It may seem a little late for a review, given that the game came out in October, but I like to play it for a while before I tell you what I think. I don't just want to regurgitate what other sites are saying.
Like I mentioned in my Madden 10 review, I love sports games because they can be subtley tweaked from year-to-year to result in very well tuned games that mimic real life as well as possible.
Best Improvements
In the 2009 version, the lobbed through ball was the ultimate offensive weapon. Unfortunately it was a little unbalanced. It was almost impossible to stop with a decent passer and a speedy forward. The team at Electronics Arts solved the AI issues and have given defensive players better AI for cutting off the pass or getting a head on the ball in the air.
While the lobbed through ball was dominant on offense, defenders were too dominant in the air on crosses last year. In the 2010 version, the user is forced to win position to win headers, which is much more realistic. It has resulted in more goals from crosses and takes away the easy defensive strategy of just defending the middle and allowing wing play because it was easy to defend the cross.
The goalkeeper AI is much improved in FIFA Soccer 10. They charge the correct balls and don't get caught out of position chasing the ball carrier when there are defenders already marking them. They also punch more balls clear of the area, rather than just letting them fall to the ground when they can't get both hands on them.
The slide tackle animations and physics have been greatly improved this year. Slide tackles no longer draw a foul or card on 80% of the challenges.
In Manager Mode, player purchases are much more realistic than they were in past seasons. This has always been a pet peave of mine. There is no way that Siena, Hansa Rostock or Sheffield United should be signing Carlos Tevez. Players like that want to sign for a big club. In FIFA Soccer 10, the player appears to weigh their options considering the size of the club, their chance to start, the ability to play in Champions League along with the contract and terms. Your negotiator also gives you a perceived probability of signing a player, rather than in previous versions where you just threw contracts out there and never knew if the player was remotely interested.
Board expectations are back, and it's great. For the last few years, EA had done away with this feature and it allowed gamers to have free reign in Manager Mode. In real life, the board gives a manager the direction for what they expect to achieve. The goals for AC Milan should obviously be different than those for Sampdoria, given their history. Nobody expects that the board at Stoke City will have the same expectations as those at Manchester United.
The way money is earned in Manager Mode has also been made more realistic. Earning sponsor money for wins (along with ticket revenue) at least rewards competence, rather than just a per game income. It's not perfect, but at least rewards good teams. Also, having a wage budget is a big improvement over past years.
This year, EA's biggest addition to the features of the game, was the ability to design your own set plays. It's fantastic. Especially on head-to-head games, it allows you to be creative, rather than your opponent just expecting a standard cross-and-header approach. While the design engine still has a few kinks to work out, the idea is long overdue.
It may seem small, but I love the fact that the gamer gets to name their home stadium in Manager Mode. It's fun to come up with an off the wall sponsor or just something offensive. I can't mention my stadium name in a public forum, but I get a good chuckle out of it every time it loads up.
The addition of more ways to earn experience for your Virtual Pro is a definite plus. I like that it can be done in the Arena now, when you're messing around with new tricks and feints.
Buy FIFA 10 on Amazon
What they need to work on
I really want every EA Sports game to have the online franchise mode. It was launched for Madden 10 this year, and I hope to see it on FIFA Soccer 11 and NHL 11 now that they've worked out the kinks.
There needs to be an option on the "Be a Pro" mode to avoid starting out on the reserve team. While I understand why it's set up this way. It's really annoying that it takes so long to earn your way to the main squad, especially when you're starting on a poor team with poor starters.
The earnings in Manager Mode still need some more improvement. There needs to be Champions League and Europa League payouts like in real life, depending on how far you progress in the competitions.
One feature to player management that needs to be an option in Manager Mode is something that I would call "Player Demands". Great players don't like to stay on the bench and don't like to play for smaller clubs when they start for their national squads. I would love to see players demanding to be sold in the January transfer period and mimicking what happens in real life.
Why do we only have Wayne Rooney in the opening animation? EA, I'm begging you to end your romance with Rooney. It's not that he's a bad player, it's just that you love him, even more than you love Ronaldinho. There are thousands of great players out there, please use some of them.
The cover art of the North American version is lame. There is no reason to feel like pimping MLS players at the expense of the best players in the world. I don't care about Blanco and Kljestan, they're not worth having on the cover in my mind. I'd rather see Edin Dzeko or Philip Lahm. I know the Bundesliga doesn't have the same draw in NA that MLS does, but I don't care. Show me the best players.
Buy FIFA 10 on Amazon
Final Rating
I give this year's version a 4.6 controllers out of 5. There are only a few minor issues to work out, with the biggest being the online franchise feature.
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