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BY RICK TITTLE

Last summer in South Africa we were treated to another edition of the greatest sports competition known to man, the World Cup.  It’s hard to believe that Germany ’06 was over four years ago, as I was lucky enough to make it to one game in Gelsenkirchen to watch my fellow Americans succumb to the Czechs, 3-0.  My previous World Cup experience was to work at the San Francisco venue of USA ’94, which was at Stanford Stadium.  For the better part of two weeks I worked as a volunteer in the media center whilst also attending all five matches held there.  It was easily the best two weeks of my life.  And one of my present jobs entails me writing a column for a newspaper called European Soccer Weekly, a position I have held since 2000.  In other words, soccer fans, I know my stuff when it comes to the beautiful game.

So it makes it very hard for a soccer video game to pull the wool over my eyes when it comes to authenticity.  And with games such as FIFA SOCCER from Electronic Arts, the bar was raised years ago and keeps getting pushed higher and higher.  I truly loved SUPER SOCCER on the SNES but was gobsmacked when EA came out with their first FIFA title for the Genesis in ‘91.  The players looked real and (the best part) you could hear the crowd singing!  The subsequent years have since seen the FIFA franchise outsell all other EA Sports titles worldwide, including both MADDEN FOOTBALL and TIGER WOODS combined.  Soccer is truly the world’s game.

The question I always ask myself with annual sequels such as FIFA is, “should I really shell out more money again for a game that’s virtual the same as last year’s?”  Usually my response to such a dilemma is not in the affirmative.  Remember, it was only a few months ago that EA gave us another FIFA WORLD CUP SOCCER title.  But with FIFA SOCCER ’11, the answer is a resounding YES.

The main difference with this season’s incarnation is the improvement over the Be a Pro feature.  Well, technically, Be a Pro is still in the game, but this time around there is something better called Virtual Pro.  With this new addition, you can make a player and have him learn all the tricks of the trade and upgrade his skill level through hard work and grafting practice sessions.  You then can immerse your player into several different options for gameplay instead of just normal matches.  You can drop him into Play Now or even the Pro Club Championship.  You can also create your own free kicks from set-piece situations.  Love it!

Online play has direct connectivity to your real favorite team and the season their having.  There is every country with every league inside this game – no one misses out.  My beloved Tottenham Hotspur is doing well so far (knock on wood) and I love to play their matches myself right after the actual ones takes place.  And even better, you can play online with a full team of other folks from all over the planet…which is almost like a legit game for real.  Some schmuck might be the goat for your collective effort or somebody might be a hero, as well.  The tension is much higher with real teammates.  My only complaint is that the stadia are not the real ones.  Unlike the MADDEN title, each stadium is not the true representation of what they actually look like.  Why not, EA?

Clive Tyldesley and the gruff-but-loveable Scot Andy Gray are back to provide the live commentary, and while I would have preferred Martin Tyler, they do a relatively nice job.  The sometimes get it wrong, but it’s never glaring.  Also, sometimes the AI might be a bit shoddy, as you can see goalkeepers pushing off-target shots out for corners.

In the end, this is a slick game with great presentation and hours of entertainment.  I think the Manager Mode might be a game within itself, as you must take care of all player development, transfers, and run the finances, too.  Suffice to say, pick up FIFA SOCCER ‘11 and have a blast.  I give it an 8.5.  By the way, there’s Kaka on the box.  :p

Rick Tittle can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it