Ultimate Guide to FIFA - A chat with a Champ!

Pro gamer and FIFA legend Chris Bullard tells Darren Cross how he got so good at the game, what he thinks of FIFA 10 so far, and what new feature he’d like to introduce…

How does it feel to be a pro FIFA player, Chris?
CB SAYS: “It’s weird because I never thought of being a pro player, but I’ve kind of got used to the novelty of it now. I’ve played FIFA a lot over the past three years, and it’s become a big part of my life.”

How did you get to be so good at FIFA?
CB SAYS: “I grew up with it! When I was young I used to play it with my mates all the time. We used to have four player tournaments and, with my highly competitive streak, I’d probably have thrown the controller across the room if I didn’t win, so I chose to win more often. It saved me a lot of money on buying new controllers!

So it all started with you playing against your mates?
CB SAYS: “From FIFA 98 I’d just play friends a lot offline, then I went online with it three years ago. Playing in lots of tournaments, like the FIFA Interactive World Cup, helps you gain experience, because you’re playing against top players day-in, day-out.”

How important is practice?
CB SAYS: “Obviously practice is important, but there’s a big difference in playing 1000 games online against random people, and playing ten or twenty games with a mate and helping each other improve. It’s more important to have constructive practice than to waste hours on end playing and not really improving your game.”

When you’re not playing against a friend, do you play online or against the AI?
CB SAYS: “I only play online. I try never to play offline, because when you play against the computer it always does the same thing, so you don’t really learn anything.”

Do you always win, or do you have the odd bad day like the rest of us?
CB SAYS: “I’m definitely prone to my bad days! I can go online and, like everyone else, go two or three nil down and end up losing 6-1 or something! I normally play against top players, so if the guys I’m training with are on form when I’m having a bad day, then I can really get smashed! I give out my fair share of beatings though, so what goes around, comes around!”

Do you play the game every day?
CB SAYS: “I don’t necessarily play it every day – it really depends what kind of mood I’m in. If I’m in the swing of things then I can play it all day, for eight to twelve hours, but if something is annoying me then I’ll just have one game and not play it again all day! It really depends on what kind of mood I’m in, and if luck is going my way on the day.”

You’ve played FIFA 10. What do you think so far?
CB SAYS: “My first impression is that I really like it. It’s the fourth year with this engine, so I’d expect them to be able to iron out the issues and make it better and better, and they have. The annoying issues from last year are out and, overall, I’m impressed with what they’ve done with the game.” 

What are the most noticeable differences from 09?
CB SAYS: “General movement of the players off the ball seems a bit more free. Players seem to be moving with you when you’re passing around and building up, rather than staying behind, so that’s good. So far in this version, when you go to tackle a player you don’t lock-on, so you have to time your tackles. There’s no easy way to tackle any more, it’s a little more skilled than holding down the circle button and watching your player muscle someone out! That will be interesting.” 

So how much are you looking forward to the release of FIFA 10?
CB SAYS: “I’m really looking forward to it! It’s been a long season with FIFA 09, so I’m really looking forward to starting a new season nice and fresh with the new game.”

Which of the new features in FIFA 10 are you most excited about?
CB SAYS: “The 360 dribbling is nice. It gives more dimensions to the game and how much freestyle you can do. But I was just having a play with the free-kick creator and I’m enjoying that at the moment. It does look fun.”

How do you think the improvements to the gameplay in FIFA 10 will affect your style of play?
CB SAYS: “I think the changes will probably benefit my style. I like passing the ball around and this game does encourage a passing game, rather than playing quick chipped through balls over the defence. Pressing the player run button, then chipping a through ball and being in on goal annoyed a lot of people last year. As far as I can tell, you can’t do that in this version of the game, so hopefully there will be a bit more strategy and people will find more ways to create goals. I’d like to see crossing come up a bit more in FIFA 10 – making players run into the box then picking them out and scoring goals that way!” 

If you could introduce a brand-new feature for FIFA 10, what would you come up with?
CB SAYS: “I’d love to see 5-a-sides in the game, like in FIFA 98 when you could go into an indoor arena. Maybe they could tie that in with a Masters-style five-a-side tournament, where you’d play with club legends. So, if you’re Man. United you’d have players like Roy Keane and Eric Cantona. It would be kind of a mini game within FIFA!”

Stay tuned for much more from Chris, including his top tips on how you can become a better player, coming soon!

See you next week.

Darren