FIFA 09: Football Game Of The Year (FIFA 09 (PS3))

Member Name: TheMasterplan

Product:	FIFA 09 (PS3)
Date:	27/07/09 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Most realistic football game ever, good graphics and smooth gameplay, licences, good online

Disadvantages: Poor player faces, Lesser known leagues and teams are less detailed.

As a former PES fan, it pains me to admit it but there are no 2 ways about it: FIFA has over taken PES in being the king of the football games. After PES 2008 and 2009 I have felt disillusioned by Konami's series, feeling let down by empty promises and them taking several step backwards instead of improving. So I turned to FIFA 09, expecting what the FIFA series used to be like; poor gameplay covered up by shiny licences and official team names etc.

I was however, pleasantly surprised by FIFA this year. The gameplay is the most realistic I have ever experienced and EA has nailed every aspect of the Beautiful game, from the slick passing to an ultra-realistic gameplay pace and excellent animations. They have even nailed the uglier side of the game, you have to fight for every header and fifty-fifty challenge, which is made even more realistic by fantastic ball physics that replicate how a ball would react to forces in a real world. The AI is also very good, on your own team forwards will make intelligent runs into space and look for the pass, while midfielder will cover up gaps left by defenders when they go up the pitch.

The opposition can be quite challenging, especially on the top level where it will require a lot of practice to beat them. To be the best you will have to master the excellent 'trick stick'. This is assigned to the right analogue stick and can be used in several ways; 1. combined with L2 to allow the player to do tricks (step overs, shoulder drops, rotations etc); 2. As a heavy first touch to lose the defenders; 3. To knock the ball ahead of the player while sprinting.

The modes are also excellent and varied; Manager Mode is very good and pretty realistic although it is not quite as good as Master League in PES. Be A Pro is very good (better than PES's Become A Legend) but not all that realistic. Online is generally lagless and streets ahead of PES.

The graphics are amazing from far out and may fool you into thinking that you are actually watching a real match on TV. When you zoom in on the players however the faces are not very good. Except for the really high profile players (Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Gerrard etc) they don't look that much like their real life counterparts, this is an area that EA need to work on for FIFA 10.

In conclusion, FIFA 09 is a fantastic game and probably the most realistic football game to date. If you are a fan of football, then FIFA 09 is the only football game you need to buy this year.

Summary: Better than PES 2009, the only football game you need to buy this year.