FIFA Soccer 10 [PS2]

As the PS2 continues to age, so too do the long-time series that – for some reason – continue to make their way onto the beleaguered system. FIFA 10 is the latest example of a once-great series that is stuck in the mud on PlayStation 2 while shining elsewhere. This year's version looks old, plays old, and has the feature set to match with no online play of any kind present. It still isn't a bad game of soccer thanks to its considerable laurels, but I would've liked to see some substantive progression in more key elements.

The two changes that you'll see immediately reflected on the main menu are Be A Pro: Club and Country and Season Mode. Season Mode is essentially a dumbed down version of Manager Mode where you'll control your club for a small set of games without worrying about any of the transfers and player progression that work their way into Manager Mode. It's nothing more than a stripped down version of a beefier feature and is more for the casual soccer fan than anyone else.

Be A Pro is similar to what we saw from last year's game, less a few slight changes. You're now playing for a spot on your country's national team and you'll need to complete specific goals in each game in order to earn experience points and build up your attributes. It's very similar to the Be A Pro I played last year, though this effort does feel like it has more direction to a final goal. There are also cool new coaching insights that fill you in on your opponent pre-match. The camera perspective has also been fixed slightly, but can still be cumbersome since it has the same issue of dropping the camera too low to the ground when you get close to the opponent's goal.

Other game modes play out identically to what we've seen in the past. Manager Mode is as deep as ever though it comes without most of the panache that made other console versions so special. The practice arena lets you hone your skills by practicing freely and trying free kicks and corner kicks. There's also a Tournament Mode which allows you to choose from several league cups and vie for the crown. None of the traditional modes vary greatly from what we saw in last year's game, which infects the rest of the package to a fault.

The standard soccer gameplay has, unsurprisingly, remained nearly completely unchanged from last year. Sure, you might see a few more physical jostles down the field, but for the most part you're still playing the same eight-direction soccer that you've seen for years now. It's rare for me to concede the point that a game is a simple roster update, but the gameplay in FIFA 10 comes close.

Visually FIFA 10 suffers from the PS2's aging hardware as the framerate hitches whenever too many players are in view (typically towards mid-field). Player details are kept to a minimum except during replays when you'll be able to make out a few faces here and there. This year's game has an angular look that brings it closer to the look of FIFA on Wii than anything else.

Closing Comments
FIFA 10 on PS2 is yet another sports game on the system that should have never been. The gameplay is fine for what it is, but it hasn’t seen much attention over the last few years. If this is your only option for virtual soccer, you could do worse than FIFA 10 on PlayStation 2, but you could also do much better with pretty much any version of the game currently on the market.

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