BALLS! FIFA 07 (X-Box) Review
Posted on
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
by Gary A. Ballard
By popular request, I'll give my thoughts about FIFA 07 for the X-Box. Ok, semi-popular request. Ok, it was one guy, but he really wanted to know. And just for that guy, all five of you who read this blog will be treated to my review of FIFA 07 by EA.
Yes, I bought an EA game and for mostly full price, minus about $15 worth of trade-ins. After EA's almost criminal purchase of the exclusive NFL video game license which ushered in the death of the greatest football video game series ever made (NFL 2k from 2k Sports), I was miffed. Perturbed. In a downright tizzy. I gave EA a number of helpful suggestions about where they could stick their Madden franchise, most of them anatomically impossible but cathartic nonetheless. So why would I buy an EA Sports game?
There's no other choice.
While that's not quite true, as Winning Eleven 9 exists, I found I didn't like WE9. In addition WE10 (or Pro Evolution Soccer or whatever they are calling the US release) is not due in the States until January. Having also played the 2006 World Cup game from EA, I found that I preferred the EA style of play, even though WC2006 had some serious framerate issues. When I found that WE9 had player licenses but not clubs (referring to Liverpool as Merseyside Red), my choice was clear. I use the word choice in the loosest way possible, of course.
FIFA 07 is soccer for the uninitiated and football everywhere in the world except the US. The X-Box version contains more teams and leagues than I'll ever play, from the English Premier League to Spain's La Liga, Turkish, Italian, American (North and South), Dutch, Polish and German leagues, as well as multiple levels of said leagues, all with real club names, player names and in many cases authentic stadiums. If you want to play socceer with a real life team, chances are this game has that team included. The X-Box 360 version inexplicably has about 1/4 of the number of leagues and stadiums as this versions, so vive la next-gen. The game has a plethora of modes, from friendly one-off matches to tournaments, situational scenarios, challenges and the main attraction, league seasons. It even includes a game mode (online only) called Interactive Leagues, which I'll get to later.
Like all EA Sports games, it's full of flash, pomp and pop music, with a soundtrack chock full of bands I've never heard of. Most of the songs are decent, in that they aren't overly annoying. What does become annoying, however, is the podcast audio that's played during menus in between songs. From what I can gather, it's discussions between a DJ and a few of the developers of the game, giving hints and being generally jovial. At first, these interludes are interesting, as they do give out some hints on gameplay. After the 20th time hearing them, they get real, real old. What makes it worse is that while the user can customize the playlist of songs, the game doesn't allow custom playlists of songs on your X-Box's hard drive. You are stuck with the songs they pack on the disc and that's it. It's a shame I'll never get to hear Rush's Tom Sawyer play to celebrate a Steven Gerrard goal for Liverpool.
Beyond the fluff, the game is deep, especially in Manager Mode. The goal of Manager Mode is to create a coach's profile and have that coach lead your club through a career of seasons, attempting to satisfy the club board's expectations, win games and generally not get fired. The manager controls all player transfers, including those of the club's youth academy. Each player gains experience when played in a match, and as that experience accrues, the player's attritubes can increase based on that growth. One of the keys to Manager's Mode is to plan not just for the next game, but the next few seasons, nurturing your players' growth to keep the club at a successful level. The growth aspect of roster management is another welcome addition to the strategy of filling out a game roster beyond the normal injury and fatigue issues of other sports simulations. Do I rest John Arne Riise to play that young left back with potential I signed, or do I go for the win and play the veteran? Managers even get to set the ticket prices of home games, choose staff and stadium upgrades, and send out scouts. After every game, the board will send email with concerns, comments or suggestions.
Once the roster is chosen and the game begins, the product really shines. All that managerial stuff is a waste if the on-field action suffers. Thankfully, FIFA 07 is a cracking good game of football. As I mentioned above, the framerate stuttering that afflicted World Cup 2006 are gone, even though the graphics engine looks like an improvement. The controls are similar to the Cup version, but with a good deal more intricacy. Ball control is more challenging, and with the use of the right thumbstick, the game gives the players a greater range of options for dribbling, passing and shooting. Players seem to have weight on the pitch now, and jostling other players is a necessary tactic, especially when fielding headers. The game's manual is dreadfully short, unfortunately. While it does illustrate the button functions, it doesn't even begin to explain some of the combination moves that become important to success. In addition, the in-game help is sparse, though much better than the manual. Poor manuals are par for the course these days, so EA is not alone in shorting the customer. Regardless of the manual's quality, the gameplay is exemplary, causing a callus to appear on my left thumbstick thumb.
The overall presentation in-game is top-notch, with the same announcers as WC2006 returning to add more commentary. Stadium sounds are rich, the commentary is mostly spot-on or at least relevant, and each team's players and kit are represented well. The only complaint I have about the on-field presentation is the replay's clumsy yet serviceable interface.
FIFA 07 is linked into X-Box Live as one would expect. Rosters can be downloaded, and players can play matches against other opponents online. There is certainly some lag creeping up in the system, but overall my online experiences have been satisfactory. The real killer online feature this year is interactaive leagues, a new way to play league football.
Interactive leagues are open to anyone on X-Box Live with the game. In fact, all the players in interactive leagues make up the teams. Each player picks their favorite team, in my case Liverpool. During the week leading up to the real world team's next fixture, club fans can join interactive league matches against their real life club's next opponent or if no players for that club are available, other rival clubs can be played against. During the match, the player earns points based on performance, wins, losses and goals scored, with the winner getting more points. Each player that plays for my team will contribute points to that team's weekly total. If my team's weekly total is better than their real-life match opponent's by the end of the week, my team is considered to have won that match. A table of interactive league standings is changed just like a real season. It's an innovative way to handle online leagues, almost like a fantasy football game within a football game. Having played and lost two of these games, it's something I'd continue in the future, though not as seriously as single-player seasons.
Though not perfect, if you like soccer and can't wait until WE10 comes to America, or just want a damn good soccer game, FIFA 07 certainly deserves a look. If you're still unsure about buying it, rent it first; the gameplay may offend WE9 fans, or just may not be up your alley. If you do decide to buy the game and just want to pound on an American invalid, I'm listed as HaemishM on X-Box Live. Chances are I won't even make you break a sweat.
Yes, I bought an EA game and for mostly full price, minus about $15 worth of trade-ins. After EA's almost criminal purchase of the exclusive NFL video game license which ushered in the death of the greatest football video game series ever made (NFL 2k from 2k Sports), I was miffed. Perturbed. In a downright tizzy. I gave EA a number of helpful suggestions about where they could stick their Madden franchise, most of them anatomically impossible but cathartic nonetheless. So why would I buy an EA Sports game?
There's no other choice.
While that's not quite true, as Winning Eleven 9 exists, I found I didn't like WE9. In addition WE10 (or Pro Evolution Soccer or whatever they are calling the US release) is not due in the States until January. Having also played the 2006 World Cup game from EA, I found that I preferred the EA style of play, even though WC2006 had some serious framerate issues. When I found that WE9 had player licenses but not clubs (referring to Liverpool as Merseyside Red), my choice was clear. I use the word choice in the loosest way possible, of course.
FIFA 07 is soccer for the uninitiated and football everywhere in the world except the US. The X-Box version contains more teams and leagues than I'll ever play, from the English Premier League to Spain's La Liga, Turkish, Italian, American (North and South), Dutch, Polish and German leagues, as well as multiple levels of said leagues, all with real club names, player names and in many cases authentic stadiums. If you want to play socceer with a real life team, chances are this game has that team included. The X-Box 360 version inexplicably has about 1/4 of the number of leagues and stadiums as this versions, so vive la next-gen. The game has a plethora of modes, from friendly one-off matches to tournaments, situational scenarios, challenges and the main attraction, league seasons. It even includes a game mode (online only) called Interactive Leagues, which I'll get to later.
Like all EA Sports games, it's full of flash, pomp and pop music, with a soundtrack chock full of bands I've never heard of. Most of the songs are decent, in that they aren't overly annoying. What does become annoying, however, is the podcast audio that's played during menus in between songs. From what I can gather, it's discussions between a DJ and a few of the developers of the game, giving hints and being generally jovial. At first, these interludes are interesting, as they do give out some hints on gameplay. After the 20th time hearing them, they get real, real old. What makes it worse is that while the user can customize the playlist of songs, the game doesn't allow custom playlists of songs on your X-Box's hard drive. You are stuck with the songs they pack on the disc and that's it. It's a shame I'll never get to hear Rush's Tom Sawyer play to celebrate a Steven Gerrard goal for Liverpool.
Beyond the fluff, the game is deep, especially in Manager Mode. The goal of Manager Mode is to create a coach's profile and have that coach lead your club through a career of seasons, attempting to satisfy the club board's expectations, win games and generally not get fired. The manager controls all player transfers, including those of the club's youth academy. Each player gains experience when played in a match, and as that experience accrues, the player's attritubes can increase based on that growth. One of the keys to Manager's Mode is to plan not just for the next game, but the next few seasons, nurturing your players' growth to keep the club at a successful level. The growth aspect of roster management is another welcome addition to the strategy of filling out a game roster beyond the normal injury and fatigue issues of other sports simulations. Do I rest John Arne Riise to play that young left back with potential I signed, or do I go for the win and play the veteran? Managers even get to set the ticket prices of home games, choose staff and stadium upgrades, and send out scouts. After every game, the board will send email with concerns, comments or suggestions.
Once the roster is chosen and the game begins, the product really shines. All that managerial stuff is a waste if the on-field action suffers. Thankfully, FIFA 07 is a cracking good game of football. As I mentioned above, the framerate stuttering that afflicted World Cup 2006 are gone, even though the graphics engine looks like an improvement. The controls are similar to the Cup version, but with a good deal more intricacy. Ball control is more challenging, and with the use of the right thumbstick, the game gives the players a greater range of options for dribbling, passing and shooting. Players seem to have weight on the pitch now, and jostling other players is a necessary tactic, especially when fielding headers. The game's manual is dreadfully short, unfortunately. While it does illustrate the button functions, it doesn't even begin to explain some of the combination moves that become important to success. In addition, the in-game help is sparse, though much better than the manual. Poor manuals are par for the course these days, so EA is not alone in shorting the customer. Regardless of the manual's quality, the gameplay is exemplary, causing a callus to appear on my left thumbstick thumb.
The overall presentation in-game is top-notch, with the same announcers as WC2006 returning to add more commentary. Stadium sounds are rich, the commentary is mostly spot-on or at least relevant, and each team's players and kit are represented well. The only complaint I have about the on-field presentation is the replay's clumsy yet serviceable interface.
FIFA 07 is linked into X-Box Live as one would expect. Rosters can be downloaded, and players can play matches against other opponents online. There is certainly some lag creeping up in the system, but overall my online experiences have been satisfactory. The real killer online feature this year is interactaive leagues, a new way to play league football.
Interactive leagues are open to anyone on X-Box Live with the game. In fact, all the players in interactive leagues make up the teams. Each player picks their favorite team, in my case Liverpool. During the week leading up to the real world team's next fixture, club fans can join interactive league matches against their real life club's next opponent or if no players for that club are available, other rival clubs can be played against. During the match, the player earns points based on performance, wins, losses and goals scored, with the winner getting more points. Each player that plays for my team will contribute points to that team's weekly total. If my team's weekly total is better than their real-life match opponent's by the end of the week, my team is considered to have won that match. A table of interactive league standings is changed just like a real season. It's an innovative way to handle online leagues, almost like a fantasy football game within a football game. Having played and lost two of these games, it's something I'd continue in the future, though not as seriously as single-player seasons.
Though not perfect, if you like soccer and can't wait until WE10 comes to America, or just want a damn good soccer game, FIFA 07 certainly deserves a look. If you're still unsure about buying it, rent it first; the gameplay may offend WE9 fans, or just may not be up your alley. If you do decide to buy the game and just want to pound on an American invalid, I'm listed as HaemishM on X-Box Live. Chances are I won't even make you break a sweat.
Labels: Soccer, Sports, Video Games, X-Box
posted by Gary A. Ballard @ 1:26 PM
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2 Comments:
Nice review! I must say, you are tempting me to give in to the great Satan. Maybe I will break down and rent it first to see if I like the gameplay (I vastly preferred WE9 to WC 06).
Definitely rent it first. I think it's great, but I also didn't like WE9 either. But it's a ton better than WC06.
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