Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7255 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2006-09-29
• Platform: Windows XP

Amazon.co.uk Review:
In a nutshell:
It’s the game football fans wait all year for and to usher in the next generation EA Sports have given FIFA its biggest revamp in years, changing not just the way it looks but the way it plays in what aims to be the ultimate marriage of realism and fun.

The lowdown:
Every new FIFA game gets its expected improvements in graphics and presentation but this year the success of Pro Evolution Soccer seems to have driven EA to concentrate just as much on the gameplay. As such the game features better passing, crossing and free kicks as well as greatly improved goalkeepers. There’s also a new "finesse" shot if you get the time and space to use it, while every kick is calculated in terms of space, composure and technique so that it’s accuracy is determined by exactly what’s happening on the pitch and not just some random factor. Add in completely new ball physics, more than 510 teams, 27 leagues, 4,000 licensed players and all new international crowd reactions and you’ve got EA’s most concerted attempt yet to make the definitive football game.

Most exciting moment:
As well as all the individual improvements to ball and player control many of the game’s best strikers have their own signatures moves and free kicks, such as Ronaldinho, Frank Lampard and Roberto Carlos. This includes the ability to, quite literally, bend it like Beckham.

Since you ask:
As befits its global reach FIFA 07 has perhaps the most multinational soundtrack ever in video games, with everything from Argentinean rock band Bersuit Vergarabat to Spain’s The Pinker Tones and German group d.o.c.h.! (As well as Britbands such as Muse and The Young Punx.)

The bottom line:
FIFA gets serious in its attempt to out-football Pro Evolution Soccer
.HARRISON DENT

Manufacturer's Description
With the 2006 FIFA World Cup over and the glamour of international football fading fast, the players are now back to their daily jobs of winning glory for their club in EA SPORTS FIFA 07.

From the first whistle, FIFA 07 throws you into the rollercoaster ride of a football season and the intense stadium atmosphere of every home and away match.

Relish every satisfying victory over bitter rivals and live through every gut-wrenching poor performance at home. Savour the spine-tingling stadium atmosphere, home and away, as your team battles their way up the league table. Listen as your supporters chant your players' names and bellow all the rousing club songs through rain and shine.

You have the power to shape your club's destiny in the EA SPORTS Interactive Leagues [F.A. Premier League, Bundesliga, French League, Mexican 1st Division], a new online mode that enables you to pit your club against supporters of your real-world opponents. Play your games according to the real-world schedule. When they play, you play. Track your team's progress as the aggregate results determine your club's position in the league table. Now you actually take to the pitch for the glory of your club.

New intelligent AI ensures that your 11 men on the pitch make realistic decisions, finding space and passing like professionals. A complete overhaul of the game engine now means that you have to employ real world tactics, make realistic decisions and think like a player in order to win matches.

Take on the updated and improved challenge of the Manager Mode. Player values and wages have been tuned to be even more realistic. Managerial decisions have even more tangible effects on player performance and welfare. Smarter CPU decisions mean rival managers are even more strategic in their own pursuit of silverware.

Customer Reviews

Quality
I have always been a fan of the FIFA series, believing that every sequel is getting better and better, and this is no exception.
Even though I've been a fan of FIFA, Pro Evolution has been gaining on me. This is because it does have slightly better gameplay and some better graphics, however this does not affect my opionon on FIFA07.

The latest FIFA addition has lots of new and improved features:

Gameplay:
The gameplay is very good. New ball physics add more realism and a more satisfying challenge when playing.
The crowd reactions are very effective. When you're on a break through and looking as though you are about to score a cracking goal, the home crows will start cheering franctically, before stopping at the relevant times.
The goal scoring is what i was most impressed with. It is much harder to score the same goal over and over as in FIFA06. The new 1500+ animations and motions make the game feel a lot more pleasing when watching the keeper performing different dives/saves.
As this is the first FIFA I've owned on PC, the controls have been tricky to get used to. But after 5-6 games or so I was fine! Plus, the manual is not very detailed/clear.

Graphics:
The graphics are pretty decent. The majority of the players look very real, although there are a few acceptions (eg. Ryan Giggs).
The net effects are very good when scoring. This may seem like a very small thing, but on Pro Evo they are not good and this does seem to take something away from that game. However, FIFA has provided quality graphics all round, let alone net effects.

Other Modes:
Manager: The Manager mode is back, and more or less similar to the previous ones. However, there is real money. This also adds to realism which makes the game more authentic and proper.
Craete a team: You can now create a team on FIFA! I was happy about this as I do play for a football club. You make the kits, make the standards and choose the players. You can even design you're own entire team full of your mates!

All in all, this is a great football experience. And althought I only own it because I got it quite cheap of a friend, had I known this game was a good as it is, I would have got it of here anyway!

This game does compete with PES6, take it from a football gamers point of view. Worth buying, whether you own PES or not.

What an improvement!
I've bought previous versions of FIFA, but I've always felt Pro Evo had better gameplay. But...this version of FIFA is REALLY good. It actually feels like football (of course, it looks EXACTLY like football - FIFA has always been beautiful!). The goals I've scored have been quite different from each other, there no longer seems to be a guaranteed way to score like in previous versions. You have time on the ball and can consider where to pass. The only quibble is that (on semi-pro level)it's a bit too easy to get down the wings and sometimes the goalies act as if they're brain dead, whilst at other times they seem unbeatable. The number of competition options is AMAZING, but I'm not too keen on the Manager mode - that still comes nowhere near Pro evo's Master League. Oh, and the manual, as often with FIFA, is utter rubbish! It tells you the basic controls and that's about it - the manager mode needs a manual three times the size, so when playing that mode there are lots of "what on earth do I do/how the hell do I do that?" moments. I still reckon I'll be playing Pro Evo 6 more by November, but I think it's going to be close!

Oooh, its getting better...
Every year they seem to add something new to the gameplay, this year a player has ability to score long range shots, which although seems daunting at first, more practice with timing and shot power really begins to benefit. Players can now work round defenders simply using pace rather dummying which was near none existent with earlier FIFA games.

Having played the game for some time, some features have distinctively been removed. In World Cup 2006 you could pretty much rely on a deep cross, to be deflected of your own players and with a little shot control a volley or header would see the ball surge past the keeper into the net. Now, a cross will barely even reach your own players, which is a shame because it seemed like a really effective way of scoring in earlier games, hence seems to be only downer on the gameplay.

Graphics seem up to par as usual, though I've heard the 360 version looks a lot more detailed, you can actually get some great graphical output once you turn the graphics setting on its highest, assuming you have a good graphics card that can handle it. Commentating is fluid (until it begins to repeat itself of course!). There are tons more features available which I haven't tried, I'll probably write an additional review once they've been tested.

Overall a great game, the gameplay and the atmosphere heavily adds to the fun, probably one of the best FIFA titles yet.