FIFA 11 (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

While the versions on other consoles have gotten closer to, and arguably surpassed, Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series, the FIFA games have struggle to get a foothold on the Wii. Having gone through iterations of simulation and arcade style gameplay, EA Sports have looked unsettled in bringing what is now considered the premier football franchise to Nintendo's home console while their other sports titles have settled very easily. This year, it seems EA have returned, dropping the largely arcade style gameplay, to try their hand again at creating a simulation style game. Have EA finally hit the back of the net with this one or should it be shown a red card?

Gameplay

While last year's title consisted of a more arcade centred approach to football, this year EA have opted to pull back on that style for something which aims to be more realistic. Unfortunately, the game feels more basic than anything else as a result of these changes. Gone are the super-powered shots, the big tackles, and the pointer gameplay for goalkeeping and in its stead comes something more akin to the bigger versions of the game, with a square focus on the natural game of football. This all makes things much more straightforward in the standard 11 vs. 11 football matches yet the loss of the ability to shoot by shaking the Wii-mote certain makes some mechanics much more strained as passing and crossing are now assigned to the same button making it can be difficult to pick out players in the box as sometimes the game will simply pass the ball rather than cross it. Similarly, the 360 dribbling mechanic, brought into many of the game's last year, still hasn't turned up on the Wii and does make things feel slightly dated in that area of the game.

You'll encounter many of the standard mode types in the game, with the standard Quick Match option, allowing you to play against friends or the computer and giving you a choice of 29 leagues from which to choose a team from, and the typical Tournament play mode. Last year's Battle for Glory returns as well, allowing you to take on the role of manager as you pilot a team through the course of a succession of seasons. You're not given complete control of everything which goes on within the team but you are given more freedom than other modes afford you, granting the mode the most depth and playability in comparison to everything else the game has to offer.

This year's biggest gameplay addition: 5 vs. 5 football. While the FIFA Street games are done and buried, EA have deemed it acceptable to bring the gameplay into the Wii version of FIFA 11 and it provides the most excitement in the entire package, due to being much more fast paced than the standard 11 vs. 11 setup. Taking place in smaller, walled arenas, matches play out over a set period of time, no halves here, and as expected, the winner is whoever scores the most goals. It is here where there are some arcade power-ups, such as increased speed and shrinking your opponent's team to make it easier for you to score, but unlike the last game, they feel welcome here and work within the confines of the 5 vs. 5 structure. You have the option to play this as a standard Quick Match but you also have a much more engrossing option where you can play the mode and that is in the new Streets to Stadiums mode. Replacing the previous Be A Pro mode, here you create a character and lead them through from the grass roots 5 vs. 5 football all the way, hopefully, to the top flight leagues to play it out for the major trophies. Each match has optional objectives which, should you complete, allot you further experience points to flesh out your created character. While it may not be as robust an option as the Battle for Glory mode, it certainly provides a much more enjoyable experience as an alternative to the standard season structure and one that makes for a very welcome inclusion into the franchise, and hopefully one which will continue.

Online support also continues this year, continuing the ground work from previous years. The game still makes use of EA's Nation servers, and a similar setup of modes as compared to last year is included, with standard 1 on 1 matches or the option to play 2 on 2 matches with two players on the same team on the same or different consoles as well as leaderboards. It's also a much smoother experience this year, with some of the latency issues ironed out. It's just a shame that you can only play the standard 11 vs. 11 online, with 5 vs. 5 relegated to offline multiplayer.

Controls

Three control options are included for play, all of which carry over from previous editions. You're first choice of setup uses only the Wii-mote, with the game controlling the movement of the players on the pitch while you focus on passing, shooting, etc. It's simple enough to let anyone pick up the game and but the lack of control really detracts from the fundamentals of the game. As such, those who've had any experience with the games will either opt for the Wii-mote and Nunchuk setup or the Classic Controller setup. Both setups work well, although the minimal use of motion gestures, which continue to feel tacked on rather than necessary inclusions for the game, and a button layout which takes some getting used to may lead people to opt for the latter setup, with controls exactly as the other home console versions do.

Graphics

If you disliked the new visual style last year, then you'll be disappointed to hear it has returned. The cel-shaded, cartoony look returns and while it certainly plays to the Wii's strengths more than a realistic looking game, there are some strange looking elements which do let the game down. While many of the major and recognisable players from the English Premier League have been faithfully created and do look and act like their real life counterparts on the pitch, it's the vast number of players out with this league, and at times within it, who fail to keep up a level standard in the character model department, with stock designs trotted out regularly and the common occurrence of characters looking like they suffer from anorexia. It's therefore disappointing that more effort hasn't been put into the character models this year but these issues aside, the character get the job done and are animated extremely well, recreating many of the subtle movements and tricks you'd see in real life.

The stadia follow a similar path as those from last year's game as well, with the larger, more world recognisable stadia looking the part and a collection of smaller ones which, while getting the job done in creating a setting, skimp on certain flourishes that the larger ones receive and feeling slightly disjointed from the overall football experience. The arenas for the 5 versus 5 games are small and compact with little to see but again, they serve their purpose well and there's enough variation between them to keep them visually interesting for a little while at least. The crowds have thankfully received some extra attention this year, getting over the horrendous mess of pixels that populated the stands last year and while it's still far from realistic, it looks much better this time around. And frame rate issues from last year's game have also thankfully been abolished for a game which runs much more smoothly, which helps to keep the action flowing.

Sound

After ditching the licensed soundtrack for last year's game and it not being received particularly well, this year the developers have brought it back with a collection of songs from various bands from around the world. There'll be names in there which people will recognise and some they won't, essentially catering to all crowds but your time with the music will be limited to the menus, which you'll rarely spent more than a minute or so in. Commentary once again comes from Martin Tyler and Andy Gray and while the sound quality is as good as ever, the actual commentary falls flat far too often. It keeps up with the matches but it does little to help elevate the play going on and at times it lacks variety and you'll hear it repeating more often than not.

Final comments

FIFA 11 is certainly a marked up effort on last year's title and the inclusion of the likes of the 5 vs. 5 gameplay and the new Streets to Stadiums certainly makes the game worth a look. However, it still feels as though the series has a way to go before it can reach the heights it got to on the Gamecube, as it still lacks many features and mechanics which made up the games back then and in comparison to the other consoles. If EA can take this as a springboard to launch from for next year's game, potentially we could have a noteworthy football title on the Wii that takes the fight to the Pro Evolution Soccer games. As it is, FIFA 11 is a step in the right direction on the Wii and will certainly sate football fans until their next helping.

Pro: 5 vs. 5 football, Streets to Stadium is a great alternative to season mode, game continues to play well even if it is missing some mechanics, visuals still look good
Con: Commentary feels lifeless at times, still missing modes and gameplay mechanics from the other titles
Final score: 7.9

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