Fifa 11 Thoughts

[kgbaseball]

Any of you been playing FIFA 11? I got it for the PC and I have been very, very impressed thus far.

After playing FIFA 10, I wanted four things from FIFA 11: better graphics, more fouls, better gameplay, and better player movement, and they nailed all four.

- The graphics are now much better. It's like playing a console game now.

- You basically had to break legs in FIFA 10 to get a foul called on you. Usually the harshest challenges would result in the opposing player getting up, and usually there was no foul called. In 11, harsh challenges mean the player will be either injured or get up very slowly, and you will surely get a foul called. They also decreased the amount of times a referee would play the advantage, which makes the game better - how often do you see advantage being played in real games? I'm no soccer expert, but not much, from my viewing experience.

- Gameplay is terrific. It's very tough to score, even on the lower levels. You've really got to be creative to score in 11, which is nice. My biggest win in FIFA 10 was 9-0, Bayern over Nurnberg on World Class difficulty. I don't think I'll ever come close to that in 11, even on Semi Pro mode. The biggest thing I hated about 10 was the idiot AI - every time the computer had the ball, they'd do one skill move and then promptly dribble right into a defender. It was so predictable and I'm glad 11 came out when it did - otherwise, I would've thrown 10 out the window. 11 changes that. The AI is more more efficient, using passes to their advantage frequently.

- The player movement is also much better. No more turning on a dime. The movements now closely mimic real human movement, which can only be seen as a plus.

Biggest disappointment for me from the PC version is there is no Be a Goalkeeper mode. I was REALLY looking forward to that, but they left it off the PC version for some reason. Maybe next year.

So, fellow soccer fans, what's your verdict on 11?

[angryrat]

Man, you have brought back interest in a series of games I thought I was done with. Used to play FIFA on Sega Genesis all the time as one of my favorite sports games. This little review sparked that memory and interest again.

[kgbaseball]

It's certainly my only game of choice right now.

[apocalypse]

It's the best PC FIFA yet. Absolutely no doubt about it.

Pros:

- Improved AI (Plays like next-gen FIFA 10)

- Graphics

- Improved physics

Cons:

- Lack of replays

- Same old PK mode (way too fast paced to create any realistic suspense)

- Still too few free kicks

Like I said, this is the first decent PC FIFA in almost a decade. The ai has been improved tremendously compared to the crap they put out 07, 08, 09 and 10. Definitely better than PES 2008, 2009 and 2010 but it's still not even close to PES 5/6 ai, which is still the best soccer simulation ever made.

[kgbaseball]

Double post

[kgbaseball]

After playing a bunch more games, I'm starting to get a real feel for how this game is compared to 10.

I have to play on Semi-Pro because it's ridiculously hard to score on the higher levels.

Far too many shots hit the post. In the current game I'm playing, 5 have already clanged off.

Any defender for the computer can catch up to ANY of your offensive players making a run at goal. Shawn Wright-Phillips and even Theo Walcott get caught literally every single time. Not too realistic.

Also seems like there are more fouls called in the higher difficulty settings. Kinda sucks when you play on the easier levels.

I'm really hoping there's some sort of datafile where we can eventually change the AI to make the game a little better. I gotta tell you, it's disappointing winning or losing 1-0 in every match because a) too many shots hit the post, I can't make a decent run at goal because their defender will easily catch me, or c) even the most wide open headers fly 10 feet above the post because heading the ball is woefully inaccurate in the game.

[apocalypse]

Here's an advice: Install PES5 or 6... no other soccer games compare. The ai is simply the best... you gotta compromise the graphics a little though. PES series went downhill really bad after these (haven't tried PES 2011 yet though... gonna get it tomorrow).

Personally, I prefer PES5 because of the Legends Patch. Best soccer game ever made.