An amazing Footy sim ruined by a mass of glitches.
Having played the series over a number of years I have always found it to get the better of it's bitter rival, PES. Last year, EA's effort with FIFA 09 was nothing short of a stroke of masterclass. Easily the best footy sim yet, and nothing could touch it gameplay-wise.
However, 12 months down the line I feel things are quite different. While the game last year was, as I say, fantastic, I can't help but feel that I am playing FIFA 09 all over again, but with the addition of 360-degree dribbling. This new feature is a great add-on, and certainly makes gameplay feel a lot more fluid, but the lack of tweaks and changes to it as a concept just don't feel all that different from last year.
The one thing I will say however, is that if indeed we had FIFA 09 gameplay with 360-degree dribbling this year, I wouldn't be highly disappointed, and I'm sure others would agree (trying not to contradict myself here). The real issue this year is the frustrating amount of glitches found in the game.
The Manager Mode has seen a revamp, and at first it all looks really nice, but it won't be long before the frustration kicks in. Again, if you're playing in the Premier League you'll start noticing teams like Bolton finishing in the top four again. You may also have increasing difficulty, which can be next to impossible, to sign that player you've always been fond of. It may also be next to impossible to interest a player from the Championship and below to your club. As time goes by, you may start noticing players going missing completely, duplicate players, duplicate teams and a host of other issues. Don't be surprised if you get the sack after winning the treble either.
Unfortunately these glitches transfer over to the actual gameplay itself and also online (though these online issues are mainly server problems). It is these horrible issues with the game that at times can make the game unplayable to an extent.
One of the things that always please me as a player are the little details added each year. This year, you'll find that some players will wear long sleeves, gloves and undershirt in snow and rainy conditions. Any bad points? Unfortunately if you decide you want to edit any aspect of one of these players, the 'seasonal-wear' will be removed. It's not such a problem with the long sleeves and gloves, but with no undershirt option in Edit Mode it can get a little annoying.
Sure, if EA had managed to fix 95% of these glitches before releasing the game, we'd have a real contender for the footy sim crown this year. However, you still have to feel that this is a PES beater again this year. But in all honesty, neither game deserves the trophy this year.