[wade moore]

I'm surprised there's not more discussion on this.

I just got FIFA 10 on Monday because a friend kept pushing me.

He introduced me to this "Ultimate Team" mode. It is RIGHT up my alley.

For a description:

FIFA 10 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ultimate Team

On 1 December 2009, EA Sports announced that the Ultimate Team game mode expansion that was introduced in FIFA 09 would be released in February 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. Like the previous version, the mode allows for the creation of a custom team based on the collection of various types of cards. The expansion was released on 25 February 2010.^{[citation needed]}, and featured new PlayStation Network Trophies and Xbox Live Achievements for FIFA 10. It costs 400 MS Points/$4.99/€4.99/£3.99.^[15]
The mode is an update to the Ultimate Team mode from FIFA 09. Users who owned the original Ultimate Team were given two free Gold packs after creating their team, along with a date below the teams name to show the year the team was founded. Like the original, each team is given a full team of players to begin with, along with a stadium, emblem and a home and away kit. New players, staff and items can be purchased from the 6 different pack types available, split into three categories(Gold, Silver and Bronze), or by trading with other users by bidding on cards they are opting to sell, offering them deals or buying them for a specific price. The in-game currency is coins, which are awarded for playing games, playing in tournaments or trading with other users. Bonus coins are awarded for completing different requirements, such as winning a game, being awarded Man of the Match and for possession and passing accuracy. The card packs for Ultimate Team still have basic Bronze Packs (500 coins), Silver Packs (2500 coins) and Gold Packs (5000 Coins), but now also have a bonus pack in each category, called Premium Packs, costing slightly more coins (Bronze cost 750, Silver cost 3250 and Gold cost 7500) but giving 3 rare cards, instead of the 1 given in basic packs.
Like the old Ultimate Team, to keep your players on your squad you must give them contracts. However, unlike last year, players who run out of contracts are rendered unplayable until a contract is applied to them, rather that being removed from your team altogether. Contracts can be found in packs or bought in the trading section. Unlike the old Ultimate Team, players can now store an unlimited amount of players, stadiums, staff members, kits and emblems, to use whenever they need to. The Trading section has also been improved, allowing improved searching and a watch list, to keep track of certain items.

I'm LOVING it so far. Now, I'm not a soccer guy at ALL so there may be some nuances that are bad that i don't get, but I am enjoying it as just a game as well. And this Ultimate Team is enough to keep me interested with things changing, goals to get, etc. I was telling my friend it's like having an online league without having to stress about deadlines, etc.