FIFA 11 Demo Impressions XBOX360/PS3

I was really disappointed.

Firstly I was a full manual/ mostly manual and some semi on Fifa 10 and WC. i'm not a world beater, but a good enough player

I played the demo on professional, but I do not know what control settings to set to enjoy it.

- Dribbling seemed very hard even with Messi and Ronaldo.

- Passing seems slow?

- No time on the ball still

- Seems you need to "play football" to open space and chances, but the game doesn't allow you due to all the pressure. To me its more prounonced that Fifa 10. Probably because i played and loved the PES 11 demo despite not liking PES since PES 6. You have to play that like proper football. Not the type of football and way of playing Fifa seems to make you play to be successful. If that makes sense.

- Graphics and presentation i can't fault.


I played 7 games last night, and even turned it off after 2 as i didnt like it. Kept with it, and finally scored a goal in my 7th game, a header from a corner by Khedira.

I hope it gets much better as it hasn't grabbed me. Longer halves are a must IMO
 
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Yeh I'm having no problem burning past defenders with the faster players now I'm using that, and making sure I just stay enough distance so they can't touch.
 
Placebo said:
No idea sorry :(

The facebook app does only take like 10 mins though
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I unlocked Emirates Stadium after just playing ten games?

Anyways drekkard I agree with many of those flaws but I'm not bothered with the passing anymore as the lower pace is a definite plus and I can still hit those long, low-ish passes by using R1+:square:
 
So I had the chance to play the demo on the first night and have to say I was very impressed. Of course there are a few niggling issues like too much jockeying but I have to say, as someone who traded in FIFA 10 after like 6 weeks, this demo is great.

I've seen some of the negativity about pro passing but I don't think you can "get it" over the course of a few games. Remember, we are playing teams on the demo that have great traits in terms of passing for the most part so you won't see much error.

Everything else has been covered, but one thing about pro passing I noticed straight away is that when I would pass a ball with too much power and take the ball with the player passed to on a first touch move, that player would push the ball way far out and lose it. The more power I used in the pass, the more error there was on the take...

I have only played on semi but the AI defense is much improved and some of my own attacking team mates made awesome runs in and around the defense to get in on goal.

Love this demo, can't wait to buy the full thing with new CM.


By the way, how many new animations are there with keeper on saves and penalties? It's awesome...
 
I don't understand ANYONE claiming "Pro Passing" actually does anything. I have played FIFA since 08 now and my biggest gripe was the ping pong passing element that this iteration supposedly fixed with "Pro Passing." It does NOTHING to stop ping pong passing, I don't even have to look at the power bar. Maybe as a fully manual player on FIFA 10, it negates the supposed skill "Pro Passing" allegedly applies. I have almost no difference. I can still string farcical 1 touch passes together with consumate ease, never having to look at the passing gauge EVER.

"Personality+" is another big feature, again as most are saying, it does barely anything. It feels marginally different controlling Messi, Ronaldo etc... but technical players like Xavi and Fabregas are basically as effective as Alex Song and Sergio Busquets. Awful.

Game speed is another gripe. Anyone claiming it's "Spot on" must have NEVER EVER watched a game of football. Even on slow it's ridiculously fast in comparison to real life. It's appalling. Watch a football match, then flick between the match and the FIFA demo, theres an IMMENSE difference in speed. FIFA players move, turn and run at unbelievably high speed. It's bizarre.

AI is yet another downfall. The attacking AI constantly uses skill moves, it's boring and predictable now. Not to mention unrealistic when I see Ballack doing multiple roulettes and tricks in a 3 minute match. Terribly predictable and totally unrealistic, and yet more evidence P+ is a load of bull.

Defensively it's worse, a step up from FIFA 10 sure, but awful nonetheless. I'm exposing the CPU defensively time after time, in the same, or similar fashion I could on FIFA 10. This makes goals repetitive and hollow. I don't feel any sense of achievement when scoring.

FIFA 11 still seems to favour physical attributes over technical attributes. If a player is strong and fast, he's a God.

Otherwise it's a good game, animations are superb, graphics are vastly improved particularly up close, although colours are extremely vivid. Shooting, has improved alot, heading is brilliant and the 360 jostling is fantastic.

Overall I feel FIFA 11 flatters too deceive. The fluid animations and overall smoothness seem to blind certain people from obvious faults and essentially hollow gameplay.

Overall I'd give it a 7/10. I feel let down by EA, hugely. The poor AI alone has already convinced me Career mode will be yet another stroll in the park, winning consecutive titles with Dagenham.

Looks like i'll be mostly on PES this year. But rest assured, i'll be buying FIFA like the sucker I am in the hope the final game is better. It must be.

EDIT: Just to ad, dribbling is awful, not as good as the new PES game, and the 90mins of constant pressure is still an issue.
 
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Playing me Juve v AI Leverkusen, rematch after rematch to get used to the teams, loads more time and space than v some of the other teams, much slower match, time to pick and choose passes.

Weak foot seems to make much more of a difference in 11, especially with first time passes, trying to switch flanks with a long ball from your fullback using his wrong foot usually does not end well!
 
Placebo said:
Playing me Juve v AI Leverkusen, rematch after rematch to get used to the teams, loads more time and space than v some of the other teams, much slower match, time to pick and choose passes.

Weak foot seems to make much more of a difference in 11, especially with first time passes, trying to switch flanks with a long ball from your fullback using his wrong foot usually does not end well!
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So true. You should try playing with the reserves, opens up a new dimension in the demo and gives you some insight in who to loan in your future CM. :)
 
JGlover769 said:
lol.

I realise I'm not going to win because you failed to tackle Iniesta with Chiellini and you're angry about it. It's ok just watch the tutorial and learn the game.

I suppose I must apologise on behalf of FIFA upsetting you. Sorry.
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Problem is, CPU Iniesta won't have any problem barging Chiellini off the ball. Or Xavi v Song.
 
Rodelero said:
Yeh I'm having no problem burning past defenders with the faster players now I'm using that, and making sure I just stay enough distance so they can't touch.
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Using what? I'm not having problems getting past people as much as staying past people - there seems little advantage to beating your man, at least on legendary, cause they recover lightning quick and are awesome at tackling (read: barging) from behind!

Ea seem to have reduced sprint speed to such a point as being useless, while what's the point of having analog sprint if the diff between min and max is so small?
 
mfmaxpower said:
Using what? I'm not having problems getting past people as much as staying past people - there seems little advantage to beating your man, at least on legendary, cause they recover lightning quick and are awesome at tackling (read: barging) from behind!

Ea seem to have reduced sprint speed to such a point as being useless, while what's the point of having analog sprint if the diff between min and max is so small?
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Flicking the R3. It gives you space to run full pelt.
 
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Both of you guys should post your impressions on the official forums and PM them to the devs as they are as near perfect summaries of issues with the demo as you'll find (I've bolded most important points to me):

drekkard said:
Played like 20 or 30 games with the demo. When everything works well, it can be a real delight, but those moments of brilliance doesn't serve as a make-up for the shortcomings of the sim aspect. It's exactly what I expected, Fifa 10 with some touches but not moving at all, and though technically and artistically a good work (presentation is finally great), it falls too short on the aspects that matter to me.

Too many things still wrong in the game:

- As tiktiktik says, the slow passing feels like a choppy code to fix something else. It's blatantly crap and unacceptable at this age. Besides, there's the problem of range. You can't put the ball out of bounds from one side of the field to the other side (in a vertical direction, like from RB to LB), even if you power it to the max the ball does even bounce before arriving there! Lazy casual programming.

- The game is still a tackling fest in close spaces. There's still no 2quick feet" that allow Iniesta to get past a player without resorting to quickly turns with L2. And even with slow dribbling, you almost never can't wrongfoot a player at all and most of the times they can even tackle you from behind or while you get past them. Yes, 5% of the times there's a foul called. But I really think they should completely work this from scratch. When someone comes sprinting to you, most of the times you simply can't move aside to dribble him.

- There are practically no interceptions, again. You recover the ball or loose it when someone puts you to the ground or runs at full pelt towards you.

- Strength is overdone again. Football is not players falling to the floor again, again and again.

- Practically no stats involved in first touch. Ouch.

- CPU AI doesn't play much combination football, they simply dribble and quick turn with impunity and disregarding physic laws until they feel they have to pass by some unknown reason. All CPU teams play exactly the same patterns. Tricks are abused by the cpu in the most unexpected situations.

- Speed catching up (hey, that's the way to solve those too many 1 vs 1!!!) if you don't use the R3. It shouldn't be this way.

- Personality my ass. There's (again) only speed and strength to overcome your opponent. They have hyped up very slightly some creative players simply by making them turn faster and run faster (Iniesta, Xavi) than last year.

- AI runs are... primitive. Your mates will run forward or to the wrong direction, not detecting and using the gaps. Hard to see any diagonal run that cuts the defense, even with the best players in the pitch.

- Deffensive AI still not 100% fixed. Idiot defenders breaking the offside line again and again by no reason, midfield "hole" is there still and strikers now can't receive alone not because they improved defenders AI but because they made them less aware and active. Many times my forwards simply go to do absurd runs far from the ball by no reason.

- Tactics doesn't impact the game at all. Very shallow water here... just like last year.

- Still to see if there's any stamina model involved (impossible to see in 3 mins).

- 3 mins demo is an insult to the public.

There are a lot of pros, actually (lighting, animations, models, shooting is utterly brilliant, nets, etc..) but the BASICS are exactly like last year. It plays the same run forward and tackle football, because if you really try to build up and use your brain it doesn't carry you far enough. You can't create chances by simply outsmarting your opponent or by employing tactics.

I'm still undecided about buying it. I know I will enjoy a lot full manual online with the people I play with, but...
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vondave said:
I was really disappointed.

Firstly I was a full manual/ mostly manual and some semi on Fifa 10 and WC. i'm not a world beater, but a good enough player

I played the demo on professional, but I do not know what control settings to set to enjoy it.

- Dribbling seemed very hard even with Messi and Ronaldo.

- Passing seems slow?

- No time on the ball still

- Seems you need to "play football" to open space and chances, but the game doesn't allow you due to all the pressure. To me its more prounonced that Fifa 10. Probably because i played and loved the PES 11 demo despite not liking PES since PES 6. You have to play that like proper football. Not the type of football and way of playing Fifa seems to make you play to be successful. If that makes sense.

- Graphics and presentation i can't fault.


I played 7 games last night, and even turned it off after 2 as i didnt like it. Kept with it, and finally scored a goal in my 7th game, a header from a corner by Khedira.

I hope it gets much better as it hasn't grabbed me. Longer halves are a must IMO
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Where is all this pressure you guys are seeing in the demo? I have plenty time to make passes and open to the sidelines and such. Are you sure you guys are just not trying to sprint all the time?

I think pro passing is not as bad as its made out to be here, (I signed the petition), but in semi assisted there are plenty times where I have misplaced a pass and it did not go to my player but went behind them or too far ahead.. I am not sure how assisted is, but I am guessing fully assisted will make sure it goes in the right direction, as thats what assisted means.
My main issues is I have my through balls set to manual, it seems even at the top of the bar the pass is normally too slow.
And I suck at the close dribbles, any tips? lol
 
sneaky77 said:
Where is all this pressure you guys are seeing in the demo? I have plenty time to make passes and open to the sidelines and such. Are you sure you guys are just not trying to sprint all the time?

I think pro passing is not as bad as its made out to be here, (I signed the petition), but in semi assisted there are plenty times where I have misplaced a pass and it did not go to my player but went behind them or too far ahead.. I am not sure how assisted is, but I am guessing fully assisted will make sure it goes in the right direction, as thats what assisted means.
My main issues is I have my through balls set to manual, it seems even at the top of the bar the pass is normally too slow.
And I suck at the close dribbles, any tips? lol
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Play close attention to defenders when you have the ball - rather than back pedaling and reacting first to contain and slow you down, AI defenders tend to move forward for the tackle first. It's like they are set to shoot first and ask questions later, and IRL that type of mentality will get you embarrassed. Part of the problem is defense is over powered in general compared to offense. Another is unintelligent AI relies on physicality instead of skill and tactical play - like timely double teams, forcing bad passes, and creating interceptions. (*Edit: As evidence of this, note how the CPU passing accuracy rarely drops below 90 percent in FIFA - this is because most turnovers occur off tackles whilst IRL poor passes and intercepted passes play a bigger role.)

I played fullback IRL and trust me, the last thing you want is a quick and skilled dribbler coming at you, but in FIFA tackling is so easy it's not an issue. IRL you're taught to angle attackers toward the sidelines, and slow the attacking play's momentum to allow for your defense to realign and help to come, and never to square your body to the attackers 'cause that's when you get caught flat-footed, but again this is not an issue in FIFA because all you need to do is hold down the press button at the right moment and your defender barges in successfully more times than not.
 
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Little OT, pardon me, but has anyoned played both PC and PS3/X360 demos? Can you compare the game on these different platforms? Thanks:WORSHIP:
 
sneaky77 said:
Where is all this pressure you guys are seeing in the demo? I have plenty time to make passes and open to the sidelines and such. Are you sure you guys are just not trying to sprint all the time?

I think pro passing is not as bad as its made out to be here, (I signed the petition), but in semi assisted there are plenty times where I have misplaced a pass and it did not go to my player but went behind them or too far ahead.. I am not sure how assisted is, but I am guessing fully assisted will make sure it goes in the right direction, as thats what assisted means.
My main issues is I have my through balls set to manual, it seems even at the top of the bar the pass is normally too slow.
And I suck at the close dribbles, any tips? lol
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I agree, where is all the pressure that is being mentioned? I'm sorry, but seriously take your finger off of the sprint button and work the ball around. You will find your space and less pressure then. I even watched as defenders BACKED off my when I stopped sprinting.

Using Pro Passing, unless I hit the meter right my passes would be just enough off to slow down my play. I missed passes, the AI missed passes, the AI intercepted my passes, etc. It's not perfect but I it's a darn good demo. Nothing will ever please this group because you want a football "sim" when they are selling to a mass audience of all ages. Not everyone can play every single MM game for 15 seasons or pay attention to why your CB didn't turn sideways and run like a chicken to get a loose ball.

It's a game, have fun.

Signed, someone who hated FIFA 10 and thought it was the worst football game of the past 10 years.
 
Erik said:
I agree, where is all the pressure that is being mentioned? I'm sorry, but seriously take your finger off of the sprint button and work the ball around. You will find your space and less pressure then. I even watched as defenders BACKED off my when I stopped sprinting.

Using Pro Passing, unless I hit the meter right my passes would be just enough off to slow down my play. I missed passes, the AI missed passes, the AI intercepted my passes, etc. It's not perfect but I it's a darn good demo. Nothing will ever please this group because you want a football "sim" when they are selling to a mass audience of all ages. Not everyone can play every single MM game for 15 seasons or pay attention to why your CB didn't turn sideways and run like a chicken to get a loose ball.

It's a game, have fun.

Signed, someone who hated FIFA 10 and thought it was the worst football game of the past 10 years.
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If you disagree, then disagree and say why. But don't put words in other people's mouths and act like you know how I play, or what will or will not please me.

Do you have proof that me or anyone else who's posted doesn't take their finger off the sprint button and work the ball around?

Can you back up your claim that I/we want a football "sim"?

Do you have evidence to support your idea that I/we are never pleased?

Funny that even though EA have said they want to make a realistic football game, when someone points out something that is unrealistic in the game, you and others make outlandish arguments rather than attempt to engage the discussion intelligently. Funny too how many of us have professed our appreciation to past FIFA games, like 08, and past PES games, like 5 and 6, and yet when we're not happy with the current FIFA, all of the sudden we'll never be pleased.

Please keep your ridiculous claims where they belong: either to yourself or on the EA forums.
 
The more I play this the more I like it, perseverance seems to be the key word this year. It takes some getting used to and the game seems way too physical at first, but now I can keep the ball really easily with Fabregas, even against much stronger players thanks to his fabulous close control. A few twists and turns, a quick flick and suddenly he's in acres of space.

Also Chamakh plays like a beast on this, he's keeping RVP out of the team for me.
 
Steekbal said:
The more I play this the more I like it, perseverance seems to be the key word this year. It takes some getting used to and the game seems way too physical at first, but now I can keep the ball really easily with Fabregas, even against much stronger players thanks to his fabulous close control. A few twists and turns, a quick flick and suddenly he's in acres of space.

Also Chamakh plays like a beast on this, he's keeping RVP out of the team for me.
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... and that's the demo. The full game will be far, far better.

I thought the same last year. The demo took a while to sink in with me, but the full game I loved (until the bugs decided to show their faces).

The more you play, the more you enjoy.
 
Steekbal said:
The more I play this the more I like it, perseverance seems to be the key word this year. It takes some getting used to and the game seems way too physical at first, but now I can keep the ball really easily with Fabregas, even against much stronger players thanks to his fabulous close control. A few twists and turns, a quick flick and suddenly he's in acres of space.

Also Chamakh plays like a beast on this, he's keeping RVP out of the team for me.
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Is the only way to get Arsenal is to play that stupid facebook game? I'd rather not sink to that but people seem to be raving about Arsenal...

What gamespeed you playing at? Can't decide if I like Slow or Normal. I actually tried Fast for the first time ever and I thought passing velocity was actually much better, but the gameplay in general is too arcade-like.
 
mfmaxpower said:
Is the only way to get Arsenal is to play that stupid facebook game? I'd rather not sink to that but people seem to be raving about Arsenal...

What gamespeed you playing at? Can't decide if I like Slow or Normal. I actually tried Fast for the first time ever and I thought passing velocity was actually much better, but the gameplay in general is too arcade-like.
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It tells you in the build up how to unlock Arsenal and the Emirates.

Win 5 games and play 10 consecutive games respectively.
 
mfmaxpower said:
Is the only way to get Arsenal is to play that stupid facebook game? I'd rather not sink to that but people seem to be raving about Arsenal...

What gamespeed you playing at? Can't decide if I like Slow or Normal. I actually tried Fast for the first time ever and I thought passing velocity was actually much better, but the gameplay in general is too arcade-like.
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Nope, all I had to do was win 5 games to unlock Arsenal and win 10 games to unlock Emirates Stadium. I've heard mixed things about this, maybe I don't have to do that stupid facebook app because I downloaded the US version.

I'm playing at Normal at the moment, when playing Slow I find the passing too sluggish and on Fast players turn and run too quickly.
 
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