FIFA 07 (GameCube) Review

FIFA 07 is simply the finest iteration of the franchise ever created. Not only does it look great, sound great and have an atmosphere unlike any football game ever created, but it doesn't play half bad either. Gameplay has always been the stumbling block of the FIFA franchise. Every version sees something else focused on, be it long balls, first touch, running off the ball, shooting, ball physics or something totally irrelevant and tedious that nobody cares about like custom crowd chanting. However, this year it would seem that EA have splashed the development talent and gone all out to create a football game that is finally worthy of the most beautiful of all games.

The advertising slogan (cumbersome as it may be) is "this is the season," with EA looking to pack in a whole load of new features, new gameplay elements and exciting things to get every footie fan foaming at the mouth with delight. The most impressive addition is undoubtedly the first touch mechanic that has been extensively employed to fantastic effect. Now as a striker you can beat the defender at blistering pace simply by flicking the C-Stick in the desired direction. The further you push it, the bigger the touch; simple. You can do it with headers, chest control or with your feet as you pick your way through the defence, as well being able to use the flick-on to hoof the ball on goal kicks.

In terms of skills there are all sorts of things you can do. You can perform step-overs, lane-changes, dummy-moves, faking a shot when one on one with the keeper to make him fall over before calmly chipping the ball into the net, setting up one-twos to split up the defence and many more. The player movements and the ball physics are better than ever before and for once passing isn't as simple as it was before. Now you have to think about the pace of the pass, direct it perfectly, get the player to make the right run to pick up the ball and at the end of it all do it all over again to make an intricate and flowing attack. But you don't have to do everything, the computer AI is better than ever meaning that the other players on your team that are out of your control will make intelligent runs into space, move across defenders and even do decoy runs to move defenders away from you allowing you to carry the ball forward from the centre of midfield and unleash a powerful drive.

Defending too is a fine art, the computer really mixes up its playing style, pummelling you with crosses, clever tricks and shots from outside of the area to provide a genuine challenge. Whilst we would say that the computer in general is a little bit predictable (we can win on World Class mode without too much trouble most of the time), it does offer a fairly decent challenge and will keep you amply amused through the various game modes. You can play single season tournaments like the Premiership or cup competitions like the FA Cup, with options available from different leagues all over the world. Outside of this there is Manager Mode which allows you to take control of a particular club, sign players, manage finances, manage your squad and generally play about with all sorts of basic managerial shenanigans.

The game really comes to life in multiplayer mode and there is loads of fun to be had. The game itself creates a fantastic atmosphere with the commentary, visuals and sound all coming together to make a great experience when playing with a few mates. Thanks to the new comprehensive gameplay system the style of football is both realistic and intense; exactly how it should be. When 90 minutes approaches and you are winning the crowd starts whistling and screaming for full time, if you're winning by quite a few goals and full time is close by, keeping the ball and passing it around for prolonged periods of time makes the crowd cheer every touch of the football. It is little things like this that make the whole experience really good fun. Like we said, throw in some mates and some 'non-alcoholic beverages' and you have a really great title that will keep everyone entertained.