It works well in isolation, but is tough to pull off consistently in a match situation вЂ“ not without considerable practise, at least. This requires a double tap of pass, with the first tap dictating the strength of the pass. Slightly more concerning is the unreliability of pulling off a long ball. Both require sliding between the two buttons and back again, which is never quite dependable enough in the heat of the moment. Finesse shots and chip shots share a context-sensitive command (double tap of shoot) which takes a certain edge off goal poaching for example.ДЄlso, the implementation of lofted throughballs and one-two passes seems too tricky to become wholly instinctive. Understandably, given the extreme scaling-down of the controls to just two command buttons, there have been some compromises - not all of them instantly successful. Naturally, only time will tell if there are any major exploits to be had. I did detect a weakness in the system in that low powerful shots from around the edge of the box (with decent players) were a little too effective, but in general itвЂ™s a rewarding system. The ball pings off posts and flicks up off defenders convincingly, leading to a good smattering of scrappy and improvised finishes вЂ“ just like real life. Shooting is largely a success, with plenty of variation possible in terms of the goals you can score. It is possible to beat your man, but more with a swift change of direction and a bit of muscle a la Wayne Rooney. Pushing the virtual analogue stick as far as it goes will put you into the sort of run youвЂ™d see in an 800-metre track event, and thatвЂ™s as fast as youвЂ™re going to get. ThereвЂ™s no potential to beat a full-back with a change of pace, or to knock the ball past a defender and sprint past. You feel far more comfortable when on the ball as result, and able to assess your options without too much fear of the controls letting you down.ДЄs a result, the sting has been taken out of running play. While Gameloft's FIFA rival Real Football opts for a fast-flowing kick-about, EA recognises the inherent wooliness of virtual controls suit a slower, more considered game.

The main reason for its success lies in the pace of play. Rather, it wanted to hit the ground running with the franchise and to nail the touch controls at the first attempt.ДЇIFA 10 shows these efforts have paid off.ДЄlthough there remains plenty of room for improvement, EAвЂ™s game is arguably the finest footy game on iPhone. It's apparent that FIFAвЂ™s no-show was never a lack of faith in the platform on EA's part. The lack of one of the biggest multi-platform games has been a gap on the App Store. The same could be said for sports titles on the the iPhone. Until the ball flies into the onion sack, thereвЂ™ll be questions over his status. They say a striker never really starts for his new club until heвЂ™s scored his first goal.

Fifa 10