Let me first and foremost state that I'm a newcomer to the international football, having only gotten interested for the past year. My first Fifa game happen to be last year's edition, Fifa 10. Football is definitely a game for those of us with patience and attention to detail, so it's not for everyone. I would not recommend any Fifa game to anybody unless they knew the rules and would prefer the game for what it is, an authentic take on football, rather than look for some type of instant gratification.
Fifa 11, is definitely a MASSIVE improvement from its predecessors. I'll essentially list out the major changes from Fifa 10 to 11.
Pros:
Authentic passing: Definitely something only the purists of the sport will truly appreciate. This feature is probably the reason why people cannot simply pick up this game and enjoy. I'll admit it takes a lot of time to master. Keep in mind, for the sake of making the game as realistic as possible, EA took out the "pinball" passing from Fifa 10 that let everybody blast precision passes from all parts of the field to one another. Yes, it made things easy, but international football is definitely not an easy sport in any sense. You have to pass ahead of your teammates to catch them in stride, as players do in real life. Not only that, but you must take control of the person you're passing to right after you kick the ball, this is not automatic and you have to really pay attention. Passing is definitely the most frustrating part of trying to play this game, I'll admit it had me flustered for the first week I had this. But with practice, you'll truly appreciate what EA has done this year.
Graphics:
They get better every year, admittedly.
AI:
The computer got smarter, thank goodness. I thought I could play this game on Professional, having played Fifa 10 extensively, but it was a no go. So I've been playing on Semi-Pro to build my skills up. Even on this difficulty, defenders and opposing players will AGGRESSIVELY come after you for the ball. You can't sneak passes past them because they're smart enough to stick their feet out to deflect it. They're also smart enough to do moves to shake you off, rather than running in a straight line or whatever, they definitely got brains this time around. Their passing is refined as well, they consciously survey the field looking for open teammates to pass to.
Career Mode:
EA revamped up their career mode by allowing you to either play solely as your own created player, solely as a manager, or to do both. Options are neatly organized in my opinion.
Troublesome features/parts of the game:
PK shooting: Yes, it's a lot harder this time around. But realistically is it easy? Of course not, so why should it be any different in a game trying to EMULATE the game. Like anything, it takes practice. I myself think this was something EA needed to make more difficult.
Transfers: I read somewhere EA would make transfers more "realistic" by allowing you to negotiate with the club before the player, but either way, it's still ridiculous. I was using FC Barcelona trying to pry Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal. His list value is upwards of $68 million, so I offered $70 million. Arsenal said they would consider a slightly better offer. So I exit out and reenter the transfer screen to offer him a new deal. Then they're asking for something like $80 million? Yes, he's a superstar player, but the transfer system in here is still basically based on how much you're willing to offer. EA needs to redo this completely, allowing for MANY new variables when trying to sign players. I think personal feelings (where they grew up), playing time, club prestige, club success, success of the manager, and finally money should all account for how much players will consider your team. Haggling and offering players should definitely be included. Barcelona recently offered only roughly $35 million Euros for Cesc in real life and I think it's because Arsenal knew he wanted to go back and everything. Such should be included in the game by allowing factors to alter prices for players.
Be a Goalkeeper: Was EA serious with this? Who in the hell would want to be the goalkeeper? This is basically the EA trademark of having a yearly BS feature they hype up that's completely worthless.
Player Celebrations: This was another hyped up feature EA was touting this year. But honestly, since playing the demo.. I've thought the player celebrations were incredibly unrealistic and saw your teammates celebrate like complete idiots. If you watch the elite teams play, after they score a goal.. they don't do this crazy crap. Only teams from the nobody leagues go out of their way to think up a celebration. This was probably the one thing I hated the most this year.
CONCLUSION:
FIFA 11 is definitely the epitome of sports simulation. It's second only to NBA 2K11. Fifa 10 was great, but everything it did right, EA returned it this year and made the game play as realistic as possible. This is not a game for casual gamers, but meant for seriously players. Only consider it if football is one of your top 2-3 sports because you cannot pick it up and dominate as you would want.
EDIT 11/1/10
I recently bought PES 11, just to thoroughly compare between the two. I came to the conclusion that if both games were some how combined, then THAT would be the greatest football sim ever. Both games offer something entirely different. If you're looking for a fun factor for you and your friends here and there, FIFA 11 is for you. The controls and game play are a lot easier to grasp. If you want to play a season mode, but not really care about all the international tournaments, then FIFA and its generic "cup" games would suffice. And lastly, if you're into yearly EA gimmicks, then this is for you, with its player celebrations and "be the goal keeper" junk. Visually FIFA is superior as is its ease of finding what you want in terms of their menu set up. I think the players in FIFA have more appropriate stats, while PES's preloaded roster has a lot of questionable stats assigned. Balls still hit the goal post WAY too often in Fifa.
If you're looking for a more difficult to play/master football simulation that has the most minute details put into the game of football, PES may be for you. I love the fact that it has all major international tournaments: Copa Liberatores, Euro Cup, Copa del Ray, Champions League and even the World Cup built into it. Getting a patch can get you all non-licensed leagues (Bundesliga/EPL), as well as several more UEFA/FIFA sponsored tournaments. Presentation-wise, PES looks amazing but it is difficult to find what you want, especially in their version of a manager mode. Graphically it does look more cartoony. Performing moves and using the thru-ball are more effective here. Extras such as different balls, shoes, etc. do NOT cost money, rather are earned with in game points. There's also SO much room for customization. You can basically download on line countless teams, players, jerseys, chants, shoes, balls, whatever you want; Fifa definitely doesn't allow you to do that.
I just want to say, that I'm not retracting my review for before, I'm merely telling you that my hindsight is 20/20 now after trying both offerings of football this year. Neither one is thoroughly superior to the other, but they both offer a lot of pluses in their own way. Depending on what you would prefer, that would be your "perfect" football sim. I myself will keep both as they offer something the other doesn't. If you are a football die-hard and have been your entire life, PES would probably suit you. If you are just picking up football now, and would like a good introduction into the sport and you want something that would make you go crazy trying to play it, FIFA would be for you.
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