Tying it all together is the reshaped responsiveness for FIFA 07. You'll be able to bust out moves and reactions much faster than the current versions, with running and passing animations bleeding into each other instead of choppily jumping around. Basically, it'll not only look and feel smooth, it's actually play nice too.
When we played around on the field, we also noticed how agile the goalies have become. Maybe it's just our own inept attempts at scoring, but these guys were all over the net. That said, there appeared to be a trick to score nearly every time - run up to the line, have the goalie dive for the ball, then use the right stick to yank it away and then shoot the ball over the fallen player.
Such fancy footwork is possible due to that very right stick move. You can use it to tap the ball in any direction, creating feints and misleading runs to the goal that mimic real-life plays. Each player will also handle moderately different, with defensive players chugging along a bit in scoring mode and some guys understandably ruling the field. You'll be able to slowly build up your teams, however, with the management mode, so lackluster players can build up their stats for the next round.
We'll have a version of our own in the offices in just a matter of weeks, so head back for updated impressions on one of this year's biggest titles.
