valenswift

I can now confirm that Andy Gray says the defender has injured himself after EVERY tackle, whether he has or not. I've also discovered that every player i've come across who is high in the rankings actually plays on the all play control method. IMO this shouldn't even be allowed for online play and why would you even want the game playing for you? Also it is the default option for online play which is really frustrating when you forget and start a match. I've started to play the game with a gamecube controller and found it is much better. With the remote/nunchuck advanced play the forward runs made by players when you press the - button are a joke. Rather than run through they tend to try and get away from their marker which can take them in any random direction, or run in a circle, and you have no idea where to put the ball too.

It doesn't play as well as pro evo imo. You may be able to pick it up and play it a lot quicker than you can with Pro Evo but it certainly hasn't the same depth. You definitely can't drag your players around although you can make them do runs with the - button. Without instruction the AI is pretty woeful and i can't remember one occasion so far when a player has made a decent run for a through ball. The defending is pretty simple as you can move your defender and press B to tackle or shake the remote for a sliding tackle. For some this may be superior to Pro Evo's defending but personally i thought once you got Pro Evo defending figured out it was pretty good. Tricks are plentiful and easy to do. I find these necessary to get any kind of space or advantage in these defence biased games. I have played FIFA since it first came out on megadrive in (i think) 1993 and there's something about it that always tempts me even though i discovered Pro Evo was better years ago. I think it maybe the slick production and full licenses I wouldn't buy this expecting anything innovative or amazing because its not but it does play an OK game of football if you can't fully get to grips with Pro Evo's controls. And seeing as i can't log in to WAR for some reason i'll go and do some more FIFA playtesting for you.

As far as FIFA games go it's what you'd expect. Playable but nothing special. The 'new' advanced play is like a simpler Pro Evo and without being able to drag your players around it makes through balls a bit difficult. I always find FIFA games very defence biased and this means there isn't much space to put the ball into anyway. Again there is no online league option, except for the pointless league where you play as the team you support in that weeks fixture. I think this is scandalous, but even worse is the fact that you can't set up your own league or tournament with more than one human player. For me this is unforgivable, especially as they've done this 2 years on the trot now. How many people who play footie games don't play them with a bunch of mates? To not have this feature is ridiculous. The commentary also seems a little broken as Andy Gray says things totally out of context with the action and i heard him say three times in a row that a player had injured themselves whilst tackling when in fact nothing had happened. The manager mode seems ok but although it adds a little depth to playing against the AI it's still a little vague and ultimately frustrating. As manager of Inter i was told by the board in no uncertain terms that i must win the Derby match against Roma?!? I traded in a couple of games to get this out of boredom but i'd say if you carry on with pro evo (or wait for the next one) you ain't missing anything. PLEASE NOTE: i may edit this review after some more playtime as i may unlock some hidden depths i am currently unaware of (but don't hold your breath)