On Monday, I curled CVG's FIFA 11 review into the top corner of the net. The internet that is (I-thank-you).
Go and have a butchers by all means, but I'll do you a short-form version: I loved the knee-length socks off of it.
It's the most realistic football experience to come out of a screen bar a TV broadcast - and surely that's exactly what we're looking for, right? Apparently not, according to a few voices from the back.
It seems that some people can't accept that not all players will have the ability to rocket down the pitch, that defenders are probably not going to be likely candidates for a match-winning volley.
Some people still want to be scoring goals from the half-way line. For the love of Eto'o!
Be careful what you wish for, I say. We all saw what happened when Ubisoft tried to re-invent football in the name of fun. Pure Football was born determined to strip out everything from between the terraces apart from those killer moments of spectacle.
What we got was an inexplicable foul-fest, where double-footed, studded slides into the back of opponent's legs were left unpunished because tending to the injured is for boring dweebs. In short, Pure Football was about as pure as a WAG.
I get the feeling that the people who want EA Sports to tone down the realism in FIFA probably pricked up their ears when they heard the notion of "added-time multi-ball" suggested in that Budweiser advert. Should we stick blue shells into F1 2010 too?
Okay, maybe that's a bit much, but to say that a realistic football game isn't fun is to make out that football itself isn't fun; as if it needs to be spiced up in the world to constitute proper entertainment.
This isn't Ace Attorney, people. While I can understand why a virtual day in the life of a lawyer would need a bit of extra razzmatazz thrown in to up the drama, surely a direct port of the world's favourite sport onto your PS3 is just fine and dandy? They call it the beautiful game for a reason, you know...
The thing is, I know what those critical of FIFA 11 are looking for - they're looking for PES 5. They're looking for larger than life caricatures of legends like Malgani, who had an in-built capability to glide through defenders with minimal input from the actual player. But that ain't football - that's a tribute to the game.
Don't get me wrong, I don't actually want to play 90 minute matches. I'd hate to see the day when the half-time pause screen in FIFA is replaced by a mini-game that tasks me with removing the peel from an orange without getting juice in my eye.
And although racing home after the match in a Bentley to some supermodel girlfriend before sinking nine holes with a nostalgic David May could have some excellent and varied gameplay mechanics, it wouldn't exactly be heart-pounding stuff.
I admit I'm a sucker for official licences and the sound of Tyler and Gray massages my ear-drums (in far more gentle a manner than the staccato screech of Champion and Beglin), but ultimately I think I just yearn for a bit more weight to my play.
Yes, there was a time when that meant a slower pace and a more mundane experience. FIFA 08 went very wrong and did little more than confuse me as I pondered how I'd ever beat a defender with geriatric players apparently thigh deep in mud.
Comments
15 comments so far...
thedriffter50 on 2 Oct '10 said:
I think games in general are getting too realistic. when is realism going to go so far its no longer fun to actually play games anymore ? Realism is fine as long as the game is fun to play.
Clusks on 2 Oct '10 said:
I think a lot of people are just sulking because of the transition from FIFA 10 to 11, they were really good at FIFA 10 and now they can't understand why they aren't at that level playing the new game.
It will go away I think, people just need to adapt to it. I personally love the new game, not quite sure how Inter Milan are only rated 4.5 stars though...
pRM8 on 2 Oct '10 said:
Mourinho was the extra half star
On topic, I like realism in games, the more realism the better but like was said above, only if it doesn't detract from the fun. Its all about getting the balance right, a game can look as realistic as possible but the actual gameplay itself wouldn't be fun if it was exactly like real life.
I personally prefer a more realistic looking game than a more cartoon style of game but at the end on the day its how it plays that counts.
EDIT: I would just like to add this IS the best FIFA yet and the best football game created to date. They have added a good few settings as well so you can tailor the game and matches to your own taste. For example, you can choose to have hand balls added to matches and also change the shape and tautness of the goal nets. These little things for me add a lot to the game and I applaud EA for also making them optional for those who may not want them.
I have yet to try the creation centre, think I'll try it out just now.
MattyR95 on 2 Oct '10 said:
As long as it doesn't lose the fun then realism is fine.
NaththeNarc on 2 Oct '10 said:
Realism is designed to engross people significantly. The idea of realism becoming the most impactful way to tell a visceral story is certainly one view. With sports games though, isn't that the point? We want them to be as much like the real game as it is.
If we want a fun version of football, play Super Mario Strikers, that game rocks!
Although as with Fifa 98, I believe every Fifa game should have an indoor 5 a side arena to play on.
spaced73 on 2 Oct '10 said:
not a hardcore fifa player do like the odd kick around,i am finding online a bit more even than the last couple of games,which has made it fun for me,referee a bit harsh as i do like hard tackling.
The_KFD_Case on 2 Oct '10 said:
I'd "lap it up" too...if I hadn't bought FIFA 10 less than a year ago. A bi-annual update I might spring for - might! An annual update? No chance.
The_KFD_Case on 2 Oct '10 said:
Speaking of such things, what is up with the referee in FIFA 10?! AI opponents can make tackles that'd fell a full grown male elephant without any objections, yet when I do the same I get one yellow card after another (okay, so many of them are well deserved, but that still begs the question of why the AI gets away with it...unless the game somehow accepts that AI players are divinely gifted in the tackle department). Furthermore, dribbling is a joke! Just being within two stretched leg widths often results in the loss of possession! Bah! Humbug!
pRM8 on 2 Oct '10 said:
Refs and their decisions are much improved in FIFA11. Also far less annoying and are actually fair now.... ish
I agree though, FIFA 10's foul system was shockingly biased towards the AI.
koimaster on 2 Oct '10 said:
Life is a game, and it's getting too realistic for me.
BenThomasFoster on 2 Oct '10 said:
Just like my Racing simulations i want my football to be as realistic as possible... i though thats what everyone wanted out of fifa and pes... and we have games like street for the unrealistic crap
jgminto on 2 Oct '10 said:
Soccer?
hi0marc on 3 Oct '10 said:
I would never complain about too much realism in a sports game. But i bought FIFA for the main reason that I cannot be my beloved Reading in PES.
AegisK on 3 Oct '10 said:
Its fantastic that games appear more and more realistic but I'm sure 10 years ago we said the same thing, so games aren't getting "more" realistic because our expectations will always be higher. Still, incorporating realism into a game has its drawbacks. The whole point of a realistic game is that it is still a game, not a simulation. I think developers need to define their titles first, either sim or game and develop it based on the principles of either.
basic-info on 3 Oct '10 said:
FIFA 11's approach is more idealistic than being realistic, that's why it feels boring after a while, I mean you can barely cross one defender with Messi or Ronaldo which is ridiculous and not realistic at all, people want to improvise like these footballers do in real life but we can't in FIFA 11, 10 or 9.
And Defenders have a huge advantage in FIFA which is not true because if you ever watched real football you know it's ridiculous that only one defender goes against a player like Messi and COULD easily intercept the ball, in FIFA one defender is enough for a guy like Messi and that's why I call it idealization more than simulation.
also the game always depends on the same patterns of play and that's another boring aspect.
btw I want you to experiment something, try going through the defense in normal horizontal way, you will see normal defending, on the other hand, take a midfielder and run vertically in the midfield and see what happens, run from down to up or up to down the midfield and see how the defense line acts, they stay in their positions.
these aspects are what making FIFA what it is today, a football game in idealistic situations.
and that's why PES will always beat FIFA in this factor, the FUN factor, the realism factor where players and defenders makes mistakes, where defenders, midfielders and offense don't stay in their position...etc.