Electronic Arts has produced the FIFA ($60) series for almost two decades.  Each year has brought advances in graphics, game play, management, etc.  Some of those advances have been worth the price of an upgrade (like adding real-time player adjustments in 2010) and some have not.  During that time, they have faced some stiff competition from Konomi's Pro Evolution Soccer (Winning Eleven).

Our first question to the our testers was "If you already had 2010, would you buy 2011?"  Universally, the answer was YES.  The graphics in 2011 are marginally better with 360° dribbling.  A new personality engine for the AI also adds to the realism and intimacy of the game.  This alters the way a player dribbles, passes and shoots based on their emotional state.

One of the biggest improvements is the player/manager mode.  This allows the gamer to contribute directly on the field as themselves, while still managing the team.  As the manager, they handle all of the usual tasks of transfers, systems of play, game line-ups, etc.  Once the game starts, they play as their player on the field for the entire game.  The can call for the ball or direct passes, but they do not control the other players.  The game even allows a player to be the goal keeper.  Something this reviewer found very difficult, and not particularly entertaining.  Others found more success and enjoyment.  Remarkably, it was the forwards who liked being a keeper and keepers who insisted on playing striker.

One other enhancement that was both universally appreciated and cursed is the pro passing.  As in the real world, pace on the ball makes all the difference to a successful pass.  Pro passing implements those physical rules very well in the game and our testers appreciated the timing, touch and accuracy required for beautiful passing.  Once a player got it down, the game was truly fun to watch.  The problem was the learning the system.  Until then, it could make a player look wonder why the ball went where it did or what they needed to do to send it with the right pace. 

Unfortunately, we found some problems with the AI.  As happens too often in the real world, player can seem lazy or distracted.  Between the personality engine and the pro passing, balls seem to get intercepted far more than we would have expected.  If a cross is not hit hard enough, an intermediate player will not close on the ball leaving it for an interception.  These minor flaws do not detract from a great game.  Hopefully the AI will react better in an update or in 2012.

On-line play is typical of the genre.  None of our testers noted anything exceptional, good or bad.  All of the usual features are present including private games, achievements, leader boards and pick-up games.

Note: Our tests where conducted on an XBOX 360 on a Plasma TV.  There was no noticeable lags and load times were good. We expect PS3 performance to be similar.  Graphics on the Wii are always lower.  PC performance will depend greatly on hardware.