Viva la FIFA

Disclaimer: Although I really enjoy soccer, I'm still learing the game. These impressions are based upon my less-than-intermediate knowledge of the sport, so those of you with more experience and understanding my have some different opinions. If so, please feel to offer your thoughts in the comments section!

I've put in about 3-4 hours with FIFA 06, and I must say, I think this is shaping up to be the finest version of EA's FIFA that I've ever played. Yes, it's still the little brother of Winning Eleven in terms of gameplay, but it is definitely improving. Add in the off-the-field stuff that WE lacks - specifically, licenses (yes, I'm a license whore), and online play - and I think FIFA is a nice compliment to any soccer lover's collection.

The biggest change is that your teammates and opponents appear to behave much more naturally and realistically this year. Your defenders will creep up into the attack. The opponent will seek you out defensively, as opposed to standing still until you run into their "zone of coverage." Also, the set pieces appear less like structured one-on-one contests and more like team plays, and the defenders scramble to get the ball out of the penalty area. Goal kicks still don't travel as far as I think they should, but maybe it's just that I need to improve my understanding of the power meter. Given the six pages of instruction in the manual, I'm pretty sure I still have a lot to learn with the controls. At least EA included a practice mode, and about 1 minute's worth of tutorials (why can't they do something like NCAA Football '06? I digress.).

FIFA really falls short of WE on the pitch in two main areas, in my humble opinion. First of all, the ball just doesn't move as freely as it does in WE, especially when using the through ball to kick the ball into space. It still seems like a string is attached to the ball, to some degree. Also, although FIFA has decent player control options with First Touch, the Pace button, and the Move Stick, it still doesn't seem as uninhibited as WE. WE just has more move combinations available, and I think it does a better job of limiting what the lesser players can do with the ball on their foot.

It's still early in the game, and I have no idea how well balanced it is, but so far, I'm liking it. The 15 year career mode is very enticing to me, and I can also play out the World Cup by creating a knockout tournament, so with a little effort, I won't need to purchase a whole new version of FIFA as I get caught up in the World Cup frenzy. For $39 new, I think I'm going to get my money's worth.