Review: FIFA 11 (DS & PSP)

EA Sports FIFA series has always provided a good quality of gameplay and entertainment for its many fans. Now the latest game, FIFA 11 promises to be better than ever before.

The game has even been hotly tipped to be the best-selling game of Christmas 2010 according to William Hill PLC , which certainly seems possible when you consider that the game managed to sell 2.6 million units in its first weekend of sales alone. This figure is almost unheard of for a sports franchise.

However, putting all the hype to one side for a moment, let's take a look at FIFA 11's new handheld console features.

Firstly, FIFA's use of licensed players and teams has always scored them brownie points over other football game franchises like Pro Evolution Soccer, and FIFA 11 contains over 30 officially licensed leagues, 500 licensed teams and more than 15,000 players to choose from.

The game also features a new Pro Passing System, whereby pass accuracy is determined by a gamer's ability to use the controls, and player skill, situation and urgency on the pitch. This means that now over striking or under striking the ball will mean inaccurate passes and more varied outcomes. New types of passes such as swerve passes also enable players to make a safer and more effective play.

Nevertheless, the biggest enhancement to FIFA 11 has to be the Personality+ System, which affects players, goal-keepers and even a CPU player's capability.  It sounds too good to be true, but the new system means a greater level of realism for the FIFA handheld games. 

For example, CPU opponents now have a entire repetoire of skill moves to exploit through the use of star player attributes and specific behaviours attributed to particular players.

 Goalkeepers also feature more prominently in this game. Alongside the standard FIFA career mode called Be A Pro,  FIFA 11 also introduces an all-new Be A Goalie mode, allows gamers to play as a goalie of their choice.

Here, the Personality+ System accurately reproduces the actions of a particular real-life Goalkeeper on the pitch, so if your goal-keeper has a longer reach than others, he will be more successful when diving for the ball. Some of the controls in this mode can seem a bit of a struggle, but is a worthwhile effort overall.

Goalkeepers are also now more aware of their surroundings and react more intelligently to potential goals from the opposing team. Goalkeepers can now sprint to cut off a loose ball before urgently scrambling back to defend the net, and they can even skillfully identify and react to lob shots.

However, unlike the major console versions of this game, it is impossible to cut to the main action of the game whilst in the goalie mode on the PSP and DS, which means that gamers could get bored of only seeing the action from the Goalkeeper's perspective.

The PSP version also features a new Fame mode.  Gamers can choose to begin their campaign as a player, player/manager or manager as you lead their club through fifteen seasons of club soccer.

Your success as a player or manager is ranked through the new Fame system. The better your performance the more Fame you receive and more prestigious offers will become available on your journey to become a football legend.

The Nintendo DS version of FIFA 11  also has its own new game mode called Ultimate Team. This mode allows players to collect a set of in-game trading cards (which can be purchased after completing certain activities in the standard game modes). These cards will upgrade the athletic abilities of your chosen team.

Both handheld consoles also feature the Soccer IQ mini-game, which is essentially a general knowledge quiz based on various football triva.

One further feature (exclusive to the Nintendo DSi or the PSP's Go! Cam function) uses the camera functions of either console to take a snapshot of the gamer's face, which can then be uploaded and placed on the face of any customised  football player. Thus, gamers can literally put themselves in the game.

However, it has to be said that despite a few minor tweaks to the overall gameplay, the handheld versions of FIFA 11 seem to pale in comparison to their major console counterparts. The game itself is adequate and is likely to be thoroughly enjoyed by fans of the series so far, but much of the content remains unchanged from previous versions, which is a little disappointing when you consider that the major consoles have a lot more variations. Having said that, the gameplay is solid and the graphics on both versions are pretty accurate.

In conclusion, FIFA 11 is a decent game with good graphics and entertaining gameplay which is likely to keep fans of the series occupied for a long time to come. However, the handheld versions do not quite compare to the finesse of the major console versions. Overall Rating: 8/10.

E3 2010 Gets Underway in Los Angeles

For those of you who don't already know, E3, (Electronic Entertainment Expo,) is one of the largest annual gaming tradeshows in the world, where the next generation of games and gaming hardware is revealed to the top dogs of the gaming industry, and the 2010 line-up is already proving to be very interesting indeed.

Announcements for the DS are expected to include a reveal of Nintendo's plan for a 3D console

(called the 3DS) and trailers for new games like
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 , My Sims: SkyHeroes, The Sims 3 and the sports title FIFA Soccer 11.

Sony's PSP games trailers are expected to include some notable sequels to pre-existing titles such as: 
God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars,  and a new Michael Jackson video game in which gamers can reportedly play as the 'King of Pop' himself!

Meanwhile,several  rumours are also circulating that Sony's PSP announcements will include plans for a new PSP console called The PSP 2, although I must stress that this is purely conjecture at this stage.

So far, there has been no clear winner at E3 2010, but handheld gamers are sure to hope that either Sony or Nintendo walk away with the best overall line-up this year. Check back with 'Mini Gamers' over the next few days to see exactly what Nintendo and Sony have to offer fans of their handheld consoles...

Game Of The Week: 2010 FIFA World Cup: South Africa (PSP)

The World Cup is only one week away, and as with other popular sporting events, there is usually a Gaming title to accompany it. The EA Sports game
'2010 FIFA World Cup: South Africa' on the PSP is no different.

In this game, football fans get to experience all the buzz and festivity of the actual world cup. Players can choose from any one of the 199 teams featured and take them from qualification to a good virtual reproduction of the World Cup final. All of the 10 official stadiums have been reproduced as well.



Every part of this game has been engineered to give fans an authentic experience of this year's World Cup. Thus, players will be treated to highly realistic scenes of confetti, waving flags, stramers and cannons - all designed to reproduce the excitement and anticipation of the actual game.

The PSP version of this game also features some welcome new changes to the other titles in this series. For the first time on PSP, Players can now create a virtual avatar of themselves, wear the shirt of their favourite team and lead them to World Cup glory.

Furthermore, the analogue stick can now be utilised in an all-new shooting mechanic, which gives players total control over the ball, leading to more precise shots. Players must strike the ball with the finesse needed to curve it around the wall and past the keeper for the winning goal.

Players can also earn power boosts during the game: Dominate opponents, build momentum and propel your chosen squad to victory. Players can also choose how to boost their team, and which aspects they wish to boost - offense, defense, the entire squad or just your goalkeeper.



The overall presentation of this game is excellent. The virtual players now look even more like their real-life counterparts. Moreover,the unique camera angles helps players to focus in on all the exciting moments of gameplay without losing the clarity of the graphics.

In addition, a new 'Two button' control system for inexperienced gamers and a new penalty system (whereby gamers can practise their shot before actually taking it) also help to bring a new level of accessibility to the game.



EA Sports has clearly tried hard to give fans an authentic World Cup experience with this title. If you have ever dreamt of leading your country to footballing glory then this is definitely the game for you. Overall rating: 9/10.