APP OF THE DAY - EA Sports FIFA Superstars (Facebook)

Pocket-lint

By Rik Henderson

Published Jun 23, 2010

Let's be honest here, this was written before the England vs Slovenia match, mainly because we wanted to SEE the England vs Slovenia match and are currently either a) raucously celebrating a hard-fought victory which sees the plucky Three Lions heading gloriously into the knock-out rounds, or b) drowning our sorrows. Either way, we're most likely in a pub.

However, App of the Day must go on no matter the circumstances. Neither adversity nor glory stands in the way of award-winning journalism. No siree.

Nor do they stop us harking on, in something resembling the English language, about an app we happen to take a fancy on. So, whether England won or lost, the show must go on...

EA Sports FIFA Superstars

Format: PC or Mac
Price: Free to play (with some pay model extras)
Where: Facebook

Playfish is building a reputation as a more-than viable rival to Zynga in the Facebook game stakes. Its Gangster City and newly crafted My Empire games offer plenty of depth to accompany their lush graphical user interfaces and social playability. However, it is a tie-in with EA Sports that has inspired the greatest of the developer's applications, FIFA Superstars.

Essentially, the MMOG is a cross between a statistic-based card game and Football Manager. You start out with a team of no-hopers and, through earning in-game coins via friendly and league match results, can upgrade it to take on the best.

The FIFAPro license allows real-world player names and pictures to be used, but you're more likely to be stuck with a South Korean reserve team player than a Rooney or Torres - they have to be earned and bought.

The main aim of the game is to rise through levels and the different leagues on offer by beating computer-managed teams. However, there is, perhaps, more fun in taking on your mates (as determined through your Facebook friends). Friendly matches don't win you much experience or coin, but bragging rights can be worth more sometimes.

Certainly functionality is yet to be introduced, such as being able to swap players amongst friends Panini sticker-wise, and to rise rapidly can cost a fair amount of real life cash (real money can be exchanged for in game credits), but those with patience can also do well for free.