Last year I switched from being a massive Pro Evo guy to being a FIFA fan.  There can’t be many out there who don’t agree that FIFA 09 was probably the greatest game of footy on the market and 12 months later FIFA 10 somehow manages to trump it. Not much has changed on the surface presentation wise so you could be forgiven into thinking this was just a simple rehash of what was released last year but there are a few tweaks that make FIFA 10 much more accessible.

There are the usual suspect of modes lurking around that you’re probably not surprised to see still exist, exhibitions, tournaments, Manager mode, league etc, they are all there and ready for you to sink your teeth into.  The new mode you might notice is Virtual Pro which is similar to the Be A Pro mode except that you can log into EA sports and add your face to a player which you can then groom for superstardom using your own face.   While this mode is good on paper, I had more than enough trouble connecting and getting a picture uploaded so at the time of this review being published I’ve yet to fully explore this feature which is a shame.   Plus you can’t use the Xbox Live Vision camera to just quickly whack a face on your created player which just flies in the face of all logic if you ask me.

On the gameplay front there are a couple of changes that punters might like to see.  The dribbling is improved and passing and shooting for glory seem to be a lot easier to come to grips with but if you’re new to the game of football you’re gonna struggle with the controller at first until you can get an idea of how you should play the game.  Surely anyone picking up this game has watched a game of football before so I don’t think there are many who would struggle.  I still have trouble with the tricks but being the meat and two veg kinda guy that I am I’ve never been the fanciful type so it never really stopped me from scoring a few big ones.  Online players like to prance about like they’re Ronaldo so it’s probably best to either work on your defence or get to learning a few tricks of your own to save yourself any embarrassment online.  Overall FIFA 10 is much slicker and easier to handle.  I really can’t see how they could make the controls any better to tell you the truth.

The graphics are beautiful, make no mistake that 09 was no dog’s breakfast but FIFA 10 looks like the real deal. My mate walked past the tele when I was playing and actually thought it was a real match for a second. It really looks extraordinary and they have captured the camera angles and feel of how a match looks when you’re sitting down watching it. This is big production money at work ladies and gentlemen. The crowd can look a little piss poor in a few of the frames but if you’re gonna whinge about a couple of polygons missing from some nonce’s head you are probably just nitpickin really. Everything from the stadiums to the player’s faces looks lovely, and I don’t want to see anyone crappin on about it when they are still using Standard Def (lookin at you Stan09). Stop being a cheapo and go get yourself some HD and sit back and bask in the glow of some lovely football action. Play it at home in Liverpool and you’ll even get them geezers to belt out You’ll never walk alone. Authentic to the last. Lovely.

Oh and all you little nonces who thought quitting your match because you were getting your arses handed to ya in last year’s game will tremble with fear when I tell you that if you quit this time, I get the win and the glory and you get the shame.   At least this time little noobs who don’t have the minimals to stand up against the big boys won’t be so inclined to waste everyone’s time.  Play ranked matches if you’re new, you’ll be matched with new guys and since everyone is pretty new in the FIFA 10 community as it’s only early days you gotta good chance of getting somewhere if you stick with it.  I haven’t played 10 vs 10 but I plan on doing so this weekend and if it’s as good as last year we should be in some thrilling virtual league action.

FIFA 10 - still without Hooligan Mode unfortunately.

Overall FIFA 10 is a cracking improvement over the almost perfect FIFA 09. I seriously think that if you need just one football game in your library this is the one to go for and it is worth trading in FIFA 09 to get.   I love this and love getting spoiled for two years in a row! Back to beating Chelsea with some crap Scottish team.