FIFA 10 Review (For Xbox360 and PS3)
One of the greatest rivalries in the video game industry, with an increasing intensity, is the one between the FIFA series, produced by EA Sports and the Pro Evolution Soccer (former Winning Eleven) from Konami. The history is quite complicated: FIFA was the best of them all and an increase in the quality of the gameplay was obvious from one edition to another. Things started going wrongly for the FIFA series when 4 editions in a row did not bring anything notable other than small tweaks to the game and a shinier graphics. In the meanwhile, PES began concentrating on making the game better and better, even though they did not have licenses for a lot of the players in the game.
Things evolved in this direction until 2007, when the games made for the 2008 editions noted one clear winner: PES. It was better than FIFA on a lot of levels, even though a lot of the fans did not make the transition. The 09 editions were slightly equal in quality: FIFA came back with a lot of new ideas and gameplay tweaking while PES stagnated somehow. In my opinion, PES 2009 had better graphics (even though not by much) while FIFA 09 brought something new to the table gameplay-wise. It is hard to note a winner for last year’s round as the games had their share of strong and weak points.
But that’s enough talking about the past. We are here to talk about FIFA 10 and how good or bad it is. Unfortunately, we cannot make a comparison between the two games as the embargo for PES 2010 will not be lifted until 15 October.
There is no point in wasting time so we will have to tell you: the 360 degree control in FIFA 10 is splendid: make your runs, pass the ball or take a shot at the angle that you want (not restricted to the 8 standard directions we experienced so far). This brings a lot to the table and makes the gameplay realistic in a way we never experienced before. One other area where the game has improved, although we still like PES in that domain better, is the ball physics. Maybe it is something subjective but, although the ball seems to behave like in reality, it is still a little forced compared to how natural it moves in PES.
You will also like how you can’t rely on the exact same tactics to win a game or score a goal. The pace is slightly slower than in FIFA 09, but this gives you options to really think through a play. The satisfaction you get when you actually build a play from the ground up is quite rewarding. Scoring a goal is also harder: tall players won’t be the king of the hill absolutely all the time like in FIFA 09 while long-distance shots have less chance to go in. Which is very cool, especially considering the problems FIFA had throughout the years in making players play the game, not rely on plays they know they work. And to see a FIFA game in which you DON’T score in 70% of the corners is a new, but most welcomed experience.
Taking the ball from your opponent is a little too easy as an unskilled defender can easily take the ball off a player with a lot of technique. This is slightly balanced by the fact that you can easily get around your opponent while at the ball using the 360 degree control, but it seems more like compensating for a mistake rather than a logical thing. There are some other things you won’t like in FIFA 10 like the fact that handballs are still ignored and problems with tackles and how the referee plays advantage, but you can’t have a perfect game, can you?
EA Sports has a bad habit of publishing sequels that offer only visual changes but nothing else. This time it’s exactly the opposite: the gameplay has been changed, and with some degree of success, but the graphics is mostly the same. The player character look like the persons they are representing but the face expressions are still not implemented (I mean, how long can you keep a straight face?).
If you are still looking for a FIFA game that does not drive you crazy with the commentary, you still need to look further. It is not that it is bad, it is not even that repetitive, but it does not blend in with the game.
Like in all the previous editions of the game, you can play a season, start a managing career, play a tournament or an exhibition match. The Be A Pro mode went under some modifications and it is slightly improved but not phenomenal. The managing mode is really unrealistic: from the transfers, to how top teams rank at the end of a season and so on, but it can be fun just for the matches you can play.
FIFA 10 is an improvement, and a noticeable one, but it is still very, very far from being perfect. It will drive you mad at times but, if Konami does not pull up a rabbit out of the hat, chances are that it will be the best soccer simulation game you can play. At least until next year.
- THIS POST WAS WRITTEN BY:
- Mihai Andrici
This review seems very very anti fifa. It completely says the opposite of all the other reviews I have read, like the commentary is supposed to blend in brilliantly and the manager mode much improved and better, this review is stoopid
agreed with charlie, i got the game yesterday and was playing it for about 10 hours, at first it feels alot slower than 09, the tackles are very sensitive and you give away alot of free quicks using the same style of play that you wouldve on 09. i like shooting and passing in this game tho and the commentarary (while still re-using 09 stuff which shouldnt happen in this era) still sounds good compared to the olden days.
to me the football experience is about licenses. that is why i never have and never will buy pes, heck id rather crank out fifa98 for a thrill. something about playing a game for a team which sounds fake and with players who are fake doesnt seem so exciting regardless of the game play. oh and btw i have played pes before and it isnt all its hyped up to be.
how anti-fifa you……..
Review by a PES fanboy for sure!
Note to reviewer:
Games reviews are not meant to be biased, but yours takes the cake.
Pro Evo has been overtaken by FIFA in leaps and bounds as the best football game on the current generation of consoles.
Find me an UNBIASED review or article on the web that states otherwise!
Yeah the review wasn’t as glowing as others and coming from someone who has enjoyed pes over the years, this is the fifa that has finally got me to stop and look… then buy it
I’ve enjoyed fifa from 98 to 2000 in which case I stopped and thought football games were never going to get better with ea chopping and adding and taking away in every edition. I still don’t understand why there’s no save reply offline unlike OLDER editions but really in the end, I dont really watch ‘em so no big loss but hopefully it can’t be too hard to implement.
The ball physics are by far the best they have ever been. I’ve played previous fifa games but never owned them until this newest iteration. The movement, the lack of lag in button pressing, the passing and the new animations are above and beyond any football game we have seen. PES probably still wins out with its skill set at setting shots.. The way they handle crosses into the box, the fake shots and the direction of shot and the power will be +1 to PES 10 (thats by opinion that they dont change anything about shooting from last years edition)
The commentary in fifa 10 is the most seamless integration i’ve heard yet and the rarity of hearing the same thing over and over again in one match is brilliant.
PES 10 will need to pull a rabbit out of the hat to be named the clear winner this time. the card idea is interesting but will it be enough?
I love the slower gameplay, it actually gives you time to think about what you’re gonna do with the ball. The goalkeepers new saves are amazing and along with the 360 degree control makes the game much more realistic and enjoyable to play.
PES better have something good if they want to stand even a shadow of a chance.
Possibly the most biased review in the history of reviews. On what planet was PES 09 equal to FIFA 09?
“If you are still looking for a FIFA game that does not drive you crazy with the commentary, you still need to look further. It is not that it is bad, it is not even that repetitive, but it does not blend in with the game”- How did this guy get the job of reviewing this game? the commentary has been a strong point of FIFA for years and adds to the realism of the match, much in the same way as the PES commentary takes away from the user experience.
PES was unplayable online and along with the comedy commentating and lack of any real teams the game was a joke. PES was better than FIFA for years but by PES 08 it seemed they almost gave up trying and got complacent. How can such a huge game have such terrible online play and so few licences? They basically stuck two fingers up to their fans which really turned me off.
Cant wait until FIFA tomorrow!
Does seem very anti-FIFA. I always loved PES, but last year was the final straw… and FIFA 09 is superb. Yes there were glitches, but PES has done very little to improve.
Having played both demos I’m not even going to bother buying PES this year (bought both the last 3 years). The ONLY thing PES is better at is lighting indoors (but then lighting outside looks fluorescent!!!) and consistently disappointing with it’s rubbish Japlish take on th beautiful game.
This is the worst review i’ve ever read for any game! Reviews aren’t meant to be biased at all. Also, the reviewer has obviously not played fifa for the past few years. Fifa 08 was slightly better than Pro. Fifa 09 was a lot better than Pro. And Fifa 10 is football perfection! Pro might be good this year, but it doesn’t stand a chance against fifa. The only people that will buy PES will be the fanboys, like this reviewer, who refuse to play fifa and admit it’s the best football game ever made.
Maybe FIFA 10 isnt the best football game ever made, i think PES 5 holds that accolade, BUT, it is a very good and rewarding game, certainly an improvement on 09, it does however still have room for improvement.
This review is obviously written by a FIFA hater. Why you would do that, I don’t know.
Well i was a Pes fan since it was called winning eleven and even earlier, switched to it since fifa96 which from my point of view was the best at the time and if i remember was the first footy game online (what a nightmare the dial up connection them days, but fun real fun once you manged to finish a full game), and i believed Pes after that was the best series of footy game for a long time till maybe 2007 when everyone at Konamy i think, just enjoyed the money we gave them in past years and all the stuff went in holiday for a very long time and left the cleeners doing the job for them, so deeply disappointed by Pes and despite that i kept buying the game for all the platform i had at the time (Pc, Ps2 and Psp), a friend of mine told me to give a try back at Fifa08 and with my biggest surprise he was right.Now this season seems like that Konamy staff are back from holiday but from my point of view a bit too late they must really pull a big rabbit from the hat otherwise i will stick to Fifa for much longer, but anyway commenting the review, yeah it’s obvious that the man is an old Pes fan like me but let me tell you brother “Open your eyes Fifa still the best hopefully not for longer but still a good value for money right now”(At least by the demos).
John, above, says: “to me the football experience is about licenses.”
FIFA fans in a nutshell…
This is the best review I’ve read for FIFA, having played the demo. FIFA’s ball physics are surprisingly poor – shots don’t seem much snappier than passes and they just drift into the goal. Such a basic thing to get wrong.
This would matter less but the game has so little atmosphere – it’s every bit as dull as every other EA sports sim (NBA Live anyone?) PES has its faults, but it has never bored me (in twenty years of playing football sims, only Sensi Soccer on the Amiga was as much fun. In those days, like FIFA, Kick Off 2 was considered more ‘realistic’…)
I can’t list all the flaws in the game, because there isn’t enough space, but I think this review was rather kind. Most of the basics are wrong in this game. 360 is good, but nothing special. They’ve also put too much emphasis on the Finess vs. Power shot. I’ve taken at least 100 shots that would have been burried in 09, but they spray wide in 10, unless you use the finess shot. They should have focused on the passing while sprinting. Im sure its not the easiest thing to do, but it doesn’t take 3 touchs to control a ball and then pass it, by that time the defense already has the ball. Personally, I think it’s the AI. Because online everything seems a lot more realistic. When you press pass, the next contact your player makes with the ball is the pass. The way they’ve changed manager mode hasn’t worked either. Whoever came up with the idea of budgets needs to be fired. At the moment, I’m $50,000 under wage budget, which in 09 would go into my team budget, but this year, its just wasted. And for some weird reason, this year you need to pay for loan players. Im no expert, but my understading of a loan was that a team got a player for free, for a year, and had to pay his salary. It also charges a transfer fee on free agents. This game would be terrible if it wasn’t for online play.
If you guys don’t know this is the most UNBIASED REVIEW. For the people that don’t know, EA is known to be buyers of ALL the rights of sports games. EA is actually a company that hires people outside of their company to make games so they can put this BS Logo in every game they have. This year the NBA gave them the boot when they tried to get all the rights to make the only NBA game. EA has a monopoly on football, NFL, NCAA, NHL, it is ridiculous!
They also pay for their reviews – gamespot.com will have the most biased reviews on EA games. Just look at the review from fifa 09 and fifa 10; they do not mention a SINGLE flaw on those two games.
Konami has no chance as of now to get any rights for their games as long as FIFA (the organization) has a president like Sepp Blater who is hated for being a corrupt money-obsessed bastard.
This is the best review for Fifa, because it reflects the game as a whole. Most overhyped game I’ve ever purchased, and after thrashing this game for 2 weeks, the novelty has begun to wore off, and I just don’t get that absolute desire to play “one more”. As someone stated above, the passing is poor, shooting is poor and if you’ve ever tried manager mode, than surely you’ll realise the tremendous amount of bugs present in that, which consequently kills off the single player option. Online is what keeps this game alive at the moment. I’m just annoyed I’ve paid good money for a game believing it will deliver, but it hasn’t. Fallen way short of my expectations (and yes they were high) because of all the hype but also because of the standard Fifa 09 made for itself. I’ll be sure to trade this in for Pro Evo this year for sure.