They've fixed the ball!
Advanced Maths wasn't our strongest subject at school, so we're a little surprised to be sat in a Vancouver development studio on a stifling hot summer's morning learning about algorithms and vectors. But there is method to the numerical madness: it's all about FIFA 07's new ball physics-the biggest change to the series in years. See, the ball's direction is no longer determined by a series of pre-set animations. Instead, every time you touch the ball the game takes into account air friction, ground friction, bounce friction, skidding friction, sidespin, backspin, topspin and reverse swing. Wait, wrong sport. Point is, the ball now ricochets off knees, goalposts, keeper' fingertips and advertising hoardings at angles that look completely lifelike. The days of the ball sticking to players' feet like used gum seem to be gone for good.
From this new feature, everything else flows. The accuracy of shots and headers now dependant on a mixture of timing and the direction your player is facing. This might not seem a major innovation given that PES has done something similar for years, but EA had to incorporate it to reach the next level. And with a new attitude- where making a simple, playable football game is more important than banding around buzz words- they're in an unusually strong position to do so.
Despite a history of false dawns (critically, at least- the game still rules the sales chart mercilessly) this year's Fifa is shaping up beautifully. The developers have drawn on the many improvements made by 2006 FIFA World Cup (made by a separate team within EA Canada) and dragged these back across to the main FIFA series. Passing and through-balls now feel totally natural. There's a slight whiff of AI assistance when you're knocking the ball around, but it enhances the way the game flows unobtrusively. For instance, Rio Ferdinand will seldom misplace a pass to John Terry across the England back four, regardless of how hard you push X. This means you worry less about making sure every pass reaches its planned destination and more about looking for intricate ways to unlock the opposition. And as the pace of the game is slightly slower than in World Cup, you have more time to read the game and react to movement around you.
Another notable improvement is set-pieces, something neither FIFA nor PES has ever quite managed to get right. In addition to pushing <- and -> to add curl, up now adds topspin to ball, while pressing down adds backspin. The end result is the ability to stick a cross onto the head of your centre forward and arrow Exocet-style free kicks into the top corner. It's such an effective system that the development team are talking about toning it down a little because, once mastered, it's easy to pull off every time- meaning there's a danger that matches could degenerate into who wins the most set-pieces.
If you've already skipped ahead of our Pro Evo 6 preview on Page 68 you'll know our main critism is the dodgy keeper. (Bear in mind we're playing a comparatively old version, which Konami insists will be fixed, though). Nonetheless though, right now the keepers in Fifa 07 are markedly better. In previous Fifa games, the direction of the ball after the keeper touched it was determined by the save animation. Now it's completely context sensitive. (Again, all down to the ball physics.) We saw them pull off brilliant one-handed tips over the bar and dive full stretch to pluck the ball out of the air just as we were ready to leap around celebrating. These keepers also make mistake when put under pressure. There's no invisible forcefield on crosses here; it's possible to challenge them in the air and force them into an error.
Indeed, going up for high balls has become one of the most fun parts of Fifa. The main reason for this is the ability to jostle while the ball is in the air. When challenging for a cross or long goal kick, you're able to nudge your opponent (and improve your position) simply by moving the analogue stick in his direction. In two-player mode it's easy to get carried away and tussle one another out of the path of the ball- not a good thing if you're the last defender and there's an opposition striker waiting to run onto the loose ball. These mini-battles are another element of FIFA that feels natural almost instantly.
One of Fifa 07's more groundbreaking additions is an 'emotion engine' (okay, we take it back about the buzz words- didn't Sony patent this one ages ago anyway?) where home and away fans react differently to everything that happens on the pitch. Take a match we played as Chelsea against Manchester United. Early on, Ruud van Nistelrooy poked United ahead, and one corner of Stamford Bridge erupted. At half time, as Lamps and co trudged off, the home fans booed. But new Blues signing Andriy Shevchenko equalised shortly after half time, before a Michael Ballack brace put Chelsea 3-1 up. Now the home fans were cheering every pass and, in response, we tried to pull off Joe Cole's signature backheel cross. Certain signature tricks- Cristiano Ronaldo's backheel stepover being another example- will only be available when the crowd are buzzing. Not realistic, perhaps, but at least it will stop flash players trying them constantly.
Off the pitch, the online features have been expanded to include something called interactive leagues. Eevery weekend during the football season, you'll be able to play your real-life side's corresponding fixture, and the game will take every result and collate it into a league table. So if 500 people play West Ham vs. Arsenal and West Ham get 300 wins, the Hammers receive the three points. In addition, you can try to get one over on one of your club's bitter rivals- so if you're a Liverpool fan and Wigan are playing are playing Everton, you can take charge of the Latics in the hope of denting your rivals' title hopes. The English Premiership, German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1 and Mexican Primera Division (for the yanks, apparently) are the four interactive leagues included in Fifa 07.
It's an innovative idea, and assuming it works another feature and will help differentiate Fifa from Pro Evo. Which brings us again to the all-important question we always end up asking: Will this Fifa be better than Pro Evo? Speaking as Pro Evo diehards, we're so committed to the all-important feel of that game, that we're unlikely to shift allegiances. But what's important is that the new Fifa doesn't feel like an inferior imitation of Pro Evo; it's a different, exciting game in its own right- and one that plays to its own strengths: official licenses, instantly accessible gameplay, sky-high production values. We don't mind admitting that this is the first Fifa in yonks that's had us actually looking forward to the next game, and the next....
A genuine title race? Roll on the new season.
What else is new?
: Arsenal's New Stadium is in!
: Peter Crouch's robot dance is definitely in. We've seen it. It looks hilarious.
: The Turkish league has been added, enabling you to play as Galatasary, Fenerbranche, and the mighty Gaziantepspor.
: A new shot type- activated by holding L2 and pressing O- enables you to curl the ball towards the corner of the goal. We found it 'abit fiddly', but the idea's a good one.
: Season Mode now features player growth and development. Clearly, someone's been playing PES's Master League.
: You'll now be able to take your Manager Mode game on your travel using PSP. Simply download the data via USB, play as many game as you like, then port it back over to the PS2 and pick up where you left off.
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