
FIFA Soccer 07

If you're an Xbox-360-owning fan of the FIFA series, you've no doubt been hotly anticipating the arrival of FIFA 07. Not only because the Xbox 360 version shipped to stores almost a month after other versions, but also because FIFA 07 is purportedly the first soccer game that EA Sports has developed from the ground up for Microsoft's console. The good news is that FIFA 07 is undoubtedly the best Xbox 360 game in the series to date. The bad news is that, in some ways, it's still inferior to its PlayStation 2 and Xbox counterparts. The emphasis in FIFA 07 is on passing rather than beating opponents with skill moves and tricks. After loading FIFA 07 for the first time, you'll be prompted to select your favorite team from the 117 clubs and 37 international sides in the game. Then, if you wish, you can jump straight into a match against one of your chosen team's rivals or another player simply by clicking on the kick-off option. Other gameplay options--which we'll talk about in more detail shortly--include online play, manager mode, challenge mode, and the FIFA lounge. The lack of any customizable league or tournament options is a little disappointing, but the FIFA lounge mode is such a great way to play with friends that they'd likely be redundant anyway. Regardless of which mode you opt for, you'll find that FIFA 07 plays quite differently from recent games in the series, including those that bear the same title on other platforms. Unfortunately, not all of the new features and changes have been made for the better. There's certainly no question, however, that EA Canada's latest offering plays an enjoyable game of soccer. As was the case in other versions of FIFA 07, one of the first things you'll notice when playing the Xbox 360 game is that the players move more convincingly than those in previous games. The excellent player animation can take some of the credit for that, but what really affects the gameplay is the fact that players now accelerate and decelerate realistically. When players are running with the ball at full speed, it's now much more difficult for them to turn sharply without losing possession. By the same token, defending players charging in for tackles will have a harder time tracking opponents who are doing anything other than simply running in a straight line. The upshot of the more realistic player movement is a greater emphasis on passing the ball. And combined with FIFA 07's very limited arsenal of skill moves, this certainly isn't a bad thing. Retaining possession of the ball against skilled opposition can be quite challenging because making tackles in FIFA 07 isn't very difficult and the CPU-controlled players on your team don't always seem too concerned about making intelligent off-the-ball moves. It's very satisfying to manually trigger another player's surging forward run then pick him out with a perfectly-placed through pass. FIFA 07, however, walks a fine line between giving you plenty of opportunities to do that and just surrounding you with teammates who do very little unless you tell them what to do. However, the most frustrating thing about the guys on your team is the way that they refuse to move toward a ball that's been passed to them. Regardless of whether or not an opposing player is well placed for an interception, they prefer to stand there and wait for the ball to reach them. This problem isn't unique to FIFA 07 by any means.
Review ID: 10000000014428838

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