A fine performance from one of the genre's finest series.

 

FIFA 10 was a crowning achievement for EA Sports' soccer series when it launched last year. It took massive steps forward in both gameplay and feature set design, and while FIFA 11 doesn't quite pack the same mammoth punch of its predecessor, there's little doubt that this year's entry builds modestly on the series' rock-solid foundation.

 

FIFA has always been about delivering the most realistic depiction of the sport of soccer. FIFA 10 brought us 360-degree dribbling for the first time, which was a huge improvement over the traditional eight directions. We also got Virtual Pro, a feature that allowed you to create a player, put him on a team, and then watch him progress as you used him in any of the game's modes. Bringing the physicality of soccer to the forefront on-screen is another longstanding tradition for the series and one that FIFA 11 takes to the next level with something called Personality Plus.

 

Personality Plus doesn't just mean that players are going to display authentic emotions on the field. It's more that players that you know and love will look, run, shoot, dribble and react to physical interactions authentically. The best part? Personality Plus actually works for the big name guys of the sport. Some of the lesser-known players don't get the same treatment, and I'd love to be able to develop or assign traits to my created player, but for now Personality Plus impresses. If you're a mainstream soccer fan who only tunes in for the World Cup every few years, the benefits of Personality Plus might be lost on your lacking knowledge of the prominent soccer stars of the world.