Today at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany, EA put rumors the FIFA franchise would not appear on next-gen consoles this Fall to bed by unveiling ‘FIFA Soccer 07’ for Xbox 360.
The third Xbox 360 entry in the FIFA series will utilize an all-new game engine that’s been in development at EA Canada for the past two years. It marks the single largest investment ever made in a soccer video game, and also represents the single most sophisticated ever to come out of the studio.
The engine, which we caught a glimpse of at E3 this past May, will allow AI players to think and act individually based on a complex set of data attributes. Each player moves based on their attributes so, in theory, no two players will move alike. This revolution marks the first big step away from pre-rendered animations that have held back true sports realism in games for years.
The engine also includes a new physics system so the ball will behave naturally. Again, in theory, each pass and shot on goal should feel unique from one another instead of a pre-scripted action.
Up-to-the-minute real-life game results will stream into ‘FIFA Soccer 07’ via Xbox Live in the form of podcasts, video and a news ticker. True soccer afficionados will be in their own game and be able to track real-life games simultaneously.
We should have some screenshots showing off this new engine shortly. Stay tuned.
