EA Sports’ Fifa 11 sets the standard for soccer video games yet again.
Artwork by Mia Nogueira
September 28th was the grand day that the brand new soccer video game, Federacion Internazionale De Football Association Eleven, or Fifa 11, hit the shelves to please soccer fans around the world, giving them a game to play along with the start of the 2010/2011 season.
The brand new game mode in Fifa 11 is the new “be a goalkeeper” feature, and it literally means what it says, yes, the player can finally be a goalkeeper in Fifa 11. Those nerve-racking moments in a game where a forward is going one on one with a goalkeeper can be lived out, but now as the goalkeeper. The controls for being a goalkeeper are perfect after figuring them out. It is actually like I was a goalkeeper; stand off the goalkeeper line for two seconds and BAM! A shot is in the back of the net and a sense of embarrassment is felt, like an actual goalkeeper would feel. Ever since summer when it was announced this new mode would be in the game, I wanted to play it, and boy did it live up to expectations. I felt my armpits dampen from a mere corner kick, after I saw a man wide open in the goalie box, and this was from a video game?
For many years within the Fifa franchise these computer-controlled characters (Artificial Intelligence, or A.I.) have been slow, gullible, and excessively non-creative. Ever play soccer against a three year old? That is exactly how the computer-controlled characters used to play. They were generally easy to juke with a simple trick, and immediately a simple move left a hole for me, to run right through straight towards the goal. The other defenders would not even make the slightest effort to help out the poor man I just made look silly, and I had a clear chance on goal. Fifa 11 has stepped up the A.I.’s defense abilities, allowing for them to take a better angle and stop penetrating maneuvers. Run for too long and a player has taken the ball from me, and the other team is on the attack, while I was caught looking silly for not passing to a fellow teammate. Players must actually learn to compete like a professional soccer team, passing the ball between players to get past the intimidating defense.
The offense of the A.I. used to be absolutely boring; the virtual athletes would jog with the ball for ten yards, make a poor pass or get taken out by a defender, and all of a sudden I was on the attacking side, with numbers up bound to score an easy goal. Fifa 11 A.I. forwards and midfielders perform tricks just as a real team would, and actually score goals. The first game I played involved me, FC Basel, a three star team ( a mediocre team in Fifa ratings), against Barcelona, a five star team (the best a Fifa team can get) and considered the best team in the entire league of soccer. The game actually ended up in a tie, and never before had I seen an A.I. perform a rainbow flick to go in on goal; thank God it hit the post.
Comparing FIfa 11 to Fifa 10, there are general improvements and slight fall-backs. Fifa 11 added to the career mode, which allows a player to play as an actual player, a captain, and the manager. Fifa 10 had only the player and manager mode, no player manager (the captain) mode. The manager mode in FIfa 11 compared to Fifa 10 is not as simplistic, which is both devastating and fantastic at once. The transfer window is not as easy to use, but does allow for better search options to find just the layer you need to improve your team. The all-new calendar prolongs the time between games, so instead of playing game after game, you have to wait a good minute to three minutes to get through all the emails your boards and other offices will send you. I don’t really need to know that in the middle of the week the team I’m playing against over the weekend won, because I know I will beat them. The online game modes now have a code that needs to be entered in order to play games online, which means people who rent the game or buy it used will have to pay an extra ten dollars to play online, which is quite dissatisfying. Fifa 11 also has the updated squads as of September first, and Fifa 10 was a little behind with the new squads.
Fifa 11 also has some drawbacks and advancements from Fifa 2010 World Cup, the last installment specifically for the World Cup from the summer. Fifa World Cup would show cheering fans and flags hoisted in the air during substitution time or at the beginning of the game. This added a multitude of environment and atmosphere to the game, and was something I personally enjoyed to see. When i play a sports game, i.e (baseball, soccer, football, you name it), it is a great feeling to see people cheering for me. That feeling was nice in World Cup, and that was taken out of Fifa 11. The World Cup game also had players seeming like paper, there was no depth to them, and when fighting for possession of a ball, it felt like the player I was controlling was too light, falling over easily or stumbling for no reason. Fifa 11 has made the players seemingly stronger so when going for a ball, it is like the real game; I felt that opposing player on my side, like a dog gnawing at my heel for that ball.
Fifa also allows the player to create a team online at easportsfootball.com/creationcentre, and import that team directly into the game. Ever wanted to a name a team The Pirates? I know I wanted to, and I did. With a blue and white crest, purple and light blue jerseys, this team is sure to take on the best in Fifa. Also brand new to the Fifa franchise is the ability to import songs for every time a virtual pro, or created player resembling the actual person playing the game, scores a goal. Songs can also be added for when the favorite team of the player wins a game, loses a game, enters the field, scores a goal, or even when two teams from the English Premier league play. This is absolutely fun, every time my virtual pro, Seanie, scores a goal, the thrashing drums of Bloodmeat by Protest The Hero are played.
With all that Fifa 11 has to offer, it is only small things that I wish would be in the game, but they are not important enough to take away from the outstanding game it has turned out to be. Any soccer fan wanting a video game to play that is all soccer all the time, should get this brand-new, realistic soccer game.
