Oh look, a new Xbox 360 sports game from EA. Nice graphics? Check. Less features than other versions? Check. Clunky gameplay that isn’t as good as other versions? Check. Higher price than other versions? Check. Yep, FIFA 07 more than meets the high standards set by EA over the past year for Xbox 360 sports titles. It is really a shame that FIFA 07 on the 360 is so disappointing, though, because the PS2/Xbox version of the game is amazing. Stick with 2006 FIFA World Cup if you want to get your soccer fix on the 360.
Quick Hits
- Title: FIFA 07
- Platform: Xbox 360
- Publisher: EA
- Developer: EA Canada
- ESRB: “E” for Everyone
- Genre: Soccer
- Pros: Nice graphics; realistic ball physics;
- Cons: Gameplay doesn’t flow the way soccer should; lacking features; higher price; ridiculous achievements
Features and Modes
The Xbox version of FIFA 07 has a huge amount of different leagues and teams with accurate rosters. The Xbox 360 version of FIFA 07 only has the German Bundesliga 1, the F.A. Premiere League, the LFP Primera of Spain, the Ligue 1 Orange of France, the Mexico Primera, and Italy's Serie A and of these leagues only the first divisions are included. There are also only 37 national teams. Which all adds up to a grand total of around 120 teams to choose from compared to five times that many in the Xbox version. This is a huge problem, EA, and gamers shouldn’t have to put up with it anymore. At least the list of modes isn’t completely neutered, and you can tackle the surprisingly deep manager mode or challenge mode or take your game online and it all works pretty well.
Gameplay
EA
Where FIFA 07 on the 360 stumbles is the gameplay. I’m not saying it is horrible and that with extended play time you wouldn’t learn to love it, but it isn’t as immediately agreeable as Winning Eleven or even FIFA 07 on the Xbox. Any game of soccer can do a reasonably good job of recreating the passing and shooting and dribbling and basic aspects of soccer, but it takes a special game firing on all cylinders to really feel the way it should and FIFA 07 on the 360 doesn’t feel right. Passes don’t connect the way they should. Defenders are insanely aggressive and win the vast majority of challenges. Teammates seldom run to the ball when you pass to them and instead will just stand around while it slowly rolls across the turf. There is a whole list of little nitpicks that FIFA 07 doesn’t do but other soccer games execute so well and it is hard to ignore them all if you have played any of the better games in the last few years. On the plus side, the realistic ball physics introduced in the last-gen versions of FIFA 07 are included here, but because the rest of the gameplay falters the new physics don’t have quite as big of an impact. In all fairness, FIFA 07 on the 360 plays a decent game of soccer, but there are better soccer games out there that are more deserving of your time.
Graphics and Sound
Graphically, FIFA 07 looks fantastic. The players are very detailed and feature very lifelike animation that is a joy to watch. The stadiums and the crowds also look very good.
Likewise, the sound is top notch. Good announcers. Good music. Good sound effects. Presentation is definitely a strong point of FIFA 07, but that is to be expected.
Bottom Line
EA
FIFA 07 for the Xbox 360 isn’t a bad game of soccer, but it suffers from clunky gameplay and a disappointing lack of teams and players which put is far behind the best soccer titles in terms of fun and value. Maybe if you haven’t ever played other soccer videogames or watched a lot of soccer, it could be just fine, but if you are familiar with the finer points of the beautiful game, it can be hard to stomach anything but the best. Your best bet is to stick with 2006 FIFA World Cup for the 360, or FIFA 07 and Winning Eleven 9 for the Xbox. These games will give you a far better experience for a heck of a lot less money.
