Want to know a lesser known bit of gaming trivia? Over the last 16 years, EA has brought the world over 40 football titles. With all that practice, you would have to assume that the company is getting pretty close to producing the ultimate version of the ‘beautiful game’. But while this years title is thoroughly accomplished and well presented, it isn’t without its faults, and there really is still no clear cut decision for those wondering whether to roll with FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer for their football title of choice this year.

If you’ve been around the FIFA series or any EA Sports title over the last 5 years, you’ll know that presentation is paramount. Ironic then that you are dropped into an incredibly raw and rootsy feeling one-on-one between you and the ‘keeper, at night, in a random stadium. Whilst initially off-putting it’s actually a rather thoughtful and brave move on behalf of the developer, and serves as a visual metaphor for what the team has aimed to achieve with FIFA 10. The theme this year seems to be portraying not just a great game of football, but the inherent ‘feelings’ behind the world’s favourite sport. Dumping you into a playing field in a South American ghetto comes across at first as a bit of a waste of the FIFA license (an excuse for pomp and ceremony if ever there was one), but it’s actually very fitting, as it’s environments like this from where true passion for the sport comes from.

Likewise, the animation isn’t particularly flashy, but through modesty comes it’s inherent brilliance. The game never feels it needs to show off particularly, yet on the pitch, players move and react incredibly realistically and from afar, with the oh-so-officially branded HUD removed, you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a real match. Players call for passes, indicate that they’re open, jostle for position, and generally move very convincingly across the pitch. Sound also plays a key factor, and once you’ve managed to tune out the commentators prattling on about things that may or may not be occurring on the turf, the atmosphere of football is beautifully captured. Something instinctual occurs at the back of your mind when you hear a fellow player shout ‘MAN ON!’ and it’s this that FIFA captures so well. Likewise, sound changes depending on the kind of environment you are playing in and the team you’re playing as, which all lends to the feeling of verisimilitude. Player models themselves are a little disappointing, still retaining their mannequin-like appearance, but to be honest you need to be pretty close to the action to notice.

With the aforementioned lack of visual flair, the player at home is left to focus on formulating strategies, spotting weaknesses in their opponents’ game, and capitalising on them, because if you don’t, your opponent will. The game doesn’t mess around, even on the default settings, and if you haven’t played a football game for a while, you quickly realise that brushing up on your skills is the only way to progress. Which brings me very neatly to my first real complaint, accessibility. This was my first FIFA title since 2001, and for all the criticism that is laid at the door of EA in its approach to sports games, it has to be said that this is nothing like those earlier titles. If you’re new to the series, the game doesn’t do a particularly good job at telling you how to play it, it simply assumes from the offset that you know what the offside rule is, why you’d want to field a 4-4-2 formation, and why playing at home is better than playing away. For those reading that feel that these are common knowledge, go and pick up a copy of Madden 10, and you’ll experience what I’m talking about, it’s exactly the same feeling of bewilderment, frustration, and apathy that any gamer faces when a title doesn’t explain how to get the most from it. The sheer number of options you are given will most likely put off newer players, and as always the game is best when it’s at its simplest, two players, on a couch, in an exhibition match.

MLG Rating: 8 / 10

.detuned is a music based title recently released on Playstation Network for PS3. Will it be music to your ears, or a melodic mistake?

First impressions of .detuned’s presentation are not good. When you boot the ‘game’ up you are presented with an early PS2 era loading screen; a ‘loading’ bar, in white, on a black background. Get with the fucking program SCEA Santa Monica; it’s 2009, we require small, cylindrically arranged flashing circles to tell us to sit still and be patient.

It’s not stuffy and it’s not pretentious, it’s just arty and theres nothing necessarily wrong with that, but while I’ll defend the existence of art on consoles to the bitter end, this is certainly not a ‘game’. There aren’t really rules to follow, nothing to collect or destroy, no story, and barring exceptionally easy trophies, nothing to achieve. But what there is after the relatively small download, is something that wouldn’t feel out of place in a gallery of modern art. Unlike most ‘demoscene’ experiments, .detuned is interactive; a man sitting in a chair in an electric blue landscape is your play thing, as is the music that accompanies the scene. By ‘pumping’ the R2 and L2 buttons, different effects can be placed on the avatar, and on the score, with effects ranging from inflating the man’s head and slowing the beat, to splitting him into four and ripping all the bass out of the song. You can add modifiers to this with the analog sticks, in order to make the most interesting visuals possible, but that’s pretty much it. The controls are very precise, and the range of motions actually quite disturbing. Convulsing in the chair as if experiencing a fit is accurately grotesque, and each play through can truly feel like the equivalent of a bad drug trip. One effect in particular affects the sound in such a way to be audibly more ‘real’, more present in the room if that makes sense, another changes the soundscape entirely differently, making it incredibly depressing and almost offensive to listen to.

.detuned is exactly what you make of it, literally and figuratively. With just one song to play around with and the aforementioned lack of objectives, you can see all the piece has to offer in half an hour. For the kind of person that this is an issue for, this title is not for you, you’ll be wanting something with a little more in the way of direction or a conclusion that is more than simply the final bar of a tune. To those with an inquisitive nature and an interest in games being something more than just Space Invaders, you’re best bet is to take advantage of the hard drive nestling inside that PS3, rip some songs and experiment with those in game, approaching it as a ‘toy’ to have on with company over. Something to have on in the background while entertaining and as a discussion point for the tech-savvy art crowd at a dinner party, this is where .detuned shines the brightest. Further proof then that, at the moment, PSN clinches it if you’re looking for an experience totally like no other. It joins Noby Noby Boy, Flower and Tori-Emaki as innovative but smaller products we can hold up as incredibly creative titles, pioneering a new wave of digital entertainment, blurring the line between kinetic art and video game.

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