One of the biggest complaints about lots of the 2007-season EA Sports titles was that many of the games, while above par, still paled in comparison to the fully-featured current-gen games on Xbox and PS2. FIFA 07 next-gen, while better than the two other 360 titles that preceded it, couldn't really touch the online virtual leagues and ball physics of the current-gen title. That in mind, it's relieving to know that FIFA 07's PS2 producer, Joe Booth, is on board for this new installment.
We got to sit in on a demo with both Booth and producer Gary Patterson during our studio visit, and while we didn't get to see much in the way of on-the-pitch action (the game is pre-alpha), we like what they're talking about in regard to their plans for the game. We also got a good idea of the production process that EA Canada goes through each year for the franchise.
First, Booth showed us a chart delineating the results of a FIFA 07 team post-mortem. Generally, the team was happy with its work in regard to physics and player dribbling, but felt that areas ranging from passing and shooting to personality and set pieces all needed varying degrees of improvement. These goals have been used to get 08 up to par on similar fronts. For the most part, it sounds like the plan going forward will involve implementation of the current-gen engine's best elements, such as ball spin, shooting arcs, bounce and kick power.
Perennial UK cover star Rooney jukes past Mikel.
Secondly, Booth showed off a chart with the league rosters. Unlike the fairly limited leagues of 07 for Xbox 360, you can expect the full range of leagues that were available in the PS2/Xbox/GameCube game to make their way to the 360/PS3 game this year. It looks like the Vancouver team will also be unveiling one more league down the line. The rosters for the new game have gone up in population from FIFA 07 for PS2 by 20% to 15,000 players in total, which, on Booth's scale of comparison, puts them at 13,000 more than Madden 08, 14,500 more than NBA Live 08, and 13,800 more than rival PES. When someone asked about how the devs manage to get the faces for 15,000 players, Booth replied that a user base creates faces for the smaller teams and submits them to the EA Canada database. No word on how you can sign up for that, however.
With that, Booth fired up a sampling of the game; in this case, it was the menu screen that FIFA 07 owners should recognize. With Ronaldinho onscreen, Booth demonstrated exactly how the team's planning to implement these new features. While soccer gamers have spent years getting a feel for quickly tapping the shoot button to rattle off a quick one (much to co-attendant Patrick's chagrin, I constantly referred to it as "the love tap"), FIFA 08 aims to totally re-do that. If you're taking a shot with no pressure on you from the defense, then you'll have to hold down the button to get some power-up time. Instead of worrying about hitting the bar, you'll have to really push the shoot button to get some power for that wide-open shot. In a way, it also adds to the challenge of getting off a good shot when you're not guarded.
