This is my first preview for FACEOFFGAMES and, being the Editor here, I had the choice of choices - which game? For me, there is only one answer  - the beautiful game!

Has Electronic Arts done ‘the game’ justice with FIFA Soccer 10? Well that’s for you all to decide on October 02, 2009 the release date and happily my sister’s birthday, so everyone knows what she’ll be getting!

EA has gone a long way to take on board what fans have taken exception to in FIFA SOCCER 09 – yes 09 which has won 25 international gaming awards! Seems we soccer fans are a tough crowd to please. Tell me what brave soul would disagree and where is he?

So this begs the question: what’s been done to the FIFA game engine to sex it up like WAG!

If it looks as good as Belladonna Italian-American model Melissa Satta, who won the heart of Christian Vieri, we’ll all be celebrating. We have heard tell of core refinements based on responsiveness and intelligence. Sounds interesting now, and I bet you can’t wait to get your hands on 10. It gets better - the Manager Mode includes more than 50 improvements – SCORE!

09 placed us in a surreal position on the pitch. Every tackle made us spin, kick, scream like Ronaldo or laugh and dance on through to cartwheels, having nailed the ball like a lunar projectile past the godforsaken goalie. The goalies needed an upgrade. All we were short of was el escorpion de  Higuita. That Columbian always going too far and yet we loved him for it. He may be crazy, but at least he was intelligent which is less than could be said for 09 goalies.     

Goalie scores are the ultimate humiliation in FIFA, and who in their right mind doesn’t showboat when their ahead. Players could justify this kind of behaviour to themselves in 09.  In all sincerity, the offside trap in 09 was a Forrest Gump fiasco. So why not keep the ball? Gamers cried “stop” at the screens so often that EA heard – no more mindless off-sides and I know everyone is going to appreciate that, even the neighbours.

Back to the field of dreams, 10 is supposed to be more in touch with the reality of the professional game. In all this reality my only concern was that EA had not lost sight of what we gamers love to have in our hands, ahem - exceptional abilities!

10 has got physical and sophisticated at the same time, we have tip our hat to the developers for there is a fine line to walk in striking the right balance. Players interact more, and yet we now have more finesse on the ball. Space relations are now part of the built intelligence of a player, and the off side trap, how was it fixed? It has been tampered down by curved running of players.

So what are the key areas of improvement according to EA?

You’ve probably heard of ‘360° dribbling’ but what exactly does that mean? That you can dribble around in a circle? No, it allows you to find space between defenders, according to EA. These terms are coined for our benefit but the effect is what is important to us, and yes you can find more space on the pitch and there is a fluidity and responsiveness that just wasn’t there before.

Using an all-new animation warping technology, skilled dribblers now have the ability to face the defender, fake and fade laterally dribbling the ball to then skip past. You can change feet. The new concept of ‘Freedom in Physical Play’ allows players to perform wider dribble touches making faster players, like Eto’o, a force to be reckoned with. However, for those Italians among you, collision sharing creates a varied, less predictable and extended fight for the ball between the attacker and defender. A point Materazzi will appreciate.

Collision sharing on the pitch

There is a logical artificial intelligence; more than 50 new movement cycles have been introduced. The players stay focused on the ball and more appropriately positioned while at the same time moving with the course of the action. So no ‘Looking for Eric’ in the stands then! Ouh Ah we miss you Cantona!

Players now have a better awareness of where the easiest, most natural ball trapping position is so they can get the ball on the ground and under control easier and earlier. This is good for those cross field passes in our experience.

Defenders multi-task and play the pitch more intelligently by covering dangerous spaces left by out-of-position teammates. Tell me what you think about this when you get your hands on 10?

Players better analyze space, resulting in more accurate passes that give their receivers more options and time to outrun defensive pressure. I can see everyone smiling at this. How many times have you said “I wasn’t passing to him” when using 09.

EA have heavily invested in the goalkeepers, they now have more speed and agility. This, coupled with a better perception of where to intercept loose balls, results in a more responsive and powerful rushing system. The animation warping technology provides realistic goalkeeper positioning and momentum, resulting in more varied scoring opportunities. Goalies don’t so readily change direction once committed.

Goalie rushing

The refinements to the shooting system and modifications of the ball physics create a wider, more realistic variety of shots. Good players of 09 had finely tuned their nimble fingers to execute free kicks with such accuracy that fouling anywhere near the box was tantamount to conceding a goal. Now with more shots types available, the goalie enhancements are going to be tested. The goalie has more to do. The lay-off shot has been fixed - players never could get the proper power in 09 for this play. One thing we liked, you can sneak a driven shot under the wall in set pieces now.

Goalie Beaten

Slide tackle targeting has been enhanced so skilled players have more reach and avoid tackling through the dribbler. This makes it easy not to give away penalties so, for all those players who never went for the slide tackle in the box, have no fear. Better effort clearance logic gives defenders more options when attempting to get a foot on the ball before an attacker. Efforts, such as sliding to block crosses and overhead kick clearances, give defenders more tools to prevent goal-scoring opportunities.

More than 50 major improvements were made to the manager mode. It has been designed to create an authentic experience to mimic the real-world game. Match results are based on team and player strengths and weaknesses. Player transfers are determined by multiple decision points, including club finance and prestige, availability of similar players, and competition from AI-controlled clubs. Player development is more realistic with true-to-life growth curves based on factors such as age and environment.

With all these improvements you’ll need somewhere to practice and yes the practice arena has been developed. This is something fans of the game always wanted. EA are listening and the fact that they are means 10 is a game which we, the customer, want! It was designed upon our feedback. "We have benefited from 275 million games played online to refine FIFA Soccer 10 in a way that matters most to our fans," said Andrew Wilson, Vice President & Executive Producer for the FIFA Soccer franchise. My sister doesn’t even like soccer, but anyone will enjoy this game. It truly is a field of dreams because of its reality. So congratulations to Gary Paterson Creative Director and David Rutter Producer of FIFA 10.

So once you’ve perfected your new found skills, why not play to win? FACEOFFGAMES will be starting a new competitive gaming section soon, called Duel. If you’re not in, you can’t win!

FIFA Soccer 10 will be available in stores world-wide in October 2009, this year. 10 has been developed  for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, PSP (PlayStation Portable) system and mobile.