FIFA 10 (Wii)

Gamecow’s Price	RRP $79.95     Save $10.00 $69.95
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Genre	Sports
Platform	Nintendo Wii
Release Date	01/10/2009
Rated

FIFA 10 (Wii) Product Information

On the heels of winning 25 international gaming awards with FIFA 09, the top-selling football franchise from EA SPORTS is surpassed with FIFA 10. Responding to consumer feedback from more than 275 million online games played, FIFA 10 refines an already potent game engine, focusing on what matter most to fans.

Features:

• 360 Dribbling - The first-ever true 360 dribbling system in a football game provides finer dribbling control, enabling players to find spaces between defenders that previously were not possible
• Skilled Dribbling - All-new animation warping technology provides unprecedented control. Skilled players now have the ability to face a defender and use highly-responsive lateral dribbling to skip past him
• Freedom in Physical Play - Wider dribble touches and new collision sharing creates a varied, less predictable, and extended fight for possession between the dribbler and a defender
• Player Urgency - Improved urgency AI logic, with over 50 new movement cycles, delivers more responsive positioning so your players stay focused on the ball and move at a speed appropriate to the action
• Improved Trapping Intelligence - Players now have a better awareness of where the easiest, most natural trapping position is so they can get the ball on the ground and under control easier and earlier
• Advanced Positioning - Defenders multi-task and play the pitch more intelligently by covering dangerous spaces left by out-of-position teammates. In attack, players analyze space more effectively, curve their runs to stay onside, create passing lanes and vary attacking options
• More Accurate Passing - Players better analyze space resulting in pinpoint passes that give their receivers more options and time to outrun defensive pressure
• Authentic Shooting - Refinements to the shooting system and modifications of the ball physics create a wider, more realistic variety of shots that enhance the exhilaration of scoring
• Varied Defending Options - Slide Tackle targeting has been enhanced so skilled players have more reach and avoid tackling through the dribbler. Better effort clearance logic gives defenders more options when attempting to get a foot on the ball before an attacker. Effort, such as sliding to block crosses and overhead kick clearances, give defenders more tools to prevent goal-scoring opportunities
• Refined Goalkeeper Intelligence - numerous improvements mean that goalkeepers now have more urgency and better perception of where to intercept loose balls, resulting in a more responsive and powerful rushing system. New animation warping technology provides game-realistic goalkeeper positioning and momentum, resulting in more varied scoring opportunities

FIFA 10 (Wii) Review

The first thing that you'll notice when you pop FIFA 10 into your disc drive is that the amount of game modes has been ratcheted back considerably from other console versions. Manager Mode is now known as Battle for Glory and presents a few of the trimmings that you're used to, while adding a few Wii-centric features as well. You can still transfer players and check up on stats, but the feeling of actually being in control of a hugely important European (or elsewhere) club has been largely removed. Thankfully there's a fun Wii feature that casual soccer fans will appreciate. Before every game you'll select one of three "Manager Moments" which act as goals for the upcoming contest. If you successfully complete your goal, you'll be rewarded with attribute points for your entire team. I think it would have been better to add the attribute points to specific players, but the sweeping improvements will suffice.

Not only do you get needed attribute points to better your squad, but you'll get valuable game booster cards. Once you've completed enough of your Manager Moment goals, you'll be rewarded with a game booster that does things like improve your players' health, speed them up or increase the effectiveness of their shots. You can either spend the cards immediately or save them up in order to create a hugely powerful super game booster. I think the booster system is a great addition that feels totally at home on the Wii. I wish that FIFA 10 on Wii featured a Be A Pro style career mode as game boosters seem perfectly tailored to it.

Elsewhere you'll find Tournament Mode where you'll battle for one of the many cups that the different leagues vie for each season. There isn't a whole lot to this mode beyond the series of games that you'll play, but at least there's the carrot of a real world trophy waiting for you at the end of the tourney to keep you going.

Once you hop onto the pitch you'll be treated to a game that is totally unlike FIFA 09 on the same system. Gone are the PS2 port graphics and they've been replaced with a cartoony visual style that is much more in tune with the feel of the Wii. Player details look a bit rigid but they move well and are comparable to their real world counterparts, despite the stylized look. Sadly there are some framerate hitches that crop up, mainly on instant replays (a problem that has plagued FIFA for some time on other systems).

FIFA 10 on Wii is definitely a step in the right direction that many soccer fans will be able to enjoy, even if it is a little more arcadey than the traditional soccer from EA Sports. The arcade elements that have made their way onto the Wii feel good in practice, even if some of them get a little stale after several games. The two biggest disappointments for me were the poor handling of through balls and the general lack of deep game modes. Hopefully next year they’ll find a slightly better balance between the arcade features and the amount of depth that the modes present. Nonetheless, FIFA 10 on Wii is a step in the right direction.

Full review IGN