 |
| Give us a hug.... |
I’ll be revealing more about online Clubs improvements in the near future but for now we’ll focus on what we’ve added to Virtual Pro, with the main areas of focus being to increase ‘Pro Personality’ as well as creating new challenges & rewards for growing your Pro.
The EA Sports Virtual Pro News welcomes a newly created Pro & gives some tips on what’s to follow.
Creating Pro Personality
If you’ve been following the info on FIFA 11 features so far you’ll know that increasing player ‘Personality’ was a major priority for our gameplay team this year. By ‘Personality’ we mean differentiating one player from another through their players’ style & skills. We also felt that Virtual Pro needed more personality, as in FIFA 10 while not everyone managed to max out their player those that did found themselves with very similar abilities to the next man.
Playing Styles
So one feature we have added to increase personality within Virtual Pro are ‘Playing Styles’ for each of the selectable Positions & Roles. Playing Styles, along with Position & Role determine your starting attributes & the maximum value that can be achieved in each discipline.The following Playing Styles are available:
Goalkeeper
Traditional - Solid handling, kicking & positioningAcrobatic - Excels when it comes to diving & reflexes
Defender Left/Right
Full Back - Attributes lean towards the defensive side of the gameWing Back - Less defensive skill but more ability going forward
Defender Centre
Stopper - A traditional tough tackling man markerSweeper - Better distribution at the expense of defensive abilities
Defensive/Attacking Centre Midfielders
Ball Winner - High tackling, heading & solid distributionBox to Box - A combination of defensive & attacking strengths
Playmaker - Excels in all types of passing
Midfielder Left/Right
Winger - High ball control & crossing abilityBox to Box - More evenly distributed attributes across the board
Forwards Left/Right/Centre
Creator - Excels in attributes that will assist team matesFinisher - Accurate shooting at the expense of playmaking abilities
Target Man - Superior aerial strength & positioning
As with last year a Virtual Pro’s Physical stature will also affect their attributes with taller & heavier players gaining a strength advantage, whilst smaller leaner players will have that extra bit of speed. Community feedback on Virtual pro attributes was also taken into account to ensure any of the ‘monster’ Virtual Pro’s from FIFA 10 won’t be making another appearance this year.
Along with Accomplishments, a players Position, Role & Player Style will affect their attributes.
Selectable Traits
In FIFA 10 there was 10 Traits that you could unlock that were automatically added to your Pro, which again reduced the amount of variety in the world of created players. This year there are 20 traits to unlock with the user able to decide to assign a maximum of 5 to their player at a time, meaning players will have to consider what they want their unique abilities to be, as well as considering what their team mates might have selected to ensure a good balance of skills across the team.The 20 traits to choose from are:
Long Throw-In - Adds extra distance to your throw-ins
Second Wind - Increases stamina at the end of a match
Acrobatic Clearance - Adds spectacular defensive clearances to your game
Early Crosser - Adds more curl to your early balls from out wide
Finesse Shot - Increases your side foot effectiveness in front of goal
Outside Foot Shot - Enables you to curl shots with the outside of the boot
Power Header - Adds extra power to your headers at goal
Giant Throw-In - Allows you to launch throw-ins right into the box
Swerve Pass - Adds bend to your passes & through balls where needed
Power Free-Kick - Enables you to take low drilled free kicks
Stutter Penalty - Adds the option to feint when running up to take a spot kick
Skilled Dribbling - Enables you to perform the skilled dribbling controls
Fancy Passes - Adds extravagant passes & crosses to your game
Fancy Flicks - Increases the likelihood of backheels & fancy 1st touches
Bicycle Kicks - Enables you to perform spectacular overhead volleys
Diving Header - Allows you to dive when attempting a header at goal
Driven Pass - Enables you to play more powerful & direct long passes
GK Up for Corners - Allows you to push forward for corners at the end of a match
GK long Throw - Increases your over arm throwing distance
GK Flat Kick - Increases the speed & accuracy of kicks from hand
Unlock & select 5 of a possible 20 traits to give your player something unique.
And finally, when it comes to personality, we’ve increased the number of selectable commentary names by adding over 700 new ones from all around the world, so if your name wasn’t available last year fingers crossed Martin Tyler will be calling you out this time around.
Accomplishments & Unlockables
In FIFA 10 there was 230 Accomplishments to complete with your Pro, this has increased to 400 this year, meaning there is a lot more to do to max out your player. Other changes include difficulty based Accomplishments (Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced), with some now unlockable in regular 1-on-1 play with friends whilst others will require you to play well against at least World Class AI or online to add to your player. As with last year completing Accomplishments will increase your attributes, unlock traits, new kit & a selection of celebrations. Visual upgrades, such as coloured boots, goalkeeping gloves or helmets are unlocked as you reach Accomplishment milestones, so when you see a fancily attired Pro on the pitch you instantly know he’ll have been well trained before he even touches the ball.
There is also a new Accomplishment Book this year with which to track your progress & players growth. This year the book can also be viewed at half time in online matches, in case you’re left waiting for someone else to come back from a toilet break at the interval.
The Accomplishment Book menu shows how many have been completed & your current abilities.
Master the art of shooting by taking on some of the 50 challenges available in this category.
Well I hope that’s given you a good insight into what we’ve done with Virtual Pro in FIFA 11 & that you’re looking forward to building up your player & taking on the world again this year.