FIFA 11

FIFA 11 is a tough game to rate.

First of all, there’s little doubt that this is the most realistic and best take on the sport of football ever, period.

And yet, at the same time, the list of improvements over the previous year’s model is decidedly slim.

Those improvements are welcome, of course. Chief among them is the new pro-passing system, which results in a more realistic game. Passes can be over powered, or they can drop short. This cuts out the “ping pong passing” of last year’s game, which is great.

Gameplay-wise there have been other, more minor tweaks.

Player personality is now magnified (the marketing department calls this Personality +). In previous FIFA games, the superstars generally showed their class by being fast and scoring often. This year though, other attributes have come to the fore.

For example, if you try to make lightning-fast attacking runs up the wing with Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas, you won’t be getting the best out of the real life superstar. However, if you play to his strength and use him as a playmaker, passing superbly and hitting through-balls which slice apart the opposition, you’ll be getting your money’s worth.

There are many different traits. Some players have none, and some have many. This means that gameplay is more tactical.

There are a few other changes which are appreciated. The game is slower now, and crosses are far more deadly than before. It all adds up to a game which is very, very close to the real thing.

For me though, the real step up over FIFA 10 comes in the career mode.

The bug-plagued Manager Mode from last years game has been scrapped, and a new mode has been built from the ground up. Some of the previous year’s features – like dynamic player form – have been scrapped, which may disappoint the more hardcore fans, but since they never worked quite right I say good riddance to them.

The new Career mode is well presented, with constant news articles popping up between matches. Transfers work a charm, results are fairly realistic, and the whole thing is immersive. It’s a fantastic mode and lets me live out my dreams of managing Arsenal to the Premier League title. And yes, the first thing I did was to buy us a decent goalkeeper. That’s what this mode is all about.

FIFA 11 is a great game. The best football game ever, as I mentioned before.

But if you already have FIFA 10 and are only a casual fan, there may not be enough new here to warrant the price to upgrade.

However, if you are a football fan who wants the new rosters, subtle but important gameplay enhancements and a superb career mode, then there should be no doubt in your mind: buy this game.

Four Lions

In 1974 a movie by the name of Blazing Saddles hit the screens. Mention that to most blokes today and they all become giggly 12 year old boys and share tales of the infamous baked beans scene. However among the regulars that kicking around the Filmguide crew we all agree it was a movie that came out at the very best time. If it came out earlier it would not have been so popular, in a world that would shun movies with African Americans.. If it came out later it would have been seen as exceptionally racist.

Now.. Fast forward to 2010.. Its 10 years after 9/11 and only 5 years since the extensive terrorism bombings in London.. Could someone take an equally sensitive topic, in this case terrorists in the UK, and make some comedic gold out of it? That is exactly the waters that Four Lions tread.

In the heart of England a group of wannabe terrorists plans to show their strength against a decadent western world. The problem is they are clueless, hopeless and extremely misguided. The story follows their journey from a completely botched up and totally hillarious Al Qaida training camp scenario through to the ultimate and equally botched up terrorist attack on the London Marathon.

The film also answers the ultimate question, where is Osama Bin Laden..

The plot is funny, extremely satirical and you may do yourself an injury by the time the credits roll. However by that time you become all too painfully aware that your laughing at a movie that is about terrorism. And the final scene really does make you wonder about the futility of the acts.

And this very point became a lengthy discussion amongst the review team. Was it ok to laugh at terrorism. The director certainly spent alot of time drawing a line between moderate and extremist muslims. The terrorists at the end of the day were misguided and extremely stupid, however the moderates were portrayed as old fashioned and perhaps just as equally misguided.

It was a bit hard to take away any lessons from this movie, perhaps just a sense of awkwardness, and maybe it wasn’t a movie to take anything away from. Yet by the end it felt like i was being taught a lesson; i’m just confused as to what the lesson was.

I think the best commentary on this one is that it will make you laugh till it hurts, and make you think well past the trip home.