FIFA 07

FIFA 07
Developer	EA Canada Exient Entertainment (DS/GBA)
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Series	FIFA
Date released	25 September 2006
Genre	Sports game (football)
Modes	Single-player multiplayer online multiplayer
Platforms	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 PlayStation Portable Nintendo GameCube Wii Nintendo DS Xbox Xbox 360 Game Boy Advance Java ME

FIFA 07 (also known as FIFA Football 07 and FIFA 07 Soccer) is the 2006 edition of EA Sports' series of football simulator video games. Developed by EA Canada, it is published by Electronic Arts.

It was the last game in the FIFA series to be released for the GameCube, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance, and the first to be released for the Xbox 360. The next-generation graphics and physics engine used in the Xbox 360 version will be exclusive to the console for a period of 12 months. It was also released for PC, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 2.

FIFA 07 sponsored Accrington Stanley for the 2007–08 season, with the FIFA 07 logo displayed on the back of the team's shirts.

Leagues

There are a total of 27 leagues available in FIFA 07. There is also an International league that features national football teams, and a Rest of World league that includes other notable clubs from around the world.

Xbox 360

Electronic Arts developed a new sports engine for the Xbox 360-version of FIFA 07. This meant not only improved graphics and better controls, but the physics and control were also improved. The game collects more data from the matches than previous version, and thus is able to give a "man of the match" award. The commentary in English is provided by Clive Tyldesley and Andy Gray and the commentary in Mexican Spanish is provided by Enrique Bermúdez and Ricardo Peláez.

Extra features include up-to-the-minute real-world game results via real-time, weekly podcasts and news ticker, detailed football stats, information and real-world news available in five languages. Finally, the Xbox 360 version will offer a mini-game while the game loads, dropping the player in a one on one face off against the goalkeeper on a practice pitch. There is also very limited leagues on the Xbox 360 compared to the other consoles.

EA cut all but seven leagues from the Xbox 360 version of the game - one of which contained only one team (Juventus). According to producer Jean-Charles Gaudechon, this is because the new game engine took so long to develop that EA was not able to implement everything.

A FIFA 07 demo was made available on Xbox Live Marketplace on 6 October 2006.

Tournaments

FIFA 07 was also included in the Championship Gaming Series and the World Cyber Games.

Reception

Critical reception

The game was met with favorable reception. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 85.48% and 85 out of 100 for the Xbox version; 81.40% and 82 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version; 79.36% and 80 out of 100 for the PSP version; 77.77% and 78 out of 100 for the PC version; 77.19% and 80 out of 100 for the GameCube version; 74.05% and 73 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 version; 63% and 72 out of 100 for the DS version; and 30.50% and 41 out of 100 for the Game Boy Advance version.

Achievements and awards

• UK: Seventh fastest selling game of all time
• IGN: Game of the Year 2006: Best Sports Game (Xbox, PC)
• IGN: Game of the Year 2006: Best Licensed Soundtrack (Xbox 360)
• TeamXbox.com: Game of The Year 2006: Best Sports Game (Xbox)
• UK: First FIFA title to top the UK Christmas chart since FIFA 98
• AIAS Nominations (10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards): Best Sports Game of 2006, Best Licensed Soundtrack of 2006
• BAFTA Nominations (2007 Video Game Awards): The PC World Gamers Award (voted for by the public) (PS2)

External links

• Official website

Football video games