There are certainly plenty of improvements in this year’s FIFA to warranty upgrading from 09, and thankfully most of these changes take place on the pitch. First up is the brand new 360 degree dribbling allowing a freedom of movement that was up until this year posted missing, however there are other improvements which help add to the experience, players seem to have move intelligence about them intercepting balls that they would previously have let through, teammates also tend to make better runs, freeing up more space for you to either pass or advance. Defenders also seem a lot more savy, closing down space and therefore making it a lot harder to score goals. I have also noticed other little touches which add a bit of realism such as the ball smacking off the referee, sure it isn’t necessary but touches like these really make a difference.

 

 

The difference in the quality of teams also seems more evident than ever, choosing an all Premiership match will result in better quality football than choosing say my favorite league (The SPL), were only Rangers and Celtic seems to have touch of quality, while all the other teams knuckle down and change the match into a real dogfight, although I soon discovered that if you pit the Old Firm against teams of higher quality their deficiencies soon shine through too.

 

Off the pitch FIFA 10 shines even further thanks to the yearly additions which help add to the sheer choice of options on offer. The first addition is the brand new Practice Mode, although Pro Evolution Soccer has always included this option, sadly FIFA hadn’t, well until now that is. This option is available from the practice area and basically allows you to play practice matches, practice corners and freekicks and even goes as far as allowing you to create your own set pieces, allowing for you to create different moves and then use them online, though sadly at the moment not offline. This is a fantastic addition and will have people all over the World trying to outfox each other with their set piece tactics.

 

Other improvements this year include the brand new feature for Manager Mode, allowing you to play through 15 whole seasons with the club of your choice. Virtual Pro is another major feature added this year, allowing you to create a player with your own face using EA’s Game Face Technology. Much like in the PSP version players can then use their Virtual Pro over an entire career, building up his stats and hopefully taking him on to be a fully fledged international player. This mode is great because you build up a link with your player, especially since you can use him in all the other modes too such as Manger Mode, Be A Pro and even Online.

 

Live Season also makes a return, this time though it changed to Live Season 2.0 and the improvements are there for all to see. This option basically allows for you to take charge of your clubs season allowing you to right any wrongs in your their real time results. This is a paid for service which is perhaps its only downfall, however it’s yet another option for those fans out there who love to follow their club.

 

Elsewhere all the usual modes make a return, you can still quick play matches, create custom tournaments, play through Be A Pro seasons or go online and take on the World with your friends in what seems like countless game modes.

 

 

Presentation has always been a strong point of the FIFA series and there is certainly no faulting this year’s version. All of the teams, players and authentic kits are present, the menus are as slick as ever and the on field action is as realistic looking as it has always been. The sound is also flawless, there is a fantastic soundtrack, the atmosphere inside the stadiums is very realistic and the commentary is as professional as it has always been.

 

If you are a football fan then you must own FIFA 10, it is that simple really, never has there been such a realistic version of the beautiful game in videogame form. Konami certainly have their work cut out for them if they are going to better this and so indeed do EA because I have no idea what they will do with FIFA 11 that can possibly improve on this game.