Whilst the AI has been completely rewritten for the Xbox 360, it actually plays quite different from the current-generation code. Not in a good way either. AI team-mates feel incredibly dumb, and no matter how well you play, they always seem to have a lack of awareness. When trying to make players run, for instance, they often tend to drift into well populated areas, and thus lose the ball so easily that it becomes a chore to loft it over to them. Even more annoying, your opponents do exactly the same, even on the higher difficulty levels. It becomes actually easier to simply ‘run’ your player through defences also, as they too suffer from a complete lack of intelligence.
The animation in the game is second to none. EA have really managed to capture the true mass of every footballer in the game. They turn as they would in real life, and all have different attributes which help to mimic their real-life counterparts. For instance, Ronaldinho of Barcelona is very quick on the ball, and he is very effective at turning on the ball without letting his touch take it away from him. However, take control of a player such as Rob Hulse of Sheffield United, and you’ll find that he is slightly more sluggish to control, but he is good at holding the ball up and giving it to other team-mates.
Surveying the opponents
All the modes that were featured in past games have returned, and this really helps FIFA maintain a high replay rate. Exhibition and Challenge Mode are still there and in full force, as well as a completely revamped Manager Mode. As is known by now, Manager Mode allows you to become the ‘gaffer’ of any particular football team and lead them to league, and world glory. You can handle transfers to and from other clubs, formations, and check on the status of your clubs stadium and coaches. Also provided are a wealth of footballing statistics, which track every single movement completed by every single player and team in the game. You can check on the top scores, the most clean sheets, and even see individual athletic performance ratings for any player you wish.
On Xbox Live, EA have taken the game another step, and have made it that much closer to the ultimate online footballing experience. In addition to unranked and ranked matches, you can now play online co-op against any team. You can also play up to eight players in one match, with four vs. four matches supported. And due to the demand by fans, EA have incorporated a news ticker, which will give you the very latest football stats, rumors and results from across the globe.
Visually, the game ticks almost every box conceivable. It looks stunning, and this is no understatement. The majority of players look incredibly close to their real-life counterparts, and the ones that don’t still look pretty darn good, regardless. Stadiums are pretty awe-inspiring, and whilst there are only seven included with FIFA, they all look gob-smackingly good. Right down to each individual tier on the stands, the stadiums are completely faithful and accurate.
FIFA 07 doesn't just look good, it sounds good too. The roar of the crowd during a particular goal or build-up move is completely authentic, and you will hear many localised chants for nearly every team. It helps to bring authenticity to the game when you can sing songs which are completely relatable to the real thing. EA have also now included six different commentary teams for FIFA too, which means that all players of the game will instantly feel welcome with their favourite football pundits commentating on the game.
FIFA Soccer 07 is a huge step up from the past games, make no mistake about it. It isn’t perfect by any means, but it really is such a leap from the very unrealistic gameplay which it used to provide. There are some annoying issues, mainly with the AI, but given that this is a first attempt from EA, these flaws are forgivable. You still can’t really play as fluently as you could in real-life, but with many steps taken to try and get this closer than before, hopefully EA will take note and fix all of these flaws up. To sum it up, FIFA 07 has built some pretty impressive foundations for future FIFA titles.
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| The Core Score |
Overall
8.0 |
| Fun |
|
8.0 |
| Gameplay |
|
7.0 |
| Graphics |
|
8.5 |
| Audio |
|
7.9 |
| Replay |
|
8.2 |
|
| Kid Safe Score |
| 10 Great |
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| |
No gore or violence at all, just good, fun soccer action. |
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