An honest view. A step in the wrong direction...
Please read my review for an HONEST view on this game, and not just "dis gaem iz da b3st!1!!1!!" reviews that flood these games.
First things first. I am NOT a FIFA or PES fanboy. I download both before release and decide which I prefer. So my review indicates that PES must be REALLY bad.
I bought FIFA (stupidly at full price) as the demo was my preference over this years PES installment. I eagerly inserted the disc and scorlled through the menu. There seem to be a lot of modes, for example 'Career Mode' allows you to play as a manager, player and even a player manager. The 11 v 11 online mode is a great idea also.
However this is about as good as it gets. I went in to Career Mode as a manager for my beloved Spurs. I was glad to see that you can download the latest transfers (mainly for Van Der Vaart). I delved straight in to the transfer market, which I found quite frustrating but then again I assume that the length of time for the transfer to actually take place is a sign of realism. It's not the same for sold players though. Oh no, this is done in one day. They just can't wait to leave. So how is this fair?
Now to gameplay. Terrible. First thing I noticed, your players AI is awful. No one makes piercing runs, your defenders who you're not controlling constantly give away penalties etc.
Next, the problem area of tackling and the referee. Tackling is far to easy, especially for the computer-controlled players. The computers AI seems much better than your uncontrolled players and therefore they seem to intercept 90% of all through balls. The referee always seems over-strict, judging completely fair tackles as yellow card offences.
Another problem is pace, which doesn't seem effective enough. I find players with pace in the 80's cannot outrun those in their 60's. And strength is too-important, there is no point in playing a weak player like Lennon for example as they are very easily shrugged off the ball.
Passing seems much more wayward which is just frustrating.
Personality is a great feature though. Basically, certain players with noticeable traits have Personallity features, for example my beloved Van Der Vaart has Creativity, which helps with his passing and through balls and gives him the slight edge over others.
Now to the bugs. When a sub is made, the crowd can go completely dead which takes away the atmosphere, which is usually terrible any way (Samba drums in Bristol anyone?). The commentators are the worst they've ever been. Every corner is 'Terrible' to them, even if it's perfect or you score from it. Man of the Match ALWAYS goes to a centre back because it's so easy to tackle.
EA have gone in the wrong direction here. There are a couple of good ideas to build on, but generally it's all bad. They have taken a lot of enjoyment out of FIFA and just made it a very frustrating game to play.
4.5/10