Just a few things I was wondering about with regard to this game.
General Gameplay Why is playing against the computer completely unrealistic in many senses?
It's not that it's too hard it's just that it's too hard in certain ludicrous and spectacularly irritating ways.
Mad pressure all over the park and it generally takes two tackles to get the ball off AI controlled players. They also all seem to have the capacity to be ridiculously strong and fast as well as pass overly quickly and accurately. It seems that in striving to make the game harder at the top level that any of the personality+ stuff is completely forgotten and anyone you come up against has perfect attributes at certain points. The worst aspect of this is that when you score a goal it somehow seems that the computer has allowed you to and this results in it feeling completely hollow.
The most annoying part of the gameplay, however, is the way things are in the final third of the pitch both against the computer and when playing someone else. There was a real element of what I am about to describe in the last game and I was hoping that it would be eradicated in fifa 11 but instead they've inexplicably made it much, much worse.
Basically, as a defender it is far too easy to deal with an attacker coming towards you. Because there is no element of timing tackles the majority of the time all you have to do is be near them and bash the X button until you have the ball. In real football the defender will generally back off and try and pick their moment because if they commit themselves then the attacker will be able to get a run on them and have the whole defence on the back foot. The way it is in the Fifa results in defenders easily killing attacks and making the game a bit boring. Essentially the the user should be able to have more influence on where the defender specifically aims a tackle but should only really have one opportunity to do so as they will be caught out otherwise. This is the main way that small fast attackers like Messi generally beat big lumbering morons like John Terry but in this game because Messi has such a poor strength attribute and he has one chance to go by someone like * Terry while he has multiple opportunities to recover. Even if you manage to get a bit of run on with the attacker the defender can then somehow slow him down down simply by running directly behind him; why this happens I just don't know.
Making it less easy to defend is the only way to make the skill moves useful in the game, which are also in themselves a bit poor. To be honest though I think all of this is a consequence of the ball not being 'loose enough': i.e. adequately independent from the player controlling it
Other questions include: Why can't I control one of my centre backs in the six yard box at corners? (You know, the tall guys that would be quite good at heading the ball away and who are generally standing where it's going to come in)
Why can't I choose to put people on the post at a corners when there is option to create attacking set pieces?
Why is there not more playable space between a player and a goalkeeper? i.e. a loose ball played between attacker a and goalkeeper where the attacker can slide and potentially reach the ball and direct it towards goal or possibly foul the goalkeeper. Same for a crosses like Kenwyne Jones's legitimate goal against Ben Foster at Old Trafford last year. (If that situation happened in this game Foster would easily catch the ball and Jones would stop dead in a robotic trance)
In this same vein - why is there an invisible force-field around the goalkeeper when it's in his hands? You should be able to slide the goalkeeper if you want. I also think this would immediately stop people quitting online. For better or for worse
Why can't I add extra players to my wall at free kicks? You could this in Michael Owen Soccer 98 on the Playstation so why is it not in this?
Why are players set up incorrectly at kick-off? You will not see a game of football in the world where the team who are not kicking off don't have two players standing on the half way line at the extremity of the centre circle.
Why is online mode absolutely worthless? (On PS3 anyway, not played it on xbox so don't know.) Constant fouls go unpunished to the point it is just a joke. Problems I mentioned with defender multiplied tenfold online. Bigger, stronger, taller team (Chelsea, Inter, Chelsea, Real) almost always wins unless the person playing with them is utterly incompetent.
Why is creation centre also worthless? Was really hoping this would be good but is just not. Why can't I use existing players (Base Copy them like in Pro Ev 4,5,6) and make Continental selects for Europe, South America etc.
-Why can't I import a club badge/sponsor/kit manufacturer from a different source rather than use the unbelievably generic ones on offer?
-Why are there not more kit design options
-Why can't I use an official club stadium as their home ground? If I wanted to make a classic team for instance. (In fact, this goes for general in game use as well. I see no reason I should be able to allocate Benfica the Emirates for example, as they look very similar)
-Why no stadium builder?
-Why couldn't I enter a team in an official league
Why does editing anything in any way make the career mode crash when you try and make changes to your squad? I like to move a few players around before playing in career mode just to make it a bit more interesting; apparently I'm not allowed.
If you have all the licences for the national teams for the World Cup game why the hell aren't there more than the pitiful selection in Fifa 11?
Why when I change clubs allocated stadiums/stadium names do they always, always just disappear?
Why can't I edit the name of in game unofficial tournaments (Change the name of Champions Cup and Euro League)?
Why can't I allocate entrance music/ball to a specific tournament?
-EA really messed up in not getting the right for the European club competitions and they fact that you can't alter them is even more annoying.
Why get rid of international matches in player career?
Why is the virtual pro single player mode so utterly awful?
What's with all the bugs?
I also feel it is important to say that addressing even one of these issues is more important than introducing the be a goalkeeper mode, which could also in itself have been better.
Still the best footbal game/any type game out mind you. Just could have been much, much better.
|||You are not alone. There's quite a few of us who share your opinions.
It's a good game but some ridiculous and stupid B.S. really hold this game back, like over-powered defending. Oh, and the bugs.
This game is close, oh so close, but still not quite where it should be.|||My club was on an unbeaten record when suddenly in one game i got disconnected from the ea servers even though i wasnt lagging and the connection was fine in the game. we accepted it tried another game and the same thing happened!
Why does it do this?
SORT IT OUT|||Whilst this years Fifa Manager Mode is a vast improvement on last years & the year before, I wonder if anyone else has noticed the fixtures you get at the start of the season? In my 2 seasons in the prem lge so far my fixtures were very hard in a sense I had to play the following in this order (home & away), Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Chelsea, Aston Villa, then I noticed the lge table at the end of the season was then translated into my fixtures for the next season, so with the exception of the relegated teams I was playing my seasons fixtures in the order the teams finished the season before...anyone else?
In addition why when you play 1st rounds in the domestic cup do I always get drawn against the top teams, that is every season, I always get liverpool in the 1st round I play in for both fa & lge cup games, then If I'm lucky enough to beat them I then get Man Utd, then Chelsea...every season in that order
Transfers, why when you get the message that a certain player has been transfer listed, when you go to have a look he's not even in the transfer list or when you search the actual team putting him up for transfer you can't even see him in the squad line up at all, example being Anelka, transfer listed on the main screen, had a look couldn't find him nor in the chelsea line up, however when I got to play them in the next couple of games from that, Anelka came off the bench...
Defending at corners or crosses, why do the AI always get the advantage even if the laws of gravity are in your favour, i.e. I've taken up a position in front of the attacker to defend or head out the ball, my timing is fine b4 anyone suggests otherwise, yet they always seem to get the header 1st & it appears your defender hasn't even made an attempt to get to the ball, this is also the case when I attack too, easy goal route everytime...answers on a postcard please|||I agree with a lot of the things posted in this thread sadly. I've written on several threads about how the game suffers from a large amount of what I call gamesmanship in favour of the CPU. I've played nearly 3 seasons of Career Mode and apart from the Cup bug (drawn against the same teams every year), I have yet to have an opponent receive a red card against me ever.
Every team always attacks straight down the middle from kick off, and somehow CPU players running full pelt in one direction can recover a ball pushed behind them faster than my player who is facing the correct way?
As the OP stated even when you do get past a defender 9 times out of 10 they end up somehow leaning on your back from behind, which looks suspiciously like they're pulling you back? Since they're clearly making no contact with the ball and not even shoulder to shoulder, how is this not a foul and as last man in many cases a straight red?
Add to that the fact that the CPU can stick its player body parts through your own players to win tackles without being called up for a foul and the whole system is totally floored.
It is sad as the overall game is generally moving in the right direction, but in an attempt to either make it harder or add some "fake tension" into the proceedings, they've produced a game that breaks it's own rules as well as the laws of the game.
Also the orange ball still isn't that visible in the snow.|||Yeah defending it's too easy. Run side to side and one time or another, the defender will auto tackle, there not even the need to push X.
Yesterday I had 3 friends coming over to play 2vs2, I was tied with the less skilled one to make things fair, he was sliding nonsense all over the place, I told him don't slide, don't press anything just follow the attacker, as we got too many bookings and sent off and I got really mad at him, guess what? an unskilled whatever guy became Beckenbauer. He never got passed again if he just trailed the attacker and let the CPU choose the right time to pull the leg to push the ball off of the defender.|||I agree tackling is way too easy. The tackle should only happen when you press the button, rather than holding and waiting until the AI tackles for you. Also, a lot of the skill moves are really lame, especially body feints and stepovers. The stepovers are so slow that they're virtually useless, and the Ronaldo chop (the one where you use the right analog) is pretty bad too. Also, a lot of the time when I want to pull a fake shot my player ends up shooting regardless for some reason.|||Totally agree with your post regarding fifa 11. I always know when i am gonna score or conceed a few seconds before it happens. You know the CPU will either have a jammy deflection or a simple 3 yard pass goes astray lol. Also when you have a corner or are defending a corner,the ball always fall to the CPU. EA will always come out with its all down to us or it is down to wrong tactics etc,but i dont think all those tactics etc make a difference as ive one tournamnets playing same system all the time. I would love it if a independent programmer could get his hands on fifa 11 and go through the code to prove alot of the game is scripted,but that aint gonna happen|||its been pretty much the same story every year with fifa this gen, at least since fifa 09 on my ps3. Always comes out with a half broken game in the fall and then patch it in january or so. I'm used to it, this year before i got mine and while friends had it the first thing I messaged them was "What needs to be patched?"
Anyway my two biggest complaints with this version so far are OFFSIDES which is a major one. Ref keeps calling back gameplay for players in offside positions that didn't even come into play. Don't know if it is by design since last year it was too perfect and they are trying to add some "human error" but it gets pretty ridiculous. Next up is player names, tired of Squillaci being called Englehart, whoever that is.
Another problem I had with my Club is in a cup final we were winning the other team quit late on, we were awarded the win, and recognition in game, but the PS3 trophy didn't unlock.|||I really think the game needs a new engine?
It's looking rather dated at times, and the stuttering is bad.|||My God, can you please fix the OFFSIDE problem. Your player doesn't even have to be near the ball for the ref to call the play back. This is ridiculous, unless you're playing soccer in Afghanistan the referee shouldn't make this kind of mistake. PLEASE oh please fix this horrendous problem.
|||:) glad its just not me then lol|||i cant wait to be honest. im really looking forward to Be a Goalkeeper because thats my natural position. but im going to hate the noobs who ruin it in Pro ranked matches.