FIFA 2009 Posted by Joe Anderson on Oct 5, 2008 19:45 (Oct 5, 2008 19:45) |
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The football season has been underway for a couple of months now, so as is usual for this time of year it’s time for FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer to fight it out for the football game of the year title, and this year it promises to be a fight all the way to the last day of the season, heck it may even come down to goal difference.
The first contender to hit the stores this year is FIFA 2009, and along with its usual stunning presentation it is also bringing some other rather impressive features in to bolster its squad. EA have said that overall there are 250 additions and enhancements to the core gameplay which sounds rather impressive, amongst these changes is new animation technology which is meant to create more responsive first time shooting, dribbling and passing, but is this just PR spiel or can you actually notice a difference once the controller is in your hands?
 Anyone who had played FIFA 2008 previously should notice the difference between that game and FIFA 2009 within the first couple of minutes into their first match, play does feel more responsive and the computer AI seems much smarter, closing down space faster than ever before, also your teammates seem to have been promoted a few divisions, all of a sudden they will now run into space, put their hand up to request the ball and also your goalkeeper now seems to understand that stopping the ball from going into the net is part of his job description.
Shooting at goal also feels more responsive as per the description, your striker will attempt the shots you hoped he would, volleying goalward from a cross or diving to try and score with any part of his body imaginable. Other additions to the gameplay make for some entertainment, now when you score a goal, (which are so much harder to come by) you can celebrate in style by following the onscreen prompt to cartwheel, taunt the crowd and all manner of things, which is good to see because it’s something that they seem to be trying to stamp out in real football (yellow card for over celebrating indeed, come on who thought of that rule?)
It has to be said that FIFA still doesn’t really feel like Pro Evolution Soccer, no sir, this game is more about the patient build up to win the day rather than Pro Evo’s fast paced action that so many hardcore football fans love, however I suppose it just depends what style you like better, me personally I love both games and my collection wouldn’t be complete without either of them.
As with last year’s version the menu is accessible using the start button, and as soon as you hit this it is then you realise that there are even more options available to you than there was then. EA seem to have really pushed the boat out especially in the online side of things. Just as in FIFA 08, you have the options to play through a season or cup competition using any of Europe’s biggest teams or alternatively you can choose to Be a Pro and play through an entire four seasons as either your favourite professional player or one you have created.
EA have also introduced custom team tactics in this latest version, allowing you to choose between an incredible 140 attacking and 40 defending options, which we are told equates to 50,000 different combinations, no wonder managers get paid so much and lose all of their hair. As if all of these options are not enough players also have the opportunity to make use of the all new Adidas Live Season feature which allows you to make use of live statistics from real football which are loaded into the game each week, although if you want this feature for more than one league then you will have to pay from the privilege.
 Online is where FIFA really steps up it’s game this year by allowing you to play as a Pro in a 10 vs 10 match. The way this works is that each player will choose a position they wish to play, during the match you can still switch to the nearest player providing that one is available. Having tested this out I have to say I was very impressed with the way it works, everything seems to run very smoothly although you can tell that this is a new feature given that it is quite basic looking sometimes, however this is no doubt something that will improve immensely over the next couple of years and in any case it is a fantastic feature which works really well. If you wish you can even create a team with all your friends and take on the world, now that is impressive.
When it comes to presentation no other football game comes close to FIFA, the in menu practice system returns allowing you to take shots at a keeper using your favourite player, and in game everything looks as polished as ever. The stadiums are fantastic, the players have a real quality likeness when compared to their real life counterparts and as for the commentary, well as ever it is flawless.
If the best football game was decided on presentation and wealth of options then FIFA would win hands down, however with FIFA 2-0 up at half time it is now down to Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 to do the talking on the pitch. Over to you Konami.
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