14 DAY TRIAL // EA Sports has unveiled the first details of its upcoming FIFA 11 football game. In a weird move, the company chose to put up the information in men's magazine Zoo while only putting up one screenshot (which you can see attached to this article) online for everyone to see. It seems the focus of FIFA 11 is to change the way players experience the football simulation while continuing to provide gameplay mechanics as close as possible to the real game.
Developers are quoted in Zoo as saying that there are “seismic improvements” in FIFA 11, with graphics getting a makeover and with “footballer personality” added to the game.
One of the effects will be that each player will control their passing in a different way, with a touch central defender like John Terry less able to get through balls to the attacker while creative central midfielders like Iniesta will have little trouble making the pass. FIFA 11 is also set to add driven lobs, flicks, backspins on through balls and swerve passes to players’ repertoire.
EA Sports has taken suggestions from players of FIFA 10 to heart leading to goalkeepers in this year’s game being less superhuman, letting through the occasional long range shot while the overall Artificial Intelligence of the on pitch players is improved, with the opposition more prepared to exploit gaps in the way the human gamer plays.
The developers have also gone to a lot of trouble to study the best players in the world and quantify which moves in their arsenal determine the way they play. They have then translated the information into a personality that will play out in FIFA 11, making them more akin to their real life counterparts. Separate work rate statistics for defensive and attacking play will now govern each player, meaning most strikers will take their time before getting back to defend their own goal.