Fifa Soccer 11 for the Nintendo Wii Console Review: (CLICK CONTINUE!)
Fifa Soccer 11 for the Wii doesn't break any new barriers here. There are 6 game modes. Tournament Mode, which is recognized by most gamers as "Season Mode" in other titles. Basically, you pick a team, you play through a season, you try to make the playoffs, then you try for the cup and the victory. Not really anything new. Statistics and league information are there (League Table Standings, Player's Numbers This Season, and Estimations and Power Rankings of what will occur later on in the season.) You cannot make trades, which is dissapointing, but you do have a lot of general manager-like job's to attend to. You must manage your team, set up practices, and swap and substitute players on the go during games. The Season Mode is fun, but it's features have already been used before in countless other sports genre titles.
The next mode is an exclusive mode for the Wii, which is the mode that has the Wii rivalling that of the XBOX and PS3. The mode is called, "Streets To Pro." You create a player (face, practice wear, his nationality, basically what he looks like.) Then you get drafted to a "REP" team playing on the streets in various countries. You play as only a single player, which I find to be more than playing as the whole team, because it really puts you in the game as one of the players. You must complete goals and challenges to earn XP. The more XP you earn, the more interest you will receive from scouts seeking young prospects. You can also use earned XP to boost your players stats such as Speed, Passing, Dribbling, Tackling, Shooting and Positioning. Earning XP is as simple as calling for the ball and receiving the ball, or doing a nice deek, or making a long range pass, things like that. The more you boost your stats, the better you will play and the more XP you will earn in the long run. When you earn a sufficient amount of XP you will be offered contracts from various clubs. You get to chose which contract sounds best. You move up one level at a time (Select to Single A and then Single A to Double A and then Double A to Triple A.) When you reach the Triple A level, it will become increasingly difficult. If you manage to reach Pro (from being promoted out of Triple A by a contract) you will play on the big field, in front of screaming fans. You can be drafted to teams like Chelsea and Real Madrid. The more XP you earn as a Pro, the more playing time you will be given and the more interesting you will become to better teams. Just one word of advice: don't get too attached, as a gamer, to the place you are playing at because you can very well be traded off.
The next game mode is Online Mode. Online, once again, isn't completely brilliant or innovative/inventive, but it is good fun, and joining an online tournament with some friends can be a great, competitive, challenging, satisfying, and rewarding time. Online runs fairly smoothly, and I did not run into too many issues. My main complaint with Online, I guess, is once again that is too simple and predictable and does not do anything to establish itself as a rewarding online soccer sim mode.
The final mode is Manager Mode. You play as a manager, watching your teams and directing where they should go. You make orders, make trades (which I repeat you could not do in the regular Season Mode.) You coach your players pretty much. You set challenges for your team and goals for the year and you are fired if you do not completed said goals/challenges.
There is also the "Hit The Pitch" Quick Play mode ad it is as simple as it sounds. Pair up to teams,chose who has the jerseys, and who you control. Easy.
In terms of how things look and how things feel, I will explain. The graphics are good. In comparism to other wii projects/titles in the sports genre it is great but compared to the HD counterpart cousin consoles it is, well, just decent. The fans still look like a giant blob of waving arms with no human-like features, shouting even when they are scored against. These are presentational issues that could have been avoided with a little more effort, however were not. But the character and pitch animation is fantastic for a wii production and pretty good even by the other two's standards. If you see a player you will know it's that player. They look fairly identical, and it is extraordinarily impressive to see such attention to detail. Every feature about the players is familiar and similar to their actual self, and it's a joy to watch your favorite player celebrate and actually look like he's himself while doing it. The sound is good. A nice soundtrack compliments your time scrolling through menu's. The commentators, on the other hand, are really robotic and quite obviously pre-recorded. I know they are in every game, but these comentators just dish out witty lines without even having anything to do with the game. They are pretty much always wrong about their facts, and they will say one team deserves to know even if the possesion is 90-10 against them. It is pretty ridiculous
Anyways, overall Fifa 11 for the Wii rivals the HD counterpart console's versions if not it is better. With the addition of street football, improved graphics, and all the modes and extras the other console's editions contain (minus a few very minor features) this game is a blast that is a load of fun and is stacked with content. If it weren't for idiotic commentators, ugly crowds, and the non-ability to trade with other teams almost slows down this robust game, but it still prevails and the final product is a satisfying football experience, finally available on the Wii!
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Lasting Appeal: 8.5/10
Presentation: 7/10
Controls: 8.5/10
Overall: 8.2/10
RENT, BUY OR SKIP?:
If either you are a big soccer fan or it's selling really cheap for sure buy it. If it isn't cheap and/or you are not a big soccer fan maybe buy it but probably rent it first.