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Gamer: FIFA 07
Posted By TechRaj on Thu, 08/03/2007 - 12:26 in
Here is the review which i think give the best for India Gamer !
FIFA 07
FIFA 06 has widely been acknowledged as the best game in the long line of FIFA series since FIFA 98 changed the face of soccer games. Both in terms of graphics and gameplay, FIFA 06 was miles ahead of its predecessors, imitating to an extent the gameplay of Konami's Winning Eleven, arguably the best soccer sim available in the market.
With FIFA 07, EA looks to further close the gap between the two games, bringing in some pretty good features, which coupled with a record number of licenses, could well be another blockbuster like the 98 version of the game. Nearly every aspect of the gameplay has been changed in order to provide the realism and challenge to play the game.
One of the major innovations for the game has been the introduction of realistic ball physics. The ball behaves much more realistically and does not remain glued to the players' feet. This brings a major change in the style of play, as you will have to be very careful about the time you run and the amount of time you do it. So since you cannot really make the ball behave in the way you would like it to, there are not many goals that can be scored in the same way again and again, which was one of the major turn-offs for the previous versions.
AI has been revamped to give a challenging feel to the game. Even though it does seem to be bit predictable, it has been tweaked up to play an intelligent game both when attacking and while defending. However with each team playing in the same style, it does tend to move away from realism, an area where EA has tried hard to improve.
Player movement has been vastly improved. Now players jostle with each other in order to gain possession of the ball when passed in the air. Passing game has been improved to give it a touch of realism. Teammates perform sensible runs down the pitch trying to find the space to receive the ball. Passing is now realistic but a bit difficult to pull off.
Balance of the player and his line of vision are very important to make that defense splitting pass. Now you cannot just hit the ball in the direction of your player for him to receive it. AI intercepts loose balls so you will have to now be careful about the timing and weight of the pass.
Dribbling too is very difficult, not just with AI being more aware, but also the controls being very cumbersome. Players have been given their own special moves to outwit opponents. But pulling off a dribble is not an easy task, thanks to the myriad of button presses required. Even if you are successful in hitting the right sequence, the timing too will have to be perfect in order to beat your opponent.
Shooting has been overhauled completely. Just hitting the shoot button with arrows/stick pointed towards the goal is not enough. Balance of your striker plays a very important role for the ball to end up in the back of the net. You will now have to first steady your attacker and then carefully aim and shoot in order to score.
In FIFA 07 there are two ways of scoring a goal. Either you can hit a screamer and hope that it will end up in a goal or take a more careful approach and hit a well-placed shot. If you opt for the latter, though there is not much power behind the ball, accuracy of the shot is more refined than just blazing the ball.
However shooting is not without its problems. Many times, players tend to miss shots from point-blank range, even find it difficult to hit the target. Though there are instances of a "super goalie", sometimes players tend to drag the ball wide when you would have bet on them to score.
Speaking about goalkeepers, EA has been trying hard to improve the keepers' motion for the past two-three versions and have been successful to an extent. However you still find instances where the keeper makes silly errors, which has you tearing your hair out. Then there are times when he makes brilliant saves and you find it a lot difficult to go past him. This is one area where EA will have to improve a lot in the next few versions.
As far as graphics is concerned, EA is known to provide great graphics for every version. Coupled with real faces of some players, the game looks like a treat, especially when played on high-end systems.
In-game commentary is provided by Clive Tyldesley and Andy Gray, which has been neatly complemented with crowd chants. Some of the teams in FIFA 07 have got their unique crowd chants and generally crowd noise is pretty neat. Crowd now boos the visiting side if they are winning while a goal by the home teams leads to thunderous applause. Later in the game, if the home team is winning, crowd cheers each pass completed while it whistles when the possession is with the opponents.
Apart from the gameplay, various new features have been added to the game. EA has introduced a new feature called Interactive Leagues to the game. With this feature, you can now play with friends online taking control of your team and playing the real-life fixture.
For example, this week's fixture in real-life is Barcelona vs Real Madrid. So if your favorite team is Barcelona, you can play as Barcelona against another human manager who has chosen Real Madrid for a week. Four leagues have been represented in the feature: F.A. Premier League, Bundesliga, French League and Mexican 1st Division.
Another interesting feature is the visual sim mode. In this mode, you can choose any time to play the match in the text mode, like in any management sims. However if you find your team to be losing, then you can immediately jump into action and continue the game from that point onwards. Though it is an interesting feature, not many will be opting for it.
Overall the game has improved vastly from its previous version. Though not in the same league as Winning Eleven, FIFA 07 is nonetheless a major step forward taken by EA to regain its place as the best soccer game available. Implementation of features such as long-pall passing, jostling and the Interactive Leagues and realistic crowd noise, the game looks pretty good. With few tweaks in key areas such as AI and goalie motion, FIFA series could once again become a favorite among both hardcore as well as casual gamers.
By Vinay Mallabadi
FIFA 07
FIFA 06 has widely been acknowledged as the best game in the long line of FIFA series since FIFA 98 changed the face of soccer games. Both in terms of graphics and gameplay, FIFA 06 was miles ahead of its predecessors, imitating to an extent the gameplay of Konami's Winning Eleven, arguably the best soccer sim available in the market.
With FIFA 07, EA looks to further close the gap between the two games, bringing in some pretty good features, which coupled with a record number of licenses, could well be another blockbuster like the 98 version of the game. Nearly every aspect of the gameplay has been changed in order to provide the realism and challenge to play the game.
One of the major innovations for the game has been the introduction of realistic ball physics. The ball behaves much more realistically and does not remain glued to the players' feet. This brings a major change in the style of play, as you will have to be very careful about the time you run and the amount of time you do it. So since you cannot really make the ball behave in the way you would like it to, there are not many goals that can be scored in the same way again and again, which was one of the major turn-offs for the previous versions.
AI has been revamped to give a challenging feel to the game. Even though it does seem to be bit predictable, it has been tweaked up to play an intelligent game both when attacking and while defending. However with each team playing in the same style, it does tend to move away from realism, an area where EA has tried hard to improve.
Player movement has been vastly improved. Now players jostle with each other in order to gain possession of the ball when passed in the air. Passing game has been improved to give it a touch of realism. Teammates perform sensible runs down the pitch trying to find the space to receive the ball. Passing is now realistic but a bit difficult to pull off.
Balance of the player and his line of vision are very important to make that defense splitting pass. Now you cannot just hit the ball in the direction of your player for him to receive it. AI intercepts loose balls so you will have to now be careful about the timing and weight of the pass.
Dribbling too is very difficult, not just with AI being more aware, but also the controls being very cumbersome. Players have been given their own special moves to outwit opponents. But pulling off a dribble is not an easy task, thanks to the myriad of button presses required. Even if you are successful in hitting the right sequence, the timing too will have to be perfect in order to beat your opponent.
Shooting has been overhauled completely. Just hitting the shoot button with arrows/stick pointed towards the goal is not enough. Balance of your striker plays a very important role for the ball to end up in the back of the net. You will now have to first steady your attacker and then carefully aim and shoot in order to score.
In FIFA 07 there are two ways of scoring a goal. Either you can hit a screamer and hope that it will end up in a goal or take a more careful approach and hit a well-placed shot. If you opt for the latter, though there is not much power behind the ball, accuracy of the shot is more refined than just blazing the ball.
However shooting is not without its problems. Many times, players tend to miss shots from point-blank range, even find it difficult to hit the target. Though there are instances of a "super goalie", sometimes players tend to drag the ball wide when you would have bet on them to score.
Speaking about goalkeepers, EA has been trying hard to improve the keepers' motion for the past two-three versions and have been successful to an extent. However you still find instances where the keeper makes silly errors, which has you tearing your hair out. Then there are times when he makes brilliant saves and you find it a lot difficult to go past him. This is one area where EA will have to improve a lot in the next few versions.
As far as graphics is concerned, EA is known to provide great graphics for every version. Coupled with real faces of some players, the game looks like a treat, especially when played on high-end systems.
In-game commentary is provided by Clive Tyldesley and Andy Gray, which has been neatly complemented with crowd chants. Some of the teams in FIFA 07 have got their unique crowd chants and generally crowd noise is pretty neat. Crowd now boos the visiting side if they are winning while a goal by the home teams leads to thunderous applause. Later in the game, if the home team is winning, crowd cheers each pass completed while it whistles when the possession is with the opponents.
Apart from the gameplay, various new features have been added to the game. EA has introduced a new feature called Interactive Leagues to the game. With this feature, you can now play with friends online taking control of your team and playing the real-life fixture.
For example, this week's fixture in real-life is Barcelona vs Real Madrid. So if your favorite team is Barcelona, you can play as Barcelona against another human manager who has chosen Real Madrid for a week. Four leagues have been represented in the feature: F.A. Premier League, Bundesliga, French League and Mexican 1st Division.
Another interesting feature is the visual sim mode. In this mode, you can choose any time to play the match in the text mode, like in any management sims. However if you find your team to be losing, then you can immediately jump into action and continue the game from that point onwards. Though it is an interesting feature, not many will be opting for it.
Overall the game has improved vastly from its previous version. Though not in the same league as Winning Eleven, FIFA 07 is nonetheless a major step forward taken by EA to regain its place as the best soccer game available. Implementation of features such as long-pall passing, jostling and the Interactive Leagues and realistic crowd noise, the game looks pretty good. With few tweaks in key areas such as AI and goalie motion, FIFA series could once again become a favorite among both hardcore as well as casual gamers.
By Vinay Mallabadi
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