Fifa 10 Review

TechJunkeez PS3 Editor | November 2009

Following the remarkable success of Fifa 09, which was the best football simulation released at the time , EA Sports developers had to seriously scratch their heads to top that effort and produce a successor that is worth getting even for those who already own Fifa 09. Fifa 10 isn’t just a polished Fifa 09 with better graphics, EA Sports has added tons of features and released a fantastic football video game. Read on to find out more about the new stuff added and how well the new features play out.

I’m going to start with manager mode, which is usually my favorite offline mode in Fifa games. Whatever the developers touted about this mode is true. This is the most authentic manager mode that I’ve played to date, player transfers, championships, injuries, suspensions and just about anything else you’d expect to see in real life football is translated almost flawlessly into this simulation. For those of you who never had a Fifa game I’m going to clear up any confusion about manager mode. You can play the matches that your team is involved in as you normally would in kick off or exhibition matches, so you don’t just stare at statistics and results. But if you do prefer that, you can sim all the matches and just perform tactical changes in your squad and formations before each match. During transfer season, you can sign players to join your club, and the game will simulate other transfers in all the other teams in the game. It is worth noting that transfers are smarter than previous Fifas. If your performance is below standards in the eyes of your club’s board, they will fire you, but that doesn’t end the progress of your manager with a “game over” statement on the your screen. A small, developing club will sign you and you’ll try and get them up to international standards to play with all the other big clubs.

This trailer quickly displays some of the new stuff added in Fifa 10

Another remarkable mode is Virtual Pro. Here you create your own player and pick his facial features, physical features and club. You can also use the feature “Game Face” to take your picture and translate it into the game so that the player looks very similar to you. This is an interesting feature but I would have preferred having the game directly take your picture from the hard disk of your console/PC and do its thing. Instead, you have to go to www.easportsfootball.com and upload your picture there and perform all the steps on the website, then go to your console and download your “Game Face”. It’s not a huge hassle but it would have been easier and simpler my way. The results of “Game Face” on the website are jaw dropping but when you download your face in the game, most of the details are lost and you end up with a player that looks almost but not quite as you.

Results on the website are very detailed and exciting, unfortunately I can't say the same about the final in-game look

But the most interesting improvement is how free your Virtual Pro is this time around. You can now use your Virtual Pro in just about any mode in the game. Manager mode, Be A Pro mode, exhibition match, lounge mode, practice arena and even online! If that wasn’t enough, you can also download your friends’ Virtual Pros and add them to your club. Hell you can even create your own club of 11 Virtual Pros and take the heat online in Pro Club Championships. This is a great advancement since you were restricted to using your Virtual Pro only in a single mode in Fifa 09.

Page: 1 2