Game: FIFA 10
Publisher / Developer: EA Sports
Genre: Sports
Verdict: The best football game ever made
Pros: Beautiful football action, plenty of gameplay modes, Virtual Pro is awesome
Cons: Could result in failed relationships if you can’t drag yourself away from it

Death and taxes. According to the age-old saying, they are the only two certainties in life. However, after being around for a while, I think we can add a few more to that list. Politicians will always become embroiled in a scandal. The youth of today will always think they know better than their elders. Electronic Arts will release yearly updates to all their popular sports games. I used to think that last one was a bad thing. I was part of the crowd that used to think that all EA was doing was releasing a game on a yearly basis, that was barely different to the previous year, in an effort to milk the consumer for as much money as possible. Then I actually bothered to sit down with the games to see what they were doing, and I was hugely surprised. My skepticism was just that, as I found out that EA weren’t just tinkering with the games and re-releasing them, but they were trying out new modes and features at every turn. Not every one worked, understandably, but with every sports game they released they were trying to create the best virtual representation of each sport as possible. As it stands now, pretty much every sports game they release, from the Madden series to the NHL series, are considered to be the best games of those types available. For the FIFA series, that never used to be the case. Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer series was long considered to be the pinnacle of virtual football, with the FIFA games being looked at as just a pretty game with lots of official licenses. That thinking has started to change ever since the series moved to the current generation of consoles. Over the past few years, the FIFA series has improved dramatically, converting countless Pro Evolution Soccer fans and proving to be the best football simulation around. That trend looks certain to continue with the release of FIFA 10, and what may not just be the best football game ever released, but possibly the best virtual representation of any sport I’ve ever seen.

I have to admit, with the release of FIFA 09 I was converted. I had been a Pro Evolution Soccer fan since the first game was released on the Playstation 1 back in 2001, and had stuck with the series for every version after that. I dabbled in different FIFA games over the years, but the game just felt too arcade like for me compared to the more realistic style of Pro Evo. Things started to change for me in the autumn of 2007 with the release of Pro Evo 2008. Even though I played it and loved it, there was something niggling in the back of my mind about it. It had started to become the arcade football game I didn’t want to play. I stuck with it out of loyalty, but the following year when the demos for both FIFA 09 and Pro Evo 2009 were released, I was instantly hooked on FIFA. It had turned into the football game I always wanted. It had all the licenses, all the leagues, all the official players, and it had a proper game of football to go with it. Gone were the days when you could give the ball to one player and trick your way through the entire opposition team. This was a proper football game, where passing and control were the order of the day. You had to create chances the proper way, and you had to make sure you took them as they didn’t always come along that often. That being said, the game itself wasn’t perfect. The goalkeepers would often let balls go past them you would think they could get. The players would sometimes make off-the-ball runs that seem a little strange. There was too much money flying around in Manager Mode, making it too easy to fill your team with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo. These minor problems have been fixed in FIFA 10, and along with dozens of small improvements have gone a long way to creating a fabulous football game.

The biggest change on the pitch this year is the addition of 360 degree dribbling. On paper this seems like a fairly minor change, but the more you play the game the more thankful you are that it’s been brought in. Long time FIFA 09 players like myself will have no doubt found many occasions when your striker was through on goal, you tried to change direction to get a better angle to shoot, only to find your striker slowing down too much to change direction and finding him caught by defenders. That won’t happen this time as players are now free from the 8 directional restraints of previous years and can make subtle changes in direction which make a huge difference to the gameplay.

That’s not the only change either. The problems with FIFA 09 I mentioned above have all pretty much been ironed out. Off the ball movement is much improved, with strikers making much more intelligent runs. Keepers will now come for the ball much more, as well as scrambling for balls that have seemingly gone past them, making some unbelievable goal line saves. The physical nature of the game has been improved, with powerhouse players such as Didier Drogba or Yakubu knocking defenders around the pitch and proving near impossible with deal with at times, unless faced with an equally strong defender such as John Terry or Nemanja Vidic. Defenders in general are much smarter this time as well, sticking to their men with much more vigilance, making chance creation a more difficult task than in previous years, but so much more rewarding as well. It’s hard to describe just how good it feels to control the game with the midfield, taking your time only to unleash a quick pass through to an onrushing striker who slots it home.

You’ll notice how more teams play just like their real life counterparts as well. Arsenal will get the ball down and pass it around, looking for an opening. Chelsea will try to use the power of Drogba and the pace of Anelka to hurt you. Liverpool will look to get Torres on the ball as much as possible, and giving him any room near goal is a huge mistake. Barcelona will use possibly the world’s best midfield to dominate you and create chances for the likes of Messi, Henry and Ibrahimovic. It’s amazing how different some of the teams will play and it’s a testament to the quality of the game just how realistic it can be.

To make playing the game easier, EA have finally given players a proper practice mode in which to perfect their skills. You can practice set pieces, have a full 11 against 11 kickabout, or just go for a 4-on-4 attack against defense session so you can get used to trying to slice open the opposition defense, or how just to defend against it. A completely new addition, to any football game, is the ability to create your own custom set pieces. It’s not the most intuitive tool to use as you have to manually create the movement of every player involved, but for the hardcore player who wants total control over every aspect of free-kicks, this will no doubt prove invaluable. Only time will tell however whether it’s possible to create set pieces which are impossible to defend against, which is the only conceivable downside to this tool.

One of the big additions to FIFA this year is the Virtual Pro. Instead of simply creating yourself and playing with him in different game modes independently, the Virtual Pro adds an RPG like element to the game. Rather than improving your player stats by simply earning XP and then using that to increase your abilities, with the Virtual Pro you have a huge list of accomplishments you have to try to complete, each of which improves your abilities in some way. Bang in a shot from outside the area? Have a Long Shots stat increase. Create a goal with a lovely pass? Have an increase to your Short Passing. The accomplishments are all logical and none could really be considered impossible, though some are position specific so don’t expect to increase your defensive abilities too much if you’re playing as a striker. There are a total of 216 accomplishments and the best thing is that your Virtual Pro is not tied to a specific game mode. You can start Manager Mode with your favorite team and have your Pro available, then halfway through the season decide you want to play the Be A Pro mode with him for a while. You can do that, unlock some accomplishments and new stats, go back to Manager Mode and see that your Pro is now a better player. It’s a welcome change to the way you handle your created player and the fact you can now take him online is even better.

Speaking of Manager Mode, that has received several tweaks this year as well. As previously mentioned, in FIFA 09 there always seemed to be too much money floating around from sponsors, making it too easy to fill your team with superstar players. That is no longer the case in FIFA 10 as you’ll receive much less money per game from your sponsors, and signing players has become much more difficult. Manager Mode now not only has a transfer budget for you to work in, but a wage budget as well, both of which will limit the players you can try to sign. Also new this year is your Manager Reputation. As you start the game you’ll have the lowest reputation possible, and it’s up to you to improve that reputation by winning games and trophies, as well as fulfilling the goals laid out by your board. Your reputation will also play a part in signing new players, as the more high profile players won’t want to work for a manager with a low reputation. It takes time to increase your reputation and to gain the money needed to buy the top players in the game. The world of the Manager Mode seems much more realistic this time around as well. Other clubs will sign players and put them into the team if they’re better than the current squad, as freak results are much less common this time around. By the time I’d finished my first season and taken my beloved Everton to the league title, the rest of the league looked exactly how you’d expect it to. Manchester United were hot on my heels, as were Chelsea and Arsenal, with teams like Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City all fighting to get into the final Champions League spot, while teams like Hull, Wolves and Burnley were all fighting to stay in the division. You’ll also notice this extra realism when it comes to the team selection policy of your opponents. During my season with Everton I have a sequence of 3 games in a row against Arsenal, one in the league and 2 legs of the league cup semi-final. In the league game, Arsenal played their strongest team and we battled to a 1-1 draw. In the cup games however, just like in real life, Arsenal saw the league cup as a lesser trophy to aim for and so played a mixture of reserve and fringe players. It was a surprising yet very realistic addition to the game and I was very happy to see it (especially as I beat them and went on to win the cup).

Another change to Manager Mode this year is the concept of player form. Just like the Live Season mode from FIFA 09, a player’s form in FIFA 10 will have a direct impact on his abilities. If your striker hits a hot streak and starts scoring goals left, right and center, his form will go up and he’ll get a temporary boost to his abilities. Likewise, should one of your players be going through a rough patch, his stats will temporarily drop until his form improves. It’s another good addition to the series, though it does have a few problems. The main problem is that anyone not playing regularly for you will find their form dropping, so if you have a consistent first 11 who don’t get injured, everyone else will find their stats dropping through lack of playing time. Also, while I can appreciate a striker in fine form receiving a boost to his finishing abilities, I’ve never seen a player in real life become quicker or slower depending on how well they’re playing. Changing someone’s physical stats based on form seems a little wrong to me, but it’s a minor niggle really.

Another feature that’s been changed this year is the Live Season mode. With the new version of Live Season you can select your favorite club in any one of 6 available leagues, and follow the real world fixtures of your team, doing your best to change history and take your team to the top. The great thing about this mode is that anything that happens in the real world, such as your star striker getting injured, or your team making a fantastic new signing, it’s all reflected in the Live Season. The results of the other matches in the league are exactly the same as the real world, so you really are trying to change the fortunes of your favorite club. The only downside to this mode is that you have to pay for it, though there is a 5 game trial available to see if you feel it’s worth the cost involved.

The fact that you have to pay for the Live Season mode is one of the few problems I was able to find with FIFA 10. All of the improvements the FIFA series has made over the past few years have come together here to make a supremely enjoyable football game. On the easiest difficulty setting it’ll lead newcomers into the game nicely, but bump the difficulty up to the World Class level and you’ll have to work hard for every chance you get. The amount of modes in which to play the game gives it an immense lifespan, and the football action itself means that no 2 games will ever be the same. You’ll be pressed back by the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea. Play a lower league team in the cup and you’ll have to break down a wall of defenders looking to stop you scoring. You’ll shout with joy as you trick your way past a defender and unleash a 30 yard thunderbolt that crashes in off the underside of the bar, only to find yourself crying with anguish as you watch a shot deflect off a defender and bobble into the corner of the net, completely wrong-footing your keeper. You’ll shout at the TV when the referee misses a blatant penalty on you, only to be thanking him 5 minutes later when he misses you chopping down an attacker in your penalty box. In short, it’s the most accurate representation of football I’ve ever played in my 27 years as a gamer. Nothing else even comes close to it.