If playing against random people isn’t your bag, FIFA 11 expands the Lounge Mode introduced last year. That can get boring when the ball doesn’t seem to bounce your way, but I could see it being cool when you have a core group of friends that you play with together.

Searching for a ranked match sets up a game with up to 11 players on a side, including the goalkeeper, and each player needs to perform their position well in order to win. I was impressed with the ease of online multiplayer in FIFA 11. It feels like I’m roleplaying as a sports professional. It’s cool that I want to play well in order to try to secure a more lucrative contract in a better league. I had several lesser teams offer me a contract I signed as a key player for the Norwegian Kongsvinger team and I’m currently leading them in scoring. Thankfully, that didn’t end Bob Jingle’s career. For example, when I was signed as a reserve to a good team, I only played 1 in 3 games and was eventually let go at the end of the season because I didn’t perform very well. These demands, for the player, are all performance based and are not necessarily easy. Your pro gets hired and signs a contract with certain demands. In the career mode, you can be a player, a manager or, new to FIFA 11, a player-manager for any soccer team in the world. I enjoyed crafting my Virtual Pro, giving him a huge afro and the name Bob Jingle. Otherwise, it feels like a wasted feature for those who don’t follow soccer religiously. I’m waiting for the inevitable update from EA which will allow you to kit out your Virtual Pro with one of the personality types like Finisher or Playmaker. (Zang!) But if you’re not a fan, and don’t know Fabregas from your fart gas, the feature falls a bit flat. There was a lot of hype made about how different soccer stars behave in the game, as opposed to the general mooks who play for lesser known teams, or in the U.S. If you hold the button for a longer kick, you might miss the passing opportunity.

This allows a finely tuned offensive attack, but it can backfire when you want to make a quick but strong pass. Passing depends more on the player’s skill pressing and holding the pass button makes your kick that much stronger. The controls remain largely unchanged from previous FIFAs. It builds off the success of the series, especially the well-received FIFA 10, and further modernizes the game with slick animations, more responsive controls and a plethora of gameplay formats. And FIFA 11 is just that, a good game, but it doesn’t push the boundaries into masterpiece. Any lack of interest in the sport itself shouldn’t preclude you from enjoying a well-made videogame.

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