FIFA 07 Soccer

"It's nothing special."

I've never been a huge fan of Association Football, as living in the US makes it difficult to get into the sport (the best leagues are almost inaccessible, given the lack of TV coverage and language barriers for everything but the English Premier League). When my brother brought this game home, I figured I'd never play it. However, I did. I found it enjoyable, but just a bit lacking. The in-game gameplay was solid, the graphics, sound, and controls were above average, but the rest of the game was just lackluster.

Graphics:

The player models are some of the best I've seen in a sports game. Despite the lack of zoom the camera is forced to use because of how large a football pitch is, you can usually spot your players by appearance if you're familiar with them. However, outside of this, everything else is forgettable. The pitch never shows any signs of wear and tear despite players constantly pounding it. The arenas, as a whole, are incredibly bland. The work the developers did with the nets is poor, as well - often times, the ball with seem to go right through the material of the net on shots, and sometimes shots from outside will appear to go through the net and appear as if they had gone in, when they clearly did not.

Despite the failings and blandness, the player models are good enough to drag this rating past the average, to a 6/10.

Sound:

There isn't a whole lot of sound (a lack of sounds from the players is frustrating), but what is there sounds quite authentic. Martin Tyler and Andy Gray provide some very intelligent commentary - Tyler will actually correct himself when something goes awry as he was covering it. However, on the other hand, Tyler also makes plenty of goofs, such as announcing that the game is in extra time when it is definitely not. Of course, outside of the commentary, the sound is so lacking that it's barely worth mentioning. All I will mention is that the crowds certainly should be more animated - Association Football fans are generally very passionate, and fans at almost any sporting event are universally loud, raucous, and wild. The fans in this game are only slightly more passionate than people watching golf.

Overall, the inconsistencies give the sound a very average 5.5/10.

Controls:

The developers did a very good job of making the controls usable. Once you actually figure out how to do everything, executing is quite simple and realistic. Sure, we'd all like to have total control over shooting, passing, and dribbling, but that simply does not happen in a real match. The only complaint I have is that the shot power meter is difficult to manage without plenty of practice, which can make for some very frustrating moments in an otherwise quality control system.

Overall, 8.5/10 for the controls.

Gameplay:

During the games, the gameplay is quite solid. However, the game is a bit lacking otherwise. There aren't many different gameplay options, and the manager mode (akin to Franchise mode in most other games) is very thin.

Manager mode consists of little more than managing rosters - you have a very basic upgrade system, and due some very rudimentary budget management. Roster management is little more than scouting, as it's not possible to initiate your own transfers in this game, as far as I can tell. The AI can offer to buy your players even if they're not listed, but you can not do the same. The scouting system isn't particularly deep, and feels pointless compared to other systems I've seen.

Overall, the gameplay gets a 6/10.

FIFA 07 isn't a particularly great game. I don't own any other Association Football series, so I can't recommend something else with any confidence.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/07