FIFA 11 Details Revealed

Did you think the guys over at EA were going to sit on their laurels while Konami got everyone excited about 2011? Well think again. EA sports have come out kicking and screaming with a bunch of additions that will be making it into FIFA 11 and apparently they have been listening to requests (hmm, seem to be hearing that more and more lately). “What’s new?”, I hear you ask. The two main additions that have been anounced go by the names “Personality+” and “Pro Passing”, which might sound a bit mundane, but lets hear them out.

Hit the jump for more detail information.

Firstly, in response to the complaint that there was very little to differentiate each individual player on the pitch outside of the four key attributes, shot power, strength, speed and acceleration, EA Canada have given us Personality+. Now the heap of seemingly unused statistics that each player possesses along with some new ones will be recognised and taken into account during gameplay for each player. This means you should be able to spot Lionel Messi a mile off, not only because in FIFA 11 player likenesses have been improved but because his on screen representation should move like the man himself. EA have stated that there will be a grand total of 36 sttributes and 57 traits to define each player including, time it takes between touches, the length of stride and the ability to link multiple turns together.

Seems like Arshavin got a haircut, nice buzz cut!

If you thought this change would only be affecting FIFA’s attacking play you would be wrong as the new addition should also have a positive effect on defence. EA have acknowledged that defensive play might not have been the strongest aspect of the FIFA series and are striving to correct the problem. The main criticism that FIFA fans were throwing around was that it was hard to differentiate between defending with a striker or an actual defender. This should be corrected in the latest installment.

Next we have Pro Passing and while it is more of a sub-category of Personality+ it should make a welcomed addition to the series. The Pro Passing system is being introduced into the series as a way of combating the “ping-pong” style of passing that you would find in FIFA if you play it on any setting other than manual. This has been implemented by firstly giving the player a power bar which will determine the strength of your pass and will also provide feedback after the pass is executed. Meaning that if you under-hit your pass it will have every chance of still reaching its target but will travel at a slower pace affording your opponent the chance to intercept it. The power bar will then update and show you the optimum pass strength. The next part of the pass system update includes adapting the “error” system that is already being used in FIFA any time you take a shot. Factors like ball pressure and right or wrong footedness will affect the outcome of a pass making it harder to successfully execute first time passes without a certain proficiency in the aforementioned Personality+ statistics.

Nani, will he pass, shoot or (as usual) fail?!

There have been a few other minor improvements announced by EA this time around including the addition of net customisation and the ability to toggle on handballs in FIFA 11. There are two settings for the latter, with penalties and without. Corner kicks are said to be more diverse now too, players now have to read the ball trajectory rather than knowing it in advance and that may well lead to more David James-esque keeper blunders. We have finally been given the ability to save replays locally both from offline and online matches, meaning you can now save those spectacular moments directly to your hard drive for bragging rights.

The new additions don’t end there though, how does audio customisation sound? The ability to add your own audio is a novel, if superficial idea, that basically enables you to add context sensitive sounds to the game. After ripping the sound to you console of choice you can then assign them to individual leagues and/or teams. It’s unclear whether you’ll be able to upload chants to be played during actual gameplay, but at the very least you’ll be able to hear your favourite chant when you choose your preferred team.

Rooney, looking to take on Man City himself.

The penalty system from the recently released 2010 FIFA World Cup game will be making a comeback in FIFA 11 along with the frowned upon two button control system, which for the life of me I can’t understand the purpose of. Unfortunately, not everything was kept from 2010 FIFA World Cup has been kept intact as keepers return to their “rush off the line” (albeit not quite as bad) happy selves, but FIFA 11 has found a new way of combating the problem through contextual error in the chip mechanic. This means your going to have to be that much more skilful when trying to chip the keeper to score.

No new details were revealed about Manager Mode or Be a Pro but with E3 around the corner expect some new information soon so stay tuned to GodisaGeek.com and as usual we will keep you updated.

For more screenshots in glorious high definition, click here.

FIFA 11 ships on every platform known to man this Autumn.