Review | FIFA Football (PS Vita)

So it’s finally here. The most powerful portable on the planet hits outside of Japan bringing with it the biggest and best range of launch titles a console release has ever seen. Think back to the PlayStation 3 release and the scant wasteland that was day one and compare the plethora of games, quality games and iconic franchises that are launching with Vita and be amazed.

Sony has wisely gotten third-party publishers to fire off some of their big guns to go alongside the likes of Uncharted and ModNation as they look to build Vita into a powerhouse of touch-screen magic. But the biggest of those guns might just be EA Sport’s Fifa Football in their quest for world domination (especially in Europe).

Already holding the title for best-selling sports game of all time (with Fifa ’12), the series has hit so many heights and garnered so many legions of dedicated fans that even a piss-poor cut-and-paste of the game will sell like chocolate-covered pancakes. But thankfully Fifa on Vita is more than just a stripped-down, feature-less cash in and more a tantalizing taste of potential.

Fans of the three major overhauls introduced in Fifa ’12 on consoles might be a little disappointed when they first dive into the Vita version. Gone is tactical defending, precision dribbling and the player impact engine; indeed the game plays and looks for the most part like the previous Fifa ’11 version of the venerable sports title.

The good news though, is that Fifa ’11 was a stonking game and the tweaks made with last year’s version only improved on what was an amazing game to begin with. Despite the lack of experience with the new hardware and the lead time of making a game like Fifa even possible for launch, EA has managed to pack in an amazing host of the franchise classics as well as some new, novel, Fifa only features.

The most useful and one of the most intuitive of Vita-exclusive features across any of the launch titles is the use of rear touchscreen shooting. When a player gets into the attacking third, simply use the rear touchscreen to direct a volley goalward and get ready to throw your shirt over you head and celebrate like a 4 year-old.

Well, maybe not quite like that. The rear-touch shooting does take a but of practice for anyone that is used to the regular style of play normally featured in Fifa, but those that are able to master is will soon find a whole new way of dominating opponents and a feeling of pure joy at pulling of a stunning free kick with just the flick of a wrist.

Not as successful is the inclusion of front-touch passing. Tapping on an onscreen player will pass the ball over to them, while tapping vigorously all over the screen will make you feel like a complete moron as your players pass the ball directly to the opposition. This awkward meld of touch-passing and analog-stick movement is a little jarring and should hopefully get overhauled come the inevitable Fifa Football 2.

The Vita version of Fifa is perhaps the most packed sports game on a portable system yet. Almost all of the standard Fifa modes are present and accounted for and with the inclusion of the epic 15-year career mode and create-a-player options, Fifa Football is a landmark for what the portable system can do.

With the potential use of new Vita features (most prominently the front and rear touchscreens), Fifa on Vita seems like a match made in heaven. And while this Fifa can’t quite be the barn-stormer that everyone was hoping for, it’s an amazing accomplishment for portable gaming and will leave fans heavy with anticipation with what they can do with another 12 months of experience.  [7.5]