First impressions:
Well my last Fifa game was WC06 on the 360. I played this again the other day and it seemed a little scripted. Well, someone just took that script and ripped it up! Unbelievable.
The gameplay is very fluid and there appears to be no frame rate issues from the limited time I have played. The ball is completely free, the players are free, its just free movement. It does seem a little slower than football games in the past, but I believe this may be a more realistic speed. I imagine there will be options to change this. The slowness seems to come in trying to turn a player, they just turn a little slow.
I started with Barce vs Milan (at Wembley, the only choice). I scored a great goal with Eto on my first shot, a right footer from the edge of the box to top right corner. I thought, oh know, same old Fifa on shots. BUt, all my shots since missed the target. The, Messi broke down the wing and sent in a hanging cross to the D. Using the right stick I pulled Ronaldinho back and hit a volley on the turn which bounced before the keeper heading to bottom right corner. The technique was immense. Dida saved the shot, I wish I could show the video as if Fifa is like this well we're in for a treat.
All the menus are the same format as NHL07 for those who have played it. Probably a universal EA thing.
My only concern is graphics. I'm not sure this demo is in full HD, and if it is well the stadium leaves a lot to be desired with some jaggies on the roof gurders. The crowd also looks rubbish compared to NHL07. However the pitch looks good and the nets are acceptable, but not really an improvement. You can choose how to cut the pitch, small sqaure, big sqaures, circles etc, by default Wembley is circles.
I hope they cut out the background graphics to compress the file size. There is no commentary so maybe thats an indicator.
Back to the game!