Sounders in EA Sports FIFA 10

It could be both: perhaps I said it a little too cutely, but the operative issue is that the JFA is not about to hand over their licensing to a bunch of gaijin game programmers when they have a domestic option to support.

So I dunno if Japanese teams were or weren't in FIFA before Pro Evo became a worldwide annual football franchise title, but they sure haven't been in since.

 

It sucks that some of those leagues are so stingy with rights. I blame EA though. Once they made most leagues give them exclusive rights it all went downhill.

 

Still pretty sure I played against both Gamba and the Red Diamonds on 360 last year. It's possible I am not remembering right, I sold the game (I constantly recycle console games), so I can't put the thing back in to verify it.

Anyway, if I was wrong, I apologize. I know I played Toronto a lot when I had the game (I scored most of my goals through Dichio laughably enough), and was always looking for equitable International foes.

I think the bigger issue, is how poorly MLS teams rate in terms of popularity. We have an awful lot of gamers in Seattle (hell we run several of the more important gaming conventions in the nation), and yet the Sounders are in the 400's in terms of popularity.

I expected it to be bad, but I didn't expect teams from Poland and Scandinavia to be more popular.

 

My memory and this list don't jive. I wish I had the damn game now, to see the various tournaments I set up. I don't remember applying mods to the game, but I do remember getting an "update", through X-Box Live, but it was official not fan-based.

I remember the Steelers and FC Seoul, and how they were rated about the same as TFC (the team I played the most). I also remember playing against Adelaide (Aussie teams also rated in and around the same as MLS), but I thought for sure Urawe and Osaka were in the mix, but, probably not based on this list and the fact I only downloaded official patches to the game.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

Heheheh, true.

But I think my memory is decent to be honest, I can still toss a lot of variable and property names in my head on a good day. It's too much gaming that's my problem. I've probably played over twenty different games since I played FIFA last, and I have a Wii, a 360, a DS, a PSP and four PCs at home.

So it's not the memory, it's the damn clutter of a fast-food consumer culture and an avid gamer with a very short attention span. I'm already bored with Aion, so I'll grab FIFA 10, the timing is perfect. I can't even remember the names of my avatars in Warhammer, and I only abandoned that game four months ago. And I'd have to reset my password to play Spore, because that is ancient history.

Really, the only game that ever really lasts with me is Civilization. That's either a sad statement on my lack of attention when I game, or a really sad statement on the quality of most games these days.

It is probably both.

What were we talking about again? Was it Jaqua's "revolutionary war" bandage he sports when he wants to look tough?

 

Pretty interesting, I had just found out that Zak has 4 stars on "Weak Foot" skill.

 

Hey! He's actually taken several shots with his left foot recently. They missed badly, but at least he's acknowledging he has a left foot now.

 

They really need to do something about the ability to quit online games unpunished. It took a little time for me to get online since I was coming from PES09 on Wii.(Had to get used to the controls again) I was using Derby County beating a guy using Liverpool and I guess when he realized his rating was going to tank after being destroyed by one of the worst teams over the last few years he just quit. Pathetic. Why would they have gotten rid of that feature?

 

Part of the problem is how does the game tell the difference between a connectin drop and an outright quit?

 

Any online PvP action suffers from players who pull the plug when they are about to lose. Some games go the other way, punishing you if you quit - but then you'll find yourself docked merely because your connection went down.

PvP in any game is pretty cheesy like that - and some people get very worked up over their rating and "prestige" with games like this. I think some people hold the delusion that video game ratings equate to skill.

I got the game last night, and struggled with a few things. First of all, looks like the last version I had was FIFA 08 and not FIFA 09 as none of my previous accomplishments ported over to FIFA 10.

I forgot the best way to play the game is turn AI switching off completely. Nothing more maddening on defense than having the game switch on you and having the person it just switched to run in the wrong direction as a result.

I could not get past semi-pro, meaning my "skills" had atrophied a lot.

The graphics had not significantly improved from 08 - and the music was worse. Actually FIFA World Cup from a few years ago had some really decent music, but this was mostly dreck.

I set up two tournaments last night, the Pacifica Cup and the Aurelius Cup. I got toasted in the group play of the Pacifica Cup, losing to FC Seoul twice (I know embarrassing). Then I set up a pure knockout tournament with 8 MLS teams and 8 Mexican teams, and sailed to the cup as I remembered the hang of the game. The final was a delicious 3-0 of Chivas Guadalajara.

Then the final graphic splashed of the trophy presentation, and the trophy I picked didn't show up on the turf, so it looked like the Sounders were huddled around nothing.

The only thing this game offers me from the version two years ago is the Sounders. The AI still does wonky things, there's little to no new features in manager mode or tournament mode and there's still a whole host of teams/leagues not present.

Also Tyrone Marshall is Caucasian, I can't believe they took a Jamaican national and made him look like a well-tanned Canadian with a faux-hawk. Luckily, these things can be adjusted. Also Jaqua looks nothing like he's supposed to.

My one "fictional" player is a 6'3" striker with an 80 finishing score (71 overall) named Billy Snyder. He will become a "star" this weekend.

Mostly though, I am not that thrilled with this. It is mostly the same stuff from several years ago repackaged with music that is often unlistenable.

 

You have to check the DNF% of that guy, I think. So before you even consider playing with him, make sure that he finishes. I don't know if this is supported on other systems though.