FIFA 07 - First Look Preview

With the football season already underway in the English lower leagues and the SPL, and the World Cup finishing just weeks ago, it may seem to some that the sport has barely taken a breath since the end of the previous season back in May. Ironically, the same could be said of EA's FIFA franchise, which will see the release of its fourth title in twelve months (not counting FIFA Street 2) at the end of September when FIFA 07 is launched on the current-gen, PC and handheld consoles - eschewing the next-generation for the time-being.

Since the release of the previous 'true' instalment (FIFA 06) in Autumn 2005, EA has led us down the road to World Cup 2006, only to launch the official game of the tournament a few months later. So will FIFA 07 manage to lift the franchise away from concerns over IP burnout and give gamers an evolved experience? Recently TVG was given a first look at the newest addition to the FIFA family on the current-gen platforms...

As in so many years, EA has spoken of 'new' features and improvements in the 2007 edition of FIFA with the result being that all too many now cast a cynical eye at such claims. This year, however, a change of direction has been taken, and those new features and improvements seem to be (for once) both new and improved! This is down in no small part to current-gen Producer Joe Booth and his team of newcomers, who are all eager to make their mark. Booth (a Leeds United supporter) is in his first year at Electronic Arts, and has taken it upon himself to make FIFA 07 a true footie sim. Recently, TVG held an interview with Booth about his debut title for EA, which you can read in full here.

Splitting the improvements into two key areas, gameplay and features, it's the re-development of ball physics that will impact most of all on players of FIFA. Of course, claims that the physics of the game have been re-developed are something of a regular occurrence by EA in past, but from our experience of FIFA 07 to date, such claims seem to have been met, at least in part. Integrating spin to the ball automatically during open play and under the player's control during set-pieces is one of a number of details making it into this year's current-gen iteration that gamers will notice. Taking a shot on goal will also be expanded upon in FIFA 07 thanks to the ability for gamers to 'place' the ball rather than go for an all-out power shot. Differentiating between the two can be made according to whether a shoulder-button is held or not. Whilst the addition expands upon the repertoire on offer for gamers, and certainly adds a further nod to realistic football, there is a question mark over whether the technique (and extra button) will just over-complicate the art of shooting...

Each player in FIFA will also have a statistical breakdown of their skills, split into six areas: Long Shooting, Passing, Finishing, Speed, Defending, and Crossing. Displayed with the use of 'Pro Evo' charts, so that gamers will be able to see the strengths and weaknesses of each player in their team. The chart also appears during the matches themselves, thumbnailed to the side of a player's name, though whether showing such a small image of the chart on screen is particularly beneficial is something that'll have to be seen. Key players will also have access to signature moves, though the feature of flick-ons, over the head balls, and other such uber-skills are being toned down for the ordinary players. Performing tricks are being made more challenging to achieve so it won't be a matter of just shifting the direction of the right-thumbstick either.

Sitting down to play a few games of this new-look FIFA, the initial experience is that it's much more free-flowing, with the pinball passing of yesteryear noticeably worked on; players now seem to be a bit more active in trying to find space rather than just wait for the ball to be played to them. There's much more of an emphasis on build-up play too, with gamers encouraged to go through the midfield rather than just perform runs along the wings, cross the ball into the box, and score. EA are desperately trying to create a game that feels like football, rather than being just a videogame of the sport, and making the gameplay much more open will undoubtedly help to achieve that goal.

If there's a term that seems integral to this year's instalment of the series, it's 'Glory and Shame', something that instils the emotional highs and lows that every football fan will recognise. Taking a new angle in terms of art direction, EA Canada will be mixing different lighting and camera techniques with the aim of bringing the concept to life; replays and player reactions will be enhanced according to whether the team is performing well or not - a desaturated colour palette and a downward looking camera for one, and over-saturated upwards pointing camera for the other...you can probably work out which one is for which circumstance.

In addition, crowd audio will also be enhanced to tie into the glory and shame characteristics of FIFA 07. Layering cheers and chants together to sound like a crowd of thousands has obviously been a part of FIFA for a number of years now, but like the art direction, EA is implementing some changes. For instance, home crowds will begin to boo their team if they're losing a match; finding themselves in the lead of an important match however will cause them to cheer or "Olé" when their side completes a successful pass.

Away from the actual game of football, one of the key features being touted by EA for this year's efforts is the Interactive League, supported in the Xbox, PlayStation2 and PC versions of the title. Following this year's Premiership fixture list, Interactive Leagues allow players to decide who wins the virtual league by matchmaking fans on the same weekend that the real world teams will be playing. So for example, if Manchester United are playing Everton, playing the Interactive League online will mean that gamers who are fans of those two teams will find themselves matched up. At the end of the weekend, EA collates and calculates all of the results, and awards the points to the winning team.

There's only one Premiership table across the three formats however, so losing heavily in a game could have disastrous consequences for the teams. Whilst on one level, the idea of Interactive Leagues seem like a neat idea, the practicalities of it working after FIFA's release are a little more vague. How much power does a player actually wield in reality, and can gamers switch their favourite team and sabotage rival? Interactive Leagues will also be supporting the German Bundesliga, the French Premier division, and the Mexican 1st Division, but don't be surprised to see an expansion of leagues in future years if the feature is a success in FIFA 07.

Following the footsteps of other franchises, such as THQ's WWE Smackdown vs. RAW, FIFA 07 will feature profile compatibility between the PlayStation2 and PSP versions. Allowing gamers to transfer their team to Sony's portable system means that players will be able to grow their skills through the portable's mini-games before taking them back to the PS2 version. Whilst such functionality is a neat addition, the question has to be asked as to whether there'll be many gamers prepared to spend nearly £60 on both versions of the game just to take advantage of it.