Just when we had all but written off EA’s long running FIFA series as nothing more than a nice looking arcade title that just happens to have all the licenses of the real teams and nothing more, FIFA ’08 burst into the scene to impress one and all. With its innovative Be A Pro mode and the 5 vs. 5 mode, we were pretty amazed at the turn-around that the series was showing. As much as we wanted not to, there was still this little shred of a doubt that with the next FIFA game, EA will again settle down in the rut. How wrong we were!

With FIFA ’09, the FIFA team has proved that they are not willing to rest on their laurels any more. With more then 250+ tweaks, the game has all but shed its arcade roots and moved on towards the simulation genre, winning new fans along the way. What was once the PES stronghold is now being chipped away with a renewed vigor by FIFA ’09. Gone are the days when you could sprint past the whole of the opposition to score a goal. The key here is to play like a real footballer, making use of the space, control the ball with the advanced control scheme and make the right move at the right time.

Even though the 250+ tweaks won’t be visible to you right from the word go, the game makes you feel that the programmers weren’t sitting idle with this one. Player responsiveness is immediately apparent by the way how they react to the ball, fluidly responding to your commands, all beautifully and realistically animated. To make the package even better, Custom Tactics have been added that will allow you to tinker with sliders until you get the desired attributed as close to perfection as possible. Throw in the Adidas Live Season (free for first month) which syncs the players in-game form with the real world form and you have the bar rising up yet again.

Presentation, as always, has been the strong point of the series. Unsurprisingly, FIFA ’09 does a great job in this department yet again. All the major players are true-to-life though the lesser know players tend to be generic. All the leagues are in there. The stadiums have been re-created in-game to perfection. You will be excused if you mistake the game for a live telecast; it’s so life-like. Andy Gray and Martin Tyler return to the commentary box. Specific audio-scripting for the crowds for each club elevates the experience to a much higher level. Football fans will feel right at home here, whether playing themselves or simply watching someone play.

The single player mode has the standard Exhibition match. Then there is the Manager mode, pretty deep and detailed when it comes to controlling the fate of a club as you steer them towards success through 15 seasons. But the star here is the Be A Pro mode which literally lets you shine as the brightest star in your team. You start off by either choosing your favorite player or custom-creating one. From here on, it’s up to you to display your prowess on the field over a period of four seasons and see yourself rise up the ranks from side lines to ultimately captaining your country’s team. This is stuff that dreams are made off and Be A Pro mode allows you to at least give it a shot in the virtual world.

The online mode allows you to go head-to-head with friends and random opponents in ranked and un-ranked matches. Here again we see a brilliant stroke by the FIFA team in form of 10 vs 10 mode. You choose your position on the field as you team up 9 other friends to take on another team of similarly matched opponents. A persistent rating system keeps track of your on-field antics, rewarding you when you play the right way and penalizing you if you break ranks. Extremely fun and addictive, it’s a wonder why it took so long for this to come through!

To sum it up, EA has managed to redeem itself with FIFA ’09, a game that not only gladdens the heart of its long time supporters but one that might just as well win over new ones from the PES faction. With so many features, both online and offline, it’s an absolute must-buy for any self-respecting football fan out there.

9 / 10

TRANSLATE

Translate this post into your favorite language. Click on any of the flags below to view the translated version. NOTE: Translations use the AltaVista Babel Fish Translation Service and may not be 100% accurate.

You may be the one to comment first. Please leave your message below.