FIFA 11: kicking the new season off in style

Electronic Arts' powerhouse football franchise has blasted back onto the scene with FIFA 11 - and with a whole host of new features on offer it looks like being the most popular iteration yet.



One of the big innovations in FIFA 11 is the introduction of Personality+ on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. This new system promises to reflect individual players' abilities more accurately than ever by utilising a database that contains 36 specific attributes and 57 traits for each player.



Personality+, as the name would suggest, is about much more than just statistics, though. All of this new information comes together to give each player in the game a new sense of individuality reflecting their real-life attributes. So if you're playing as Chelsea you'll get great results when engaging in physical battles with a defender when controlling Didier Drogba. If you're in charge of Leo Messi, you'll want to use his trademark silky skills to ghost past defenders rather than rely on winning physical tussles.



The information fuelling Personality+ has been gathered and maintained by a global network of 1,700 scouts, editors and reviewers, giving the game a sense of realism beyond anything available previously.



As the most revered football franchise in the world, and indeed one of the most successful video games series of all time, FIFA prides itself on improving with each new edition, as evidenced with the new Pro Passing system in FIFA 11. The accuracy of passing is now determined by a number of factors including the human player's input, the positioning and skill of the player they're controlling plus the urgency of the pass. No longer are players able to simply ping non-stop one-touch passes around the field to set up sure-fire chances; attacks need to be built up more realistically with calm, measured passes mixed with first-time balls to catch out defenders. Rushed passes under pressure will be punished just as they are in real life.



The Be a Pro and Manager modes have been given an overhaul too, being incorporated into an all-encompassing Career Mode, which allow PS3 and Xbox 360 players to progress through 15 seasons as a player, manager or player-manager. Creating a player from scratch is now easier than ever thanks to the web-based Creation Centre, which allows players to fine tune appearance, accessories and attributes as well as editing existing players and teams.



Another of FIFA 11's major innovations is the introduction of the Be a Goalkeeper mode in the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. As the name suggests, this mode allows players to play between the sticks for the first time in the FIFA franchise, bringing an exciting new challenge to the game. This addition is available in both the single player and online modes, meaning that the chance to control the ‘keeper adds a whole new dimension to the series' online Be A Pro mode. Where this previously allowed 20 players to play in a single online match, each controlling an individual outfield player, FIFA 11 now offers a true 11 v 11 experience making for an unrivalled simulation of real-life football. Also new are team goal celebrations and a whole host of individual signature celebrations for your favourite players.



While the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of FIFA 11 have gained a whole host of new features, the Wii version hasn't been left on the sidelines; the Wii-exclusive Street Football mode allows owners of Nintendo's console to play frenetic five-a-side matches in a choice of indoor and outdoor settings.



Out now for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, DS, PSP and PS2, FIFA 11 is sure to keep die-hard FIFA fans happy while its many innovations will surely tempt a whole new crowd of gamers to sample its charms.