FIFA 10 Review

EA Sports did not just work on new gameplay elements here, but the game modes you can pick from have improved as well. The online mode is now easier to navigate and comes with a brand new ranking system. Offline, the manager mode has witnessed some changes to the better, but still needs to improve next year. The transfer market is still a mess, with unrealistic deals going through and other logical transfers failing to materialize. Just for the hell of it, I was able to buy the money loving Adebayor back to the Gunners in the first transfer window, only to demote him to my reserve’s bench. When I did manage to score using him, I noticed how EA forgot to add insulting and classless goal celebrations to the mix this year. Apparently, unfaithful football players are yet to be included in video game.

Another new addition is the virtual pro mode. Here you create a character, edit his appearance and live the life of a professional footballer. This might sound like the “Be a Pro” mode with new editing options, but thankfully that isn’t the case. Now you can play with your player in a bunch of different modes instead of just an offline season game. Play in quick games offline against your friends or even in online competitions using your own character to win. If all of that wasn’t enough the game even comes with a practice mode that allows you to test and try out the new skills and moves on the field.

If you look at the graphics, and look carefully, you might be left a little disappointed. To set the record straight, FIFA 10 overall looks fantastic. The player models on the other hand are a completely different story. Like we said before, we do not expect any game anytime soon to feature realistic looking players for every single team in the world. But in FIFA 10 some key players on Arsenal like Gallas and Diaby look nothing like their real life counterparts.  Going further down the Arsenal or Real Madrid roster we found even more low quality player models to look at it.

On the bright side, the stadiums in the game are perfectly modeled, the ones included at least. Some big stadiums in the world failed to make the final cut, with EA already releasing Real Madrid’s stadium as a free downloadable bonus. Wembley and the Emirates are two stadiums that were remarkably well done, with every little detail in both stadiums nailed down perfectly.

The music in the menus is top notch yet again. Running around the arena before selecting your game or during loading times will be boosted thanks to the masterful line up of exciting and engaging music. The commentary is something that old time FIFA fans (like us) will appreciate. Yes, we still get the same lines called game after game but you can sense that something new was added here. Now you will hear comments about how a certain player is performing in a game. If a player misplaces too many passes, the announcers will make a comment based on how good that player is. If he is bad, they will mention that the midfield shouldn’t be going through him to start with, but if he is good (*Cough* Fabregas *Cough*) the game will note how such an excellent player is misplacing so many passes. Some of the top stadiums even have their own lines, at times the commentary will mention when a certain field was constructed or the capacity of the ground. Such lines will spice up the game for a while, but if you plan to complete over 10 seasons in the manager mode, get ready to hear some lines again and again until you hit that elusive mute button.

We had such high exceptions for this one, but somehow the game still managed to impress us. FIFA 09 was not just one of the best sports games last year, but one of the best games overall. FIFA 10 comes with some improvements in nearly every department you can think of, making the overall package that much better. Aside from the little off player models and some GKs with an IQ of an Adebayor, the game still managed to improve yet again this year. The series still has some room to improve, and that alone should be a scary piece of info for all the haters and the competition overall. Perfection might be impossible, but FIFA 10 is as close as it gets.