Demo Impressions: FIFA 10

I downloaded the demo for FIFA 10 a few days ago from the Playstation Store. After playing about 15-20 matches on it, I feel that I can now write an article on it that will have a good base of experience behind it. To start, I must say that I am quite impressed with the demo. The graphics haven’t changed much since the 09 version of the game, but you do a feel a lot more “in control” now than in previous iterations of the game.

Perhaps the biggest change to the formula of FIFA 09 is the new “360 Degree Dribbling”. No longer are players confined to 8 or 16 way dribbling. You can now dribble in any direction whatsoever. You won’t notice this the majority of the time on the ball. This is most noticeable when you make a tackle, gain possession, and can continue running in the direction you were running. In previous versions of the game, you would find yourself being adjusted every so slightly, so that you were on one of the axes of movement. This can be the small difference between beating a defender and running into him with the ball.

I was also very impressed by the way that the players now battle for the ball. No longer does a defender make a tackle and then run away with it. Now, both players will continue to try and get any touch on the ball. This results in a lot more balls squirting out of tackles, as they do in real life. In this way, you’ll find yourself through on goal, or creating goalscoring opportunities, through fluke. This new element to the game gives attackers an extra edge, which was missing before, when faced with defenders.