This could be a rather controversial piece if I was biased to one side of this argument and making the other game look terrible but to make it fair I will look at both games in a positive and a negative light. In my opinion I prefer FIFA over Football Manager for many reasons but I will explain the differences and similarities between them both.
Let’s start with FIFA. FIFA has been around a long time now and has been very successful no matter what platform it has appeared on. The game is constantly updated and the next game in the series tries to improve upon the flaws of the previous game and also add new features. Over time defending has become more realistic and with the release of ‘Tactical Defending’ players now have the ability to control how their defence defends. Some of the game mechanics are a bit, how could I put this, very unrealistic. I’ve seen goalkeepers make saves that would be almost impossible to do, such as diving to save a ball and then immediately stretch to the rebound. I feel that this ruins the game play and makes you realise that FIFA is definitely simulacra.
Another good point about FIFA is the licensing for teams and leagues. Nearly all the teams have their real kits, both home, away and third choice and also team badges are licensed along with some licensed stadiums. Even the licensing has a downside; some team’s third kits aren’t available to choose so in some matches, the home team plays in their away kit so you can distinguish between the two teams. Also lack of stadium licenses is a real downer, at the least all the Premier League stadiums should be licensed and maybe the other big European leagues should have all their stadiums licensed. With this it would add so much realism to the game.
In terms of attacking mechanics they are good but there are some flaws. For example it’s very easy to spam certain buttons, in particular the chipped through ball (L1 + Triangle) and also the finesse shot (R1 + Circle) which makes goal scoring very simple. Also shots and passes are almost unrealistic, in the game a long pass from a player facing the wrong way is totally unrealistic and I find myself rather annoyed at this, also goals can be scored from really tight angles and also some of the goals you score or concede makes you think that it just wouldn’t have happened in real life. Another thing that is easy to spam is players with the speciality of Speedster. By having these in your team it is very easy to run down the wing and pass to a player who inevitably scores. This needs to be changed as it makes the game less fun in my opinion and it takes away the feeling that you have had to work hard for a goal. The Strength speciality, one we all like but yet when I have played I have found defenders of 60 Strength outmuscling my player with 80+ Strength which to me doesn’t seem right. Surely the player with more strength should win these battles, not in my case anyway.
On to a totally positive note now, Career Mode as a manager is really fun; unfortunately I can’t really talk about the other 2 modes because I never use them so sorry to those who use these other game modes. As we know Career Mode as a Manager allows you to pick a team and control everything to do with the team, including transfers, wages, youth academy, formations, kit numbers and a whole lot more. The idea of bringing back a Youth Academy and Scouting Squad has really pleased FIFA fans as it enables you to go and find out the newest talents that can be a real asset to your team. There is plenty to do in and around Career Mode, not only do you manage the club but you also play as your team unlike Be A Pro etc. However there is one little niggle that I have with Career Mode and that is player growth – again! Last year on FIFA 11 player growth was way too slow, players who were in top form didn’t even grow, now though, FIFA 12 has made player growth too quick, players after 1 year can get the Speedster ability and if you play the Career Mode long enough most of the players in the database reach Speed and Acceleration ratings of 99 respectively. This needs to be toned down enough so player growth isn’t too slow and isn’t too quick. Maybe they should revert back to the graph showing their rating after each year like what it does on the PS2 FIFA games. Despite this little concern FIFA Career Mode is thoroughly enjoyable.
To conclude on FIFA, it is a very good game that keeps getting better each year yet there are some problems that need to be ironed out. Now that PES is getting better FIFA need to get improving their game. I think PES is getting more fans onside than FIFA is down to the fact that PES has the Champions League rights, if FIFA had this then it would be the ultimate football game but it doesn’t so there is a clear rivalry between these two games.
Now onto Football Manager, a game that has millions and millions of fans worldwide yet I can’t stand the game but I will put the positives and negatives so I am not being biased. Football Manager has to be the most realistic managing game there has ever been. There is so much to do within the game and it was mind boggling when I first played it.
You can choose literally speaking any league in the world and even choose what the game decides as the lowest league within that country. This means that you have a huge choice to pick one team you want to manage. You can be simplistic and go for the top leagues or be more adventurous and play in the Chilean League as Colo-Colo (you know who you are). Once you have picked your team the big wide world of Football Manager begins.
With your team you can select your wage budget and transfer budget, also your chairman expects to see certain things happen in a season – similar to FIFA – and if you don’t meet these demands, you can expect the sack. Squads are more in depth than FIFA; you can choose your youth team, reserve team, starting 11 and substitutions – unlike FIFA where you only pick your starting 11 and subs. This game is what I would call tactical as the game makes you think as if you were actually a real life manager. You can choose your style of play such as which player makes the more attacking runs, which attacker does your defender mark, at corners do you go zonal or marking and much more.
As said the FM database is HUGE therefore finding a player of your choice is increased by a lot, if you’re playing FIFA then there is a limit to the amount of players you can buy. You can find that special talent from lower league clubs and train him to be a superstar or you can find some good free agents – if you’re on a low budget – to help your team prevent relegation or gain promotion or even clinch a league title.
As for matches you can do team talks, either you do the talk or you can take the easy route out and ask your assistant manager to do the talk for you. You can constantly change your tactics during games – just like FIFA – to enable you to get an edge in a match. FM matches are not playable, you can choose either the classic dots on screen or the new 3D viewing, however most people stick to the classic moving dots.
Not much to say on FM as I have really played it for that long – between you and me I got so annoyed with FM as I was so confused about what to do I literally smashed the disc. I can’t really pick out that many negatives as it’s a really good game but if I had one problem with it, it’s the fact that you can’t play as the players, you have to sit there and watch dots on screen. This I found very tedious and soon found myself back on FIFA as it enables me to control the players and choose my teams destiny, if you concede a goal on FM it is very hard to get a goal back as you have to change tactics etc but with FIFA you can control your players and get back on terms with the opposition. I find trying to come back from 2-0 down on FIFA more challenging and rewarding than coming back from 2-0 down on FM, for the simple reason is that I’ve managed to use my FIFA ability to gain satisfaction for saving an important point. With FM it’s too much tactics and it’s very rare you comeback from 2-0 down on FM anyway.
Overall both games are very good and FM edges it on the fact that it has less negatives but if I was told that if the world was going to end in 1 hours time and was given the choice to play FIFA or FM for the last time I would choose FIFA every time. I get more enjoyment from FIFA than FM; I like games where I have to control what goes on, not sit at a computer controlling behind the scenes, that’s not how I roll. For me controlling players is a necessity and when you score a cracking goal it doesn’t half make you feel good unlike seeing a dot shoot a ball into a 2D goal, it doesn’t have the same impact. I know someone now who will be reading this and be thinking what is this guy on about, FM is way better than FIFA; all I have to say is this is my opinion and you have yours.
Hope you enjoyed this debate and remember I’m not right in my decision, it’s just an opinion. To some FIFA is better than FM, others have FM better than FIFA but that’s how people think. My opinion should not influence any of you in which game you go for, what you should do is buy both of them like I did and find out for yourself which you find better and get more enjoyment from.
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