JoyPads: FIFA 11 Demo Impressions

FIFA has ruled the football gaming business for a few years now. You may argue against that claim with PES, but the last 4 PES games haven’t been up to scratch or even touching FIFA.

You can read through our history of FIFA, and look back on how FIFA has shaped up to be what it is today.

So, FIFA 11. As of late, you would think, how the hell will EA out do FIFA 10. Which no doubt most probably the best FIFA game to date. Of course, Wayne Rooney is still the cover star with Brazilian wizard, Kaka. You enter the Arena using Kaka. You take on Petr Cech. In the arena you can take penalties, free kicks or just out trick the keeper and slotting the ball pass him by ease.

The 360 degree control of the players is the same as in FIFA 10. It wasn’t broke so it didn’t need to be fixed. FIFA 11 is implementing player personalities. The way certain players touch the ball, how they think and actions will pour onto the pitch. For example with Rooney, a defender or midfielder keeps nip-picking at him, then his fuse goes and becomes the wrecking ball Shrek will like to see and gets a red card.

The fluidity of the passes are very sync and precise. Of course, they can be intercepted by the opposing team. The physical side is also adapted into the game. Players such as Villa, Messi, Iniesta and Xavi can be easily barged of the ball like nothing. You will have different mixes of players, especially attacking players such as Drogba, Rooney, Anelka and Ibrahimovic who can hold off the towering defenders and feed in other players to continue the wasp sting so to speak to the opposing defence.

Penalties are altered in FIFA 11. You have a bar in the bottom left hand corner. Hitting it in the green is ideal, plus you get a target icon which you can move around the goal on where you want to place your shot. Something of a feature that was implemented into FIFA 2003, where you had the target icon on both freekicks and penalties.

The visuals are still nice and realistic looking. Every blade of grass, patterns all look very good and the player animations are superb. The only bad points what I have with, from what I have played so far, is the intentional passes to certain players who I wanted it to go to but when to other team players. The power on passes and shots are realistic and adds more of a cautious play or a fast pace game to your liking.

Overall, FIFA 11 seems to have ticked all the boxes yet again. It’s the closest we are going to get in terms of real football in the videogame world. FIFA had definitely made some fine adjustments to areas which should of been looked at in FIFA 10. Expect a FIFA 11 review after release date and have a more in depth, and highlighting the 11 vs 11, as you can now play as the goalkeeper.