FIFA 10 Impressions

EA gives a quick rundown of what to expect from the latest in its long-running soccer series.

EA gave a brief, top-level overview of what to expect from FIFA 10 in our visit to its booth. The first thing David Rutter, producer at EA, pointed out was the new dribbling system. In the previous FIFA, players only had eight directional movements, but in FIFA 10, players have full 360-degree movement, which enables them to move with the ball in a much more realistic fashion. Rutter pointed out that previously you had to use limited motions to move the ball up the field and avoid defenders, but the refined control makes that unnecessary. "The cool thing about 360 dribbling is that you can push the ball anywhere you want on the pitch," he said. "Previously, you might spot a gap between two defenders, and you'd have to sort of zigzag to get there. This gives you a lot more freedom."

Seeing this in action onscreen definitely revealed more articulation with ball movement, and a quick contest from a defender on the field showed another improvement made to the game in the form of enhanced physical play where a defender can muscle out the ball with a bit more finesse. Along those same lines, slide tackling has been modified to better reflect individual player skill, as well as his position in relation to the ball.

Rutter also revealed the new urgency system, which realistically portrays a player's behavior away from the ball. "When players aren't involved in the action, they're a little more relaxed, but as soon as they see a threatening position, they'll run with a lot more urgency," he explained. "That works for both defenders and attackers." Defenders also do a better job of covering the field, thanks to some reworking of the threat analysis system--if there's a gap somewhere behind the defenders, then they won't switch out their positions. Likewise, attackers push up the field in intelligent ways, attempting to get open and spread the defense to open up passing lanes.

In addition, you'll see an all-new trapping system, which shows that players will recognize when they're not being immediately threatened by a defender. "What was happening was the ball was coming in, and the player would get into the first possible position to intercept the ball," said Rutter. "The ball usually bounced on his chest and then he would get it under control. In nonthreatening situations, you'll actually see players back off to take the ball on their feet." The goalkeeper has also been the focus of similar changes for FIFA 10. "We have some new reactions in there. He's able to tip the ball and guard more effectively on crosses," he said. "We've also added an ability to scramble back to the line and scoop the ball off the line in emergency situations, which wasn't there last year."

The Practice mode is another big aspect of the game, and it's something that fans of the game have demanded. In this mode, you can have as few as four players on the field, but if you want to have a full squad on the field, that's also possible. But the main focus of the Practice mode is what it implies--to work on your skills for certain situations so that when a real game is on the line, you don't mess up.

Another major sticking point for the fans of previous games has been the over-the-top ball where a defender launches the ball toward the opposing team's goal in the hopes of clearing the area and going back on the offensive. "We tried to adjust the frustrations with the game that fans have reported," said Rutter. "A lot of the time, we saw things like [the over-the-top ball] being too powerful, so we had to adjust not just the defensive AI, but also introduce slightly more error on those balls."

Lots of other tweaks and additions have been made to other facets of the game as well. The improved momentum system brings a greater risk-versus-reward element for being aggressive on offense or defense, essentially making it difficult for aggressive players to recover if they miss their intended target. Also, changes have been made to the Manager mode. Match simulations in this mode are now based on the skill of individual players and on a per-minute basis, so the outcomes should be a bit more realistic. Transfers now take into account the prestige of a club, as well as opportunities for player growth and opportunities for money. For example, if a star player is fielding offers from other teams, he may be less likely to join a team that already has another star player or simply doesn't have enough money. We've only scratched the surface of FIFA 10, so we hope to get a peek at some of these and other refinements in the near future before the game is released this fall.

45 Comments

  • shaderkul

    Posted Nov 7, 2009 11:40 am GMT

    This is a mighty disappointment: I've finally given up on FIFA on PC. Its even worse than 09 and that's saying something. The graphics make me wanna cry, the gameplay sucks, the animations bland.... my goodness! It's as if they are doing this on purpose! If EA doesn't want to make FIFA on PC anymore they should just stop it and not insult us with this piece of crap. Ive officially moved on to Pro evo, which is a shame really cause FIFA was my first love.

  • g_powerd1986

    Posted Oct 8, 2009 5:17 am GMT

    i'm talking about PC version...
    i've read a bunch of comments...and i think people should specify what platform they are talking about since the game is actually two unrelated games on xbox360&ps3 and pc
    because i can't even imagine that one can enjoy the same lame game every year with no actual improvements. the so called improvements on the pc are like :
    - i think the the car's engine is broken with all other stuff that makes it work...what are we gonna do?
    - oh...don't worry sir...come on boys let's wash the car!!

  • Shabab_123

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 11:29 am GMT

    I HATE EA FOR NOT AT ALL GIVING THE PC VERSION ANY (I MEAN ANY) ATTENTION. EA YOU JUST SUCK LONG LIVE PES

  • kuol

    Posted Sep 28, 2009 6:38 am GMT

    hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

  • scottishboy

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 3:57 pm GMT

    theres no need to wait 4 license 4 champions league. They have it. they jst want 2 make a whole new game 4 more money.

  • Lil_jake17

    Posted Aug 12, 2009 1:22 am GMT

    fighter91 christiano ronaldo is not number 7 he is number 9 now hes playing for real madrid but he still is a good player no matter what his number is so's lionel messi and i totally agree with you about the manager mode thing and maybe bring back create a team where you can add any player and make your own kits etc I liked that

  • Leefx

    Posted Jul 27, 2009 2:47 am GMT

    I can't wait for this, the 360 movement sounds awesome I just hope to god that they have addressed the annoying overbiased referees when playing against the cpu, tickle the AI team and they get free kicks yet they seem to be able to kick the crap out of you and you hardly ever get one ( I'm sure you all know what i'm talking about.

  • willcanniford

    Posted Jul 25, 2009 3:51 am GMT

    cannot wait

  • Fergocricket93

    Posted Jul 18, 2009 5:18 pm GMT

    Soccer, my friend is a another word for football. It is used to describe football in certain countries because those countries have other football codes with similar names that may get confusing. EG: Australian Football League (AFL) is a sport in AUS all about running with the ball, not getting tackled, and catching the ball to get a free kick. You use your hands. We also have Rugby League and Rugby Union which is also called footy and football by us, so we use soccer to refer to football.

  • ComplexVariable

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 5:48 am GMT

    FIFA soccer? soccer? SOCCER? WTF is soccer

  • hugociss

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 5:29 pm GMT

    Hope it doesn't dissapoint. EA seems to have totally forgot about PC, nowadays they just update the squad, change the menu graphics and say its done.

  • CampTramp

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 8:40 am GMT

    fighter 91... i believe they already have crowd chanting according to which team u are playing with for example with jueventus the crowd will chant the team name, also who buys ronaldo and messi, its all about the powerful all strength 6ft+ tall players like drogba and ibra

  • gastert

    Posted Jun 27, 2009 10:37 am GMT

    I'm playing with PES last year... but I think I'll playing fifa for this year...

  • ThursdayFc

    Posted Jun 26, 2009 11:26 am GMT

    i'm getting this straight away too.

  • edfieldhouse

    Posted Jun 21, 2009 8:03 am GMT

    When this comes out I'm getting this straight away :-D

  • caligamer777

    Posted Jun 15, 2009 5:13 pm GMT

    sounds like its going to be a good game the only thing i would really like to see an improvement on is the "be a pro". they should have the player train and do drills the days leading up to the next match that in my opinion would add realism. for exmaple shooting drills passing drills dribbling heading trapping etc.... also have a gym for benching, treadmill, bicycle, free weights. I would like it a lot if the be a pro mode was more realistic like u have to get an agent and just give u a taste of what a real amateurs life is to stardom.

  • evilguy69

    Posted Jun 14, 2009 3:13 pm GMT

    Keep the coverage coming.

  • abosh1

    Posted Jun 13, 2009 3:20 am GMT

    i also really hope that the PC version is up to scratch this year...

  • abhishekmn007

    Posted Jun 12, 2009 7:36 am GMT

    I hope this time PC version is not different from PS3 and Xbox 360 versions......... like previous years.............

  • Dani233

    Posted Jun 10, 2009 5:04 pm GMT

    I agree with you two Pliz-E Uk and fighter91. 1. The game should include more cleats or boots so you can update players. 2. It was difficult to play with the ¨Pro¨ camera because the defense and the goalkeeping can´t be seen. ( Should make enphasis in that area) 3. More options in the weather area and should include more Stadiums (Santiago Bernabeu wasnt :S) 4. They should include an special type of download so you can actualize the teams´ squad and transfers.
    5. More efficient defense ( I get to score 3-6 goals in World Class and Legendary difficulty )