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EA Sports develops a version exclusively for the Xbox 360. FIFA 07, on Xbox 360, has been touted at the soccer game to end all soccer games, the first true next-generation soccer game. FIFA 07 is undoubtedly the best of its kind on Xbox 360 although there are still a few areas for EA to improve on.
When you first boot up FIFA 07 the game will ask you to select your favorite team from the over 150 clubs and international sides included in the game. Once you do this you can dive right into a game with your team’s rival or select one of the game’s modes. FIFA 07 includes all of the expected and by now standard game modes. In FIFA 07, you can become the manager of any team you want (or create). You’ll be tasked with making a number of managerial decisions like selecting a sponsor and pleasing this sponsor by playing well and leading your team to glory. Once you do this you’ll receive an email from the board telling you what they expect from you this season.
Keep in mind that if you select a superstar team, your requirements are going to be fairly intense which balances out the plus of playing with such a team. The actual requirements aren’t simply about winning games, either, since sometimes you’ll have to convince a star player to play or make the team more profitable. You’ll have to manage several people including a scout, stadium manager, negotiator and several coaches. The coaches are of variable quality, though you can make them better by spending money. New to this year’s mode is the ability to have players gain experience points and get better as you play with them. The Xbox 360 version of the game doesn’t include the virtual sim mode where you can watch games with play-by-play commentary and jump in if your team isn’t performing up to standards.
FIFA 07 on Xbox 360 includes many of the improvements made in the current-generation versions of the games. The game makes better use of physics when running so that players can’t easily do a 180 and run in the other direction, which places additional emphasis on the passing game. On that note, the passing game is a little less forgiving with more skill required to pull off the cooler looking passes. The same applies to goals which are harder to pull off, yet make them all that much more rewarding when you finally do.
The game balances this out by including a finesse shot which lets you pull off insanely accurate yet less powerful shots. The ball physics are improved from last year’s game and when combined with the new animations make FIFA 07 almost as exciting as watching a real game. On the Xbox 360, the game does have a fatigue meter which lets you know how long you can play a player for and how long he can do grueling activities like spriting. It’s good information to have and adds just another wrinkle to the game.
FIFA 07 includes online play on the Xbox 360. The game features intuitive menus and a well-made lobby system. The Xbox 360 includes a cooperative mode which lets two people play from the same Xbox 360 against others online. The game makes good use of the FIFA Lounge, which lets you play with the same friends over multiple games. While the current-generation versions only supported 8 players, the Xbox 360 version has support for up to 19. It’ll even track the results for this particular league you make. Playing this mode will unlock cheap shots for you which are just what you expect them to be. Less experienced players will receive the benefit of starting with a few goals over the other player, although the actual satisfaction of winning a game under this condition is questionable
The game’s visuals were great on current-generation consoles and even better on the Xbox 360. The biggest players are easily identifiable and all players are reasonably well modeled. The animation is unbelievably good in this game. It was considered impossible to improve on last year’s game but somehow EA has done it. The replays look amazing thanks to a neat visual effect that lets the player stay in focus while the background gets blurry. The stadiums look great, as do the fans that populate them.
Where FIFA 07 really shines is in the audio. Andy Gray and Clive Tydsley still provide commentary but they have a number of new lines that makes their announcing seem fresh. The soundtrack is very vast in scope, encompassing songs from a number of countries. It fits very well with the international focus of the FIFA series. Lastly, the sound effects are impressive, particularly the way the crowd explodes when something interesting goes on. This was something that we applauded the game last year for and it has been made even better this time around. It’s particularly cool that the biggest teams have their own chants from the crowd which really brings the game to life.
FIFA 07 is undoubtedly the best soccer game available on the Xbox 360. Many of the new features are well-received and while the others will take some getting used to, this is undoubtedly a move forward for the franchise. If you didn’t pick up last year game, you have absolutely no reason to not pick up this version. -- Adam Nunez, PGNx Media
---- Nov 16, 2006
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