FIFA 11 Review

All of the EA Sports titles I’ve played this year curiously follow a similar pattern: They feature solid gameplay with some new features that are interesting but don’t necessarily change the world or solve old, lingering problems. In other words, FIFA 11 lands just short of greatness.

FIFA 11 continues its recent excellent form on the pitch. You can easily execute a variety of attacks with the controls, whether that’s with build-up play, exploiting back lines with timed runs and player speed, or using the skill moves to take on defenders one-on-one. The new variance in the passing game is welcome and thankfully not too difficult. Making good passes depends on body positioning, how you address the ball, and player skill.

FIFA’s free ball physics have come a long way, and this game usually feels realistic while still giving you the freedom to control the ball with a high degree of fidelity. However, occasionally it feels like you are denied access to a free ball either because the game won’t let you switch to the player closest to the action or because the AI has already determined that the other player is only one with a shot to gain possession. At least the ball magnetizes to players’ feet less often than in the past.

I’m not sure how much the player personalities – a major talking point for the game – come out in the gameplay. I can’t speak to the personal style of every famous soccer star around the world, but I don’t think teams and players differentiate themselves very much. The AI’s attack isn’t creative or aggressive; it often runs out of ideas outside the box and refuses to unleash shots while in space from further out. Furthermore, you can dictate play with the jostling command, which is too effective.

While the gameplay builds upon the solid FIFA foundation, the career mode is going through a minor rebuild. I like how the Be A Pro career is now folded into one overall player/manager structure, which allows you to switch between playing as a pro and taking control of the full squad from game to game. You can even choose to be a player-manager. The only limitation is you can’t play matches in which your player isn’t scheduled to appear. On the downside, features like weekly form, club upgrades, and sponsorships are gone.

Removing these aforementioned features, and the ability to improve players by playing them on their club’s reserve squad, is odd. This hampers the effectiveness of the new growth system, where you’re expected to put certain players in the starting eleven (or loan them out) to gain experience. What manager in his right mind would allow a 67-rated player to crack the star-studded lineup of Chelsea, for instance? Isn’t he supposed to get seasoning in the reserves first?

Overall, the objective-based career mode would benefit from more variety, like national team call-ups and more in-season objectives to keep things fresh from week to week.

Being able to play as a goalkeeper is a big selling point for full-squad online play, but it doesn’t work as well in single-player. This isn’t due to the goalie controls, but because the other players don’t execute your commands well and you only have two passing options with the ball. It’s hard to split a defense with a good through-ball when the player on the receiving end doesn’t make a good run.

Soccer is a free-flowing game of creativity and skill, and I can experience that on the pitch in FIFA 11. Unfortunately, weak spots like the game’s bare career mode hold it back and keep the entire package from being Total Football.

When you're not controlling the goalie you can direct the play of others, but it's not great