Comparision with the version of Vancouver

When we had been able to play the first version of FIFA 10 of the Next Generation consoles in Vancouver we already had been very enthusiastic. Especially the gameplay has been extended and improved wisely: A better game flow and more game control is the result and together with the new 360 degree dribbling we had the impression to control our players more direct and more realistic. You can read all those experiences in our first FIFA 10 Review from Vancouver:

< Link to the FIFA 10 Report from Vancouver >

But what are the differences between the version from Vancouver and the version from the gamescom in Cologne? The gameplay did not chance a lot – and it absolutely doesn’t have to! The gameplay is great like it is. The balancing has been improved, bugs (which we saw in the version in Vancouver) have been removed.

Even the other features which we have already seen in Vancouver did not change a lot: The balance of the Manager Mode has been adjusted. But all in all that’s it with the differences.

What’s new since Vancouver?

We have expected that there will not be any new „big“ features in the Next Generation version of FIFA 10 which we haven’t seen in Vancouver – but we were wrong in this case, EA Sports has presented some new features on the gamescom in Cologne:

On the one hand it will be possible in the future to found an own team in the internet to play together with 9 other human players some matches. But you can also create your own player to let him play in your own team but also in a foreign team in the online mode.

The practice mode celebrates its comeback in FIFA 10 and does not only offer the possibility to train your skills but is now important for the own matches – now you can define and save your own player movements at standard situations to use them later in your matches.

The third big new feature is an interesting bonus system: You can unlock several things now which increases the long time motivation of the game.

Virtual Pro

Virtual Pro is a complete new feature in the FIFA series. It’s about creating your own player in FIFA to develop him. The settings for the players are full of details, so you can set a detailed appearance and define his basic player skills. Now it’s up to you to assign the player to a team where he can develop and where he will play. Basically this feature is a nice idea, but the Virtual Pro mode is just a part of another nice feature:

The idea of it is a new online mode for FIFA. You can found your own online team to play against other teams in the internet. These online teams will consist of human players which have been created in the Virtual Pro mode – everybody can play his own created player. It’s possible to download the player information of the other „virtual pros“ to get their real appearance inclusive the picture of the player. The owner of the team can choose all together 15 players – rankings give you information about the development of the player and how good he fit into the team. For the owner of a team it is a task in any case to get a team which harmonizes and which is strong on all positions.

This mode is very promising and will not only personalize the game more and more but will also make FIFA more complex and more interesting.

Practice Area

In FIFA 10 the practice mode returns with the name “Practice Area”. Like you know it from older versions of FIFA you can practice several scenarios with any team: standards, corners, free kicks and a practice match without any rules are possible. Even the number of players can be set – so you can play a match in the practice mode with 8 vs 10 players, and even an 11 vs 1 is possible – the opposite team will only play with goal keeper.

But what is the special feature of this practice mode? It is important for the matches in FIFA now. In FIFA 10 it will be possible to create and save the movements of players at standards like free kicks. In the game you can use them if you get a free kick. This is working very simple: In the practice mode you start a normal free kick. The players are standing around the wall. Now you can select several players and define their movements how they should run if the player kicks the ball. If you want a player to run in front of the goal you just select this player and run with him to the position you want. You can do so with all players. With this feature you can create individual player movements. Afterwards I can save them.

When you play a game and get a free kick in a similar situation then you have the possibility to select your player movements. The players will run exactly the way you set – that’s really a great thing!

Football World Accomplishments

The feature with the name “Football World Accomplishments“ is a kind of collection game which increases the long time motivation of the game.

There are several missions which have to be completed – for example I should score some goals and celebrate them with all available finishing moves. If I success this mission some new finishing moves are unlocked which I can use in the game. Another mission is to score all together 200 goals during the carrier and I get more bonus points which I can use to pimp up my player. There are available a lot of missions so that you need a lot of time to complete all of them.

Are there further features?

Further big an new features will probably not included into the game, but EA is still working on some facts. Among others there will be a new version of the „Live Season“ which will be called „Live Season 2.0“ – but we did not got any information about this feature yet.

The animation of the crowds has been improved: they react more and better concerning the current game. Especially if you play a special match like a derby or a final they are cheering much more now.

Furthermore there will be a lot of new elements in the Manager Mode– and the possibility to do a quick free kick has been inserted.

What can be improved?

The game has a lot of pros in the already discussed features – but there are still some other features which still can be improved:

The graphic of the game pretty nice, but the stadium elements around the pitch could be more improved and livelier. Even some other stadiums could be integrated.

Especially if you compare it to the PC version of the game there are missing some features: It’s a pity that there is still not available the random weather which changes during a game. The team styles which you know from the PC version are missing, too – this would be another feature which would be a good extension in the Next Generation version, too. And sadly there are fewer leagues and teams in the Next Generation version – the new Russian league will not be included to the Next Generation version.

Conclusion

In our review of the version which we played in Vancouver some months ago I had written “I am very optimistic that the game will be a great soccer simulation! The game is on the right path to place 1 in the heaven of soccer!” and I have still this impression.

The gameplay has already been fantastic some months ago! Without the bugs it is a smoother game where you can control your players very precise. You get the impression that it is real soccer!

The new features which we saw on the gamescom make the game much more interesting. I’m very sure that the Virtual Pro mode will be a very interesting and exciting mode for all online players. The individual player movements of players at standards which can be used in a game are a great idea and make the individual game much more varied. In my opinion the Football World Accomplishments are a nice addition for players who like to play offline and have fun collecting and unlock things – but it is for the game second-rate.
I am very looking forward for the new Next Generation version of FIFA 10!

Daniel Kaltenthaler
www.fifa4fans.de
www.fifa4fans.com