FIFA Soccer 07 Review (360)

"Earlier this month, I took a look at the latest release on the PS2 from EA Sports and their FIFA series – FIFA 07. To give you the Cliff’s Notes version, I liked it; I liked it a lot. No sports gaming series, over the last three or four years, has consistently improved in my eyes like this series. While I am the first to admit that this may have something to do with my growing appreciation for the sport itself, from a gaming aspect, it’s hard to argue that the games have improved as well.

Having burned the midnight oil on the PS2 version, I was excited to get the full version of FIFA 07 on the Xbox 360, after tinkering with the demo for a few weeks. I did spend some time with both of the previous 360 releases in the FIFA series and felt that neither one really stood up to their “last gen” counterparts. So, needless to say, I was skeptical that it would hold up to the level of enjoyment that I got on the PS2 version.

For those of you who have played the PS2 version, or at least took the time to read my review, I’m happy to say that I found the same solid new physics and AI that made that version so appealing. You really get a great feeling that the ball is an independent entity on the pitch and not merely an extension of the person controlling it. The ball doesn’t feel like it has AI – it feels like a ball. It doesn’t make logical moves, it makes ball moves. It’s a hurling, rolling, bouncing thing. It’s not supposed to behave in a black and white manner (despite its color). FIFA 07 has finally passed the competition in this area."