA games with each release and I found FIFA 11 to be even more realistic than ever and this is highlighted even further with the live stats which pop up throughout matches such as team pass completion rates, live scores and individual player stats such as tackles made, meters covered, passes made etc and what also makes this stand out is the fact that it is so subtle as it appears under the scoreboard and never detracts from the gameplay which goes to show that once again the game is almost flawless in it’s presentation.

 

The only downside to this presentation is that the commentary at times can prove to be a little annoying. There is no doubt that a lot of effort has gone into the audio with the commentators giving regular updates on the action interspersed with statistics and amusing chit chat however at times there are some cases where inaccuracies are obvious with the most obvious which I noticed being when playing a league match the commentators regularly stating that ‘Anything can happen in one off cup matches’.

 

I do not want to be too critical over the audio as the in game music fits the game well and for the most time the commentary works well however incidents as the one highlighted just detract from the almost flawless presentation.

 

 

As expected the game now features the now customary quick match, season, individual cups and multiplayer all of which have been done to the usual high standard of the FIFA series plus this season we have the previously highlighted improved career and be a pro modes.

 

 

The improved career mode adds even more depth to proceedings and plays so well that once started it becomes increasingly hard to put down. These improvements have also helped to breath new life into the manager mode which is one area that never seemed to do the previous FIFA games justice and in FIFA 11 the inclusion of the player manager feature adds more incentive to play and again highlights that the developers are constantly listening to feedback in order to make the game more user friendly.