FIFA 07 (360) Thread

[10spro]

It is a bloody shame that EA stripped down the leagues, teams, stadiums and even the SO mode for the 360. However the management mode is something I look forward to.

[JRod]

I'm sorry but this game is terrible. This isn't football, this is just a kick about.

I don't want to have a 10,000 word essay so here's my points.

Bad
-no marking. Creates way too many open players
-cpu has pinpoint accuracy with its passes. It magically knows when a player is open or now.
- no real team styles.
- dribbling doesn't feel right.
- ball physics for shooting is not realistic. Balls tend to float a bit.
-animations are not good.
-my game looks fuzzy so either I f'd up my 360 or this game isn't that good.

Good
-In the right direction but if you compated it to MVP and the progression that series made, this game is a little behind year 1 MVP.
-someone on ebay will get this game cheap from me.

If you are a casual soccer fan, I would skip this game and pick up the XB version. It has everything and better gameplay. Don't get me started on the physics because I think the XB version has pretty good physics.

[Blublub]

I'm sorry but this game is terrible. This isn't football, this is just a kick about.

Yeah, the more I play the more I tend to agree. I think the inability to shield kills it above all else. Passing is not to a dime, which is good, but it's the whacked passes in completely different directions from what you intend that are the problem. Tackling is still too easy, as it always has been. I find it hard to believe, though, that the Xbox version is going to be that much better and that much less FIFA-like.

[dbdynsty25]

I'm with J-Rod and Blub...

Fifa still doesn't hold a candle to the WE series. Thankfully I went against my first instinct and I rented it. Now I'll just go ahead and order PES6 for the PC.

[seanmac31]

If you find FIFA to be terrible, well, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but I just don't see it. I've been playing the FIFA series since the Genesis days and the WE series since ISS 64, and I'd like to think I know what I'm looking at. I went ahead and played about five matches for FIFA and for WE9, Chelsea vs. Barca in all of them, and I didn't see anything to make me think that WE9 was doing a better job of modeling the strengths of the teams or how they played. I also didn't feel like there was anything I could do in WE that I couldn't do in FIFA, including maintaining possession with my back to the defender. And in terms of the scoring and results, I thought FIFA did a better job, as there was a wider variety of scores. The ball physics are a bit better in WE and there is more aerial play. Meanwhile, on a proper system, FIFA blew the doors off WE visually, including in the animations department. (I really don't get someone saying that the game looks terrible- a switch back to WE after a few games of FIFA and you'd think you turned on Atari Football. That's not a gameplay comparison, obviously.)

If you think WE is the cat's meow, then you're probably not going to like FIFA. If you like soccer games and you have an open mind, I would highly recommend either checking out the demo or, better yet, giving FIFA a rental. The game is a lot of fun.

*Of course, I should disclaimer by noting that I think the current crop of sports games are generally fantastic. I love NHL 07. I love NBA 2K7. I very much enjoy both Madden and NCAA. The games look better and (generally) play better than anything that has come before them, and so when I head over here or especially to OS and see 87 pages of posts on how rubbish -insert game- is, I find it tiresome. We're a spoiled, spoiled lot, I suppose.

[Leebo33]

I also didn't feel like there was anything I could do in WE that I couldn't do in FIFA, including maintaining possession with my back to the defender.

Yeah, I don't get some of these complaints. In fact, some of the complaints, like maintaining possession and controlling shots, are the same complaints I have with WE. I played in the WE9 DSP league for 3 seasons and I can never remember one opponent maintaining possession for more than a second or two with their back to me. There were hundreds and hundreds of errant shots in the games I played and many times the shooter commented that they had no idea what happened. In WE it is due to "ratings" but with FIFA the same thing happens and it is a "lack of control." I disagree with most of Jrod's weaknesses, especially regarding graphics and animations, which I find really good. The more I play the less I send passes in the opposite direction of my intent. In fact, I think it is a *good* thing that I actually have to concentrate and place my player in a good position to pass rather than to have it occur automatically with the push of a button.

That doesn't mean that there aren't problems. The well-documented problem with players not heading in the box is maddening to me because it doesn't happen every time but often enough to be a major annoyance.

[Zeppo]

There were hundreds and hundreds of errant shots in the games I played and many times the shooter commented that they had no idea what happened. In WE it is due to "ratings" but with FIFA the same thing happens and it is a "lack of control."

Actually, in WE it's due to the relative position and inertia or movement of the ball and the player and the timing of the release of the shoot button, far more than it is due to ratings. Very highly-rated shooters can get more mustard and better accuracy on shots taken from poor body positions or with the ball in bad places (like, too close to the player, or too far away), but even poorly rated players can generally hit good shots if the ball is 'teed up' well and the shot button is released at the best time. Some players (like Robinho for example) can't seem to ever hit the target no matter what, though. But then, you'll play a game and out of the blue that guy will put two in against you from bad angles! Rob knows what I'm talking about!

I shield the ball a lot at the ends of games when I am ahead. I go into the corner and hold it there, and by holding the turbo button with no L-stick input, the player will stop the ball and then shield it with his body. Oftentimes I am fouled in this position by players trying hard to disposess my player. If you stand over the ball and don't move the L-stick, you will notice the player getting his body between the ball and the defender, and doing his best to shield it. If you move the L-stick, though, he won't shield it at all.

One of the many things that I always faulted FIFA for in the past was the fact that a defender could just push right through a guy to get to the ball, no foul called. In the demo on 360, it seems a lot better than it used to be the last time I bought a FIFA game, but it still seems to be harder to earn a foul than it is in WE. Now, I know a lot of people have complained about WE that the fouls are disproportionately called in favor of the computer, but not the human player, but I am 100% certain that that is due to those people not knowing how to draw fouls or take the ball from an opposing player without committing them. That is, while one of the things about WE9 that is a major improvement is the fouling system, I still draw far more fouls against me than I commit when I play the CPU. It's not 10 to 1 or none like it always used to be pre-WE9, in that I do commit a lot of accidental fouls, but you do have to learn how to draw a foul. Maybe there are techniques in FIFA that have to be figured out as well, in order to draw more fouls.

I've been playing the FIFA series since the Genesis days and the WE series since ISS 64, and I'd like to think I know what I'm looking at.

I'm pretty sure ISS64 is not related to the WE series, but was in fact made by a separate developer, yet also released by Konami. There are quite a few elements that I miss from the more arcady-style ISS games that I'd like to see in WE, but it's not going to happen. Back in the days of ISS, the group that makes WE was making Goal Storm, and then it was under a different name after that, but I can't remember what it was called. It became WE with the PS2 version, I think, and the ISS developers, if they're still around at all, don't make soccer games anymore, at least none that are sold in the States.

*Of course, I should disclaimer by noting that I think the current crop of sports games are generally fantastic. I love NHL 07. I love NBA 2K7. I very much enjoy both Madden and NCAA. The games look better and (generally) play better than anything that has come before them, and so when I head over here or especially to OS and see 87 pages of posts on how rubbish -insert game- is, I find it tiresome.

I agree with you 100% on that statement. A perfect example is how many at OS proclaim the fouling system in WE 'broken' bacause they are always out-fouling the CPU. I have yet to try the full version, but the effect the FIFA demo has on me ccontinues to be that it pushes me to play a game of WE. There are still techniques and tactics and other things I'm discovering to this day in WE, even though I've played it to death.

[10spro]

Terrible is definitely a strong word to describe this game. It has its faults and lack of leagues but my main beef is still trying to connect with three to four passes in a row without the CPU bumping off my shoulders (while I have good positioning on him), and stealing the ball away from me. Yes of course it happens in WE as well, but I have better control of what I am trying to do. I love the finesse shooting in 07. I played a game that went into extra time last night and lost 2-1 but I found that I could have easily scored 2-3 more goals if it wasn't for the Super goalie tendency.
If I can dribble a bit better (something I find hard to do) maybe my possession of the ball may improve.

[dougb]

Two things I really like about Fifa (Current generation),

The sheer number of real leagues and the atmosphere. The commentary and crowd sounds really do a terrific job of conveying the excitement of the match.

Gameplay has its strengths and weaknesses. The AI on the attack is now reasonably good. I love the overlapping runs by the AI controlled teammates. In some respects these are even better than the Winning Eleven counterparts. Pace of the match is also good in some places, as the AI will hold up the ball and wait for an opening to develop. Defensive AI is not as good, particularly your AI teammates. I'll often see a defender turn in the opposite direction from the player he's covering for no apparent reason. Drives me nuts as the player who was previously covered is left for an open header. Defensive AI of the computer is also a problem as it's too easy to break in from the wings on net.

Ball physics are nowhere near as good as Winning Eleven but much better than previous versions. The ball doesn't bounce free nearly as much as it should and it is far too easy for a player to retain control of a ball that is hit very hard at him.

Couple of other short points:

I really like the way that the referee is implemented EXCEPT for the unwillingness of the ref to hand out penalties to the AI team when my player is literally hauled down by the shoulders from behind.

Konami still lead in gameplay but the gap has narrowed considerably. Presentation and league options are an absolute embarassment when it comes to Winning Eleven and Fifa has a huge lead in this department. If it wasn't for the realistic leagues and atmosphere I doubt if I'd play Fifa. But the gameplay gap is narrow enough that I'm actually having a good time playing the game.

So get up off your assess Seabass and co. and address the shortcomings of your game. EA are actually making much more of an effort and how often can you say that?

Best wishes,

Doug

[Slumberland]

Playing on Live is crazy smooth. They wrote some good online code for this one.

I'm liking this game, generally. Like the slower pace. Like the graphics. I miss the MLS. And is it true that there's no cup mode? That is so EA.

The only gameplay thing that really bugs me is that it seems hard to get control of a defender and get him to do what I want on balls played into the box.

[seanmac31]

Playing on Live is crazy smooth. They wrote some good online code for this one.

I'm liking this game, generally. Like the slower pace. Like the graphics. I miss the MLS. And is it true that there's no cup mode? That is so EA.

The only gameplay thing that really bugs me is that it seems hard to get control of a defender and get him to do what I want on balls played into the box.

Agreed. The online play for FIFA is far smoother than any other EA title on the 360. It’s actually a pleasure to play rather than a stutterfest. (That’s been one area where 2K has really put EA to shame for some time now…all the way back to the Dreamcast, now that I think about it.)

[Macca00]

After logging close to 50 matches online I've changed my tune regarding this game. I still stand by my previous feeling that the passing is limited and unneccesarily clunky but once you get used to the limitations (no quick passing down and around the middle) there's a lot of fun to be had here and I no longer want to chuck my controller across the room while playing!

The passing is a lot more crisp if you turn up the pass assist slider but then you have less freedom with through-passes and passes into space.

I still don't think in the same class as Winning Eleven 10 but it is a lot of fun - I just wish EA hadn't of peared down the Manager Mode to the pathetic 5 season, single division garbage it is now.

Anyway, I'm fed up of playing online games against either Barcelona, Man U or Arsenal (I once played 7 games in a row against 7 different people and they ALL picked f@$king Barca!) so if anyone wants a game online I'd be delighted if you added me to your list - my gamertag is DrMacca.

EDIT: Oh, I also agree that the netcode on this baby is phenominal.