EA have been churning out a FIFA game every year since the Megadrive days, so unless you have been hiding under a rock for the last decade or so, I will presume that no introduction is required about the beautiful sport called football and how EA portray it.

Gameplay

Every time EA bring out a newer version of FIFA, you expect it to be better and now with the release of it on the 360, one should expect the very best football game ever. Unfortunately this is not the case especially if you own FIFA 06 for the Xbox. You will notice straight away that a great deal of game modes have been removed, instead of five you only get three; Road to (career mode), Tournament and Practice. Since the 360 version is all about the World Cup, you no longer have the luxury to choose a team from 21 leagues around the world including national teams instead you can select one of the 72 national sides only, but not everything is doom and gloom as the actual game is a vast improvement over all previous titles. The game still feels like FIFA but you do have more control over your players in attack as well as defence by way of some multiple button selections but it is not a necessity to learn all these moves to win a game. Precision control has finally arrived within a FIFA game allowing the game to flow more freely and with greater accuracy. Also, you have the option to make quick decisions during the game via the D-pad in case you want to change your tactics, formation or request a sub. A new feature is how your men tire throughout the game which in turn relates to their performance on the pitch so if your man is exhausted, don’t expect him to be able to run the length of the pitch, outrunning everyone and still be able to shoot on target.

Graphics

This is where the game truly stands out from its predecessors which shouldn’t come as a surprise. There are a multitude of camera angles to choose from to suit your view of play as well as several fantastic stadiums to play in. Everything looks great from the crowds to every blade of grass. Animation of the players is truly amazing and I wouldn’t know where to start with to describe everything but it makes the game feel more like football when you see players tug at their opponent’s shirts, men collapse via bad tackles and the goalkeeper diving to save a shot. The likeness of the men to their real counterparts is uncanny but close-up they do look a bit on the glazed side. Another stunning feature is the replays which only enhances the game when you want to gloat about how wonderful that goal was that you just scored.

Sound

Most football games suffer from bad commentary, either they seem to repeat themselves too much or they are always out of synch with what is actually going on but I have to admit that this is not the case for this version. Of course after many games you will hear the same quotes but at least they will be in time with the action. Another great feature is the way the crowd responds to what is happening on the pitch with them singing to boost your team’s morale. Atmosphere has always been one of EA’s greatest strengths.

Longevity

After you have completed all three game modes, the only thing left to do is either play it all again with a different team or play online via LIVE, but you do have to connect to the EA servers which in my opinion are not the best at creating a lag free game.

Round Up

This is FIFA and the only football game out on the 360 at the moment but don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad game but it does feel like you are getting a lot less of the game for a higher retail price compared with the Xbox version. If you need to play some football I recommend hiring this one out and if you really like it or can’t wait until the next version or Pro Evo than go buy it.

The Pros

The Cons