"New, Improved, But I still got some beefs with it."

Ever since FIFA '97, which was launched back in 1996, I have been playing virtually every FIFA game out, except for the World/European Championship editions. However, I haven't bought a single one of them since 2001, as I've rented most of them, which almost always proved to be a good decision. Why? Well, ever since Pro Evolution Soccer got on my PC, I had no need for FIFA.

However, in 2005, with the release of FIFA '06, this changed. Pro Evo was too boring in my opinion, so I tried my luck in FIFA again. I ended up renting it again, but I had more fun times with it as Pro Evolution Soccer 5.

So when I heard the positive comments on FIFA 07, I decided to do something different and actually BUY the game. Almost a week later, I have spent enough time playing to give a sufficient review. Which is exactly what you were waiting for.

GRAPHICS AND PRESENTATION: 9/10

FIFA 07 does NOT feature the best of the best graphic wise. No big deal, it's good enough, everything is clear, the players are recognizable, so the graphics are OK. But it's the presentation where it shines.

EA Sports managed to create a GREAT atmosphere once again. An atmosphere created by the images, and by the sound and music. Which is why I crammed Presentation with Graphics in one segment.

Now as usual, FIFA has quite some lesser known bands (As well as better known ones such as Muse) on the soundtrack. This makes for some interesting music to listen to, though this is not my favorite soundtrack of a FIFA so far. But that is all a matter of personal taste, truth is that the music is good. During the music on the main screens, you sometimes hear the music withdraw for some crowd noises. Fun the first few times, but gets a bit annoying later on.

Then the atmosphere. Which is done marvelous. Something that annoyed me was this. If I play with Manchester United, for the sake of example, and I'm playing an away match against Chelsea, I do NOT want to hear the Chelsea fans cheering when I have a 0-5 lead over them. Simple as that. However, in both Pro Evo and in FIFA, that happened. This is fixed now though. The audience is home-geared, which means that they'll cheer way more if you have the lead, but they can sound horrid to you if you're being creamed. The same goes for the computer. The home audience will let you know if they are not happy. And that ain't a pretty sound.

GAME OPTIONS: Standard/10

Hey, it's FIFA, what do you expect? Everything is there, from the manager mode to the quick kick-off. Everything from '06 has returned. Good thing in my book too.

MANAGER MODE: 8/10

Now the manager mode needs a special section. You see, it is the heart of the game. You take on the role of a manager of a proffssional team, and coach it for several seasons. Including European cups and all.

This includes buying/selling players, selecting the right sponsor, negotiating contracts, upgrade staff, the usual stuff. '07 made some new implements though. One of them is the Youth academy, which will bring you new talents from time to time.

Now, to explain some things, some info on how I played. I use Girondins Bordeaux (France) as my team. Bordeaux ended up second in the French league last year, so you could say they are among the better teams.

The players all get a number based on how good they overall are. Bordeaux has players ranging from the high 60 to the low 80. So that means you want to buy players who are at least near that and you can expect to grow. Problem is, that will rarely happen.

You see, each player you can buy/have has an expectations graph, which shows how said player might grow. But the problem is, usually those graphs take 5 years to even reach 60. So that's too much of a hassle. This especially goes for the youth acadamy. Might work for lower league teams, but they don't have the money to invest in either new players or the youth. As a result, most players you'll get through scouting/transfer season are practically worthless.

Other aspects are handling the media, which is done pretty well. If you handle the media well you can expect your supporters to love you more. Then there is keeping the team happy, you'll sometimes get the opportunity to give them a day off, to let them go out for a dancing with a celeb or something, all that might affect morale and fitness.

Fitness is something nasty by the way. If your players play too much or too intense, their fitness level can and will drop. As a result, you should always have some backups, especially if you go international. Because then, you'll have to switch players around to prevent exhaustion, which is horrid if you have an important match coming up. My 4-0 loss against Lyon proved that to me the hard way.

Now there are some flaws/minor points I'd like to point out. The targets your chief gives you can be...ridiculous. My first season targets were:
- Qualify for Champions League (OK, seeing as how I am considered a top team)
- Reach the Semi Finals of the cup (See above)
- Sign a Left Midfielder

That last one made no sense. I had already 2 Left Midfielders, and no Left Midfielders became buy-able during the Transfer window. My scout only brought me crappy players, and as such I was forced to buy a very weak player to meet that target.

The other is the team factor. Your team plays as one and has an indicator for how good they play as a team. But this indicator is tediously slow-increasing, and it seems to have no real effect on the matches if it grows just 1 point.

Final part is player level increase, which is done with some kind of experience meter. Please, leave that meter out next FIFA, sure they might get better, but please, let them grow in a less obvious way.

But all in all, the manager mode is a great mode where you will be spending a lot of time.

THE GAME ITSELF: 7.5/10

So now we're on to the pitch. You have your team and strategies set, you both hit the pitch (often together with some cut scenes), and we're off. And this is where I find most flaws. But they aren't that great.

FIFA '07 plays fluently. Passing feels good (usually), shooting is pretty hard but it's relatively easy to get out nice shots, but since the level of the Goalies is pretty high (thank god), you won't get many 7-1 or 5-2 wins. In my 70+ games so far, I've had 4 games where there were over 6 goals, not counting multi player games.

Also, the level of the defense has been cranked up. This means you'll have a hard time getting past it, which might get frustrating at times because they always seem to tackle the right time. Annoying, but it makes you THINK about how you attack instead of the cookie cuttered standard attack you could use in several earlier FIFA's (And Pro Evo fanboys, that was possible in Pro Evo too.).

Your strategy is also very important. When you just play a game, don't worry too much. But in a league, you have to watch out. I have a knack for using strong, yet incredibly tiring strategies, which forces me into using a rotation system. Others might work with less risk, yet the ability to keep with a standard team all the time. It all depends on your style here, and you really feel the differences in styles.

Free kicks have never been my forte, but I can get a few in now, as the free kick system just works fine for me. Same goes for the penalty kicks, although those are too random with a computer opponent.

Now with the level of gameplay being so high, it just is so disappointing there are a few flaws found. Allow me to list them.

- Enlarged posts. Its a minor one, but you hit the posts too darn often. You don't see them hitting the post 5 times in a real match, now, do you?

- Fouls. They are too rare. If I had 3 yellow cards in the season, it's a lot. The opponent rarely makes a foul too. They could crank up the amount of foul-making a bit. I'd like seeing some red cards (Not too much, just a few) each season for a change.

- Trick-Gimmick. The opponent A.I. can be just ridiculous, having the ball to the feet and randomly bashing the trick button, used to get the most weird tricks - in their own penalty area! The most frustrating part about it is that is very hard to get the ball of them when they do so, and since they sometimes rush like that, it gets very frustrating at times. You don't see them doing that in real life, now, do you?

- Your defense. Your opponent will always find the weak spot in your defenses, no matter what. This gets too dumb for words sometimes. Especially if you know your opponent scores 1 out of 3 shots, where you can be lucky if you score 1 out of 10. Fact is that the CPU has ALWAYS scored too much in EACH FIFA considering the number of shots they launch. I'd like seeing them miss more chances and also creating some more for a change. It'd result in a more balanced game. Because now you'll mostly just attack the opponent's goal and sometimes get a counterattack. And that is my main beef with the game. The fact that no matter how hard you push, you can always lose due to one lucky shot.

But all in all, it is an enjoyable game. Just be ready to bite through some of the frustration, and you will be fine. As such, I reward this game with 8 out of 10 points.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/06/06