EPL Talk » EA Sports

Review: FIFA 10 For Wii

tyduffy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:03:29 +0000

EA Sports’ FIFA franchise strives for realism, to approximate the experience of being a footballer or managing a club. When you see the gaudy, arcade style interface of FIFA 10 for the Wii, you realize this will be a very different game.

Creating for the Wii constrains developers. The game needs to be simplified. The Wii’s processor is not as powerful as the XBox 360 or the Playstation 3. It can’t handle the graphics. The controls cannot be too intricate for the Wiimote. The target audience is more casual. Most serious console gamers would buy the game for another console.

FIFA 10 for the Wii is essentially an arcade game. There’s little strategy. The difference between players and teams is negligible. It resembles a generic early 1990s style sports game, but with real players and better graphics. It does looks nice. Even if it’s a cartoon Fernando Torres, you can tell easily that it’s a cartoon Torres.

It plays entirely differently. In traditional FIFA games you must aim your shot, on the Wii, a mere shake of the wiimote will sends a Michael Essien-style missile straight into the net. There’s no artistry in scoring goals. The only skill, if it could be called that, is finding a modicum of open space to launch.

This game should never be played alone. The more intricate game modes aren’t realistic enough to be worth it. It’s best head to head with a friend in a simple exhibition.

Though, it’s only a short time before you both figure out to slide tackle like a mad man and launch shots from anywhere inside the opposition half. More often than not, there’s a striker waiting to pick up the rebound.

While FIFA 10 was intriguing to mess around with for a few hours, I would not recommend buying it. Even for a Wii aficionado looking for a multiplayer football game, Super Mario Strikers is more fun and more intricate, if you can stomach playing as Luigi rather than Leo Messi.

FIFA 09 Interview With Aaron McHardy

The Gaffer — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:00:14 +0000

The interview about FIFA 09 with Aaron McHardy from EA Sports is now available on the EPL Talk Podcast.

Interviewed by Johnathan Starling, McHardy discusses the latest features of FIFA 09 as well as answering questions from you, the readers, and chatting about his playing career which included participating in a World Cup qualifier match for Jamaica.

The episode, number 107, marks the debut of Johnathan Starling as host of the EPL Talk Podcast. Starling is a chief contributor at EPL Talk who many of you know from hosting the EPL Talk Chat, writing for the site as well as being the host of The Third Half Podcast, which is available via the EPL Talk Podcast stream at iTunes and the podcast website.

The Third Half is released on a twice weekly basis, while the EPL Talk Podcast will be released on a frequent basis based on the availability of interview guests.

[display_podcast]

FIFA 09 Interview With EA Sports’ Aaron McHardy: Questions Please

The Gaffer — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:59:05 +0000

FIFA 09 will be released in North America this Tuesday. To coincide with the launch, EPL Talk’s Johnathan Starling will interview EA Sports Gameplay Producer Aaron McHardy. If you have any questions about the new game, what it’s like behind the scenes at EA or anything else FIFA 09-related, please post your questions here before midnight Tuesday October 14, 2008.

McHardy is no stranger to football. He played for Jamaica in a World Cup qualifying match. He was selected as a member of the PAC-10 all conference first team in 2001 when he was at Oregon State University. Born in Vancouver to a Jamaican father, McHardy played as a striker.

The interview is now live on the EPL Talk Podcast.