Fifa Tops The Table (FIFA 09 (Xbox 360))

Member Name: tez2k007

Product:	FIFA 09 (Xbox 360)
Date:	09/10/08 (823 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great gameplay, great visuals, great sound

Disadvantages: None

Any one will tell your that when it comes to football games your either a Pro Evolution Soccer player or your a Fifa player. You cant be both as it just does not work like that.

For years the battle has been ongoing between Electronic Arts and Konami for who could produce the best football game each year. For many years it seemed like Konami had the upper hand as their game was more playable and user friendly compared to the Fifa titles.

I have been a loyal Pro Evolution fan myself over the years but just like everything else in life things change and so do games. After being a bit disappointed in last years Pro Evolution, I constantly had my friends on at me to make the jump to Fifa. I admit I was hesitant but I had sort of made up my mind that I wasn't going to buy Pro Evolution this year anyway. After being assured I would not regret buying Fifa, and after reading good things about it I thought it sounded good so I decided I would give it a shot. I could not have been more wrong. To say the game is good is an understatement, as let me tell you now its absolutely amazing. This is a fine example of how a next generation console should present a football game.

From the minute you put the game into the tray and you see the intro you just know its going to be something special. The one advantage Fifa has always had over Pro Evolution is its looks and the fact it has the official license so you do actually get to play as Manchester United and Chelsea rather than Man Red and London Blue.

If anyone has played any of the recent Tiger Woods games then the menu layout is practically identical to what you would see on them. Before getting into the menu's themselves you go through a few quick set up steps such as setting your control type and difficulty. Once you get to the main menu you can do several things. The obvious things include jumping straight into a quick game with pre set teams or setting up a tournament which includes most of Europe's top leagues and cups.


Quick Match

This is basically what it says in which you can jump right into a game without going through lots of settings and selections. You can pre set the two teams at any time and save them for future use as well as other settings such as weather and length of game. Once these settings are saved they will be stored for future quick match games meaning you can jump straight into the game.

Tournament Mode

As previously stated this is the normal mode which you can use to compete in one of many competitions. You can compete in the English Premier League to the Italian Serie A, as well as The Champions League and even international tournaments such as The World Cup. There is even an option to create your own tournaments meaning you could have a league or cup consisting of all the best teams from around the globe.

Manager Mode

One of my favourite modes, as not only do you get to control your favourite team but you get to make the decisions you wish real managers would make. You can take your team through a normal number of seasons fighting for silverware and even improving your team along the way. Michael Owen not performing for you? Well how about diving into the transfer market to find a replacement. You can buy and sell your players to how you see fit and you can change the currency to whatever suits you.

Be a Pro Mode

The newest feature to the series and by far the most addictive and entertaining of the lot. In this mode you start off by creating a custom player who you will control in your quest to rise up the ranks and break out onto the national scene. You do get the option to control your favourite player such as Ronaldo, Ronaldinho etc. However the main challenge is building up a player from scratch. The first stage is creating your player's look which includes facial design as well as his overall look. You get to choose if you want your shirt tucked in or out as well as what football boots he wears. There is a wide selection of official boots to choose from so you will have more than enough options available to you. You also need to put in some data information such as how your name appears on the back of your shirt and how the commentators refer to you. This is a cool feature which lets you select a surname from a long list and means during a game the commentator will actually call you by your name when your on the ball.

The concept of be a pro made revolves around your one player and the fact that he is the only controllable player during the match. The camera is good enough so that you can see everything around you so you always know where to run and who to pass to. It would be tempting to just run all over the pitch like a headless chicken but the game rewards you for being more tactical. If you have chosen to play as a central defender you will find that drifting up front and moving out of position too often will affect your match rating. The object of the game is to pull in consistently good match ratings so you can advance your career, so playing as a one man team is not the way to do it. Sticking to your position, completing passes, tackles and dribbles will all get you boosts to your overall rating, where as drifting out of position, mis timing tackles and failed passes will all count against you and drag your rating down.

As your career progresses you will slowly move up from the reserves and into the first team. Play really well and you may even find yourself leading the team on the field on a regular basis. Once you have the captain's armband a whole lot more options become available to you. You are able to tinker with tactics as well as set piece takers and certain roles for different players. Although your still only controlling one player throughout the game it does feel like it gives you extra control of things. Being able to change tactics during the game is a big help in killing teams off or helping to come back from a negative score line. Of course the biggest achievement you can hope for is that you break on to the international scene and that is just what happens if you manage to pull in good performances week in week out.

This mode is a great new feature to the franchise and is very similar to what I have seen in the Madden NFL games where you also take control of one player and guide him through his career. It's a fun addictive mode to play and you can even have one or two of your friends join in the fun and play alongside you as they also take control of a player of their choice. The only gripe I have with this mode is that you only get to play 4 seasons. This in my opinion is a bit disappointing as its sort of forcing you to start all over once the time is up rather than just continuing to play. I don't think a time frame was required for this mode and although you may get a congratulations by the end of it there should have been an option to play on. On the plus side though once your finished you can restart with another player and try out a new position.

Whichever mode you play your treated to some brilliant visuals. The game has always been the better looking of the football titles but this year's next gen console version sets the bar for all other games to follow. Stadiums look brilliant as well as the playing surfaces themselves. The shadows look realistic too and those from certain stadiums which have stands with roofs will reflect down on the pitch making some areas more darker than others. The players themselves look much better compared to previous games. Some of the faces still could do with a bit of work but all in all it's a minor detail when you take into consideration all the other positives. Even the fans look more realistic and there are a lot more individual fans that do their own thing compared to many games where you will see multiple versions of them sitting in seats next to each other.

Sound in the game is brilliant also. The soundtrack is really good and includes a few good songs that I am sure you will recognise no problem. The commentary in the game is the Sky Sports crew of Martin Tyler and Andy Gray, and in my opinion they do a much better job than the Pro Evolution commentators. They never fall behind the action and give good information with regards to how the game is panning out. As I mentioned earlier when your playing as yourself they will even call your name as you make passes and take shots. Its really good to hear your name get a mention along with the top stars of football. The players are more vocal in the game also and will shout instructions at you during the match. Things from shouting for a foul after being hacked down, or shouting for the ball to be played into space so they can advance on goal. The atmosphere of any real football match though comes from the fans themselves. The fans in Fifa are superb and are vocal through out the match. You will hear them cheer and shout as your team moves up field and they will even sing out to famous club chants. If you go to regular football games you can expect to hear most of the club chants and songs that you would hear coming from the fans in Fifa. It really makes the game more realistic and gives you the feeling that the fans are really behind you wanting you to put on a show.

The controls in the game can be altered to what suits you best but the basic controls are very simple. The main buttons include pass, through ball, cross and shoot and the shoulder buttons give you access to sprinting as well as the basis to perform tricks. Tricks are ever present in this game and they are easily done if you can pull them off. Most of the tricks can be performed by moving the right analogue stick in different directions. The more complex the trick is then the harder the movement will be on the stick. A simple side step may require a flick to the left but several step over's may require several directional combinations on the stick. Don't expect to be able to pull off tricks left right and centre though, as like real life the game recognises that not every player can do them. Several step over's and flicks may seem easy when in control of someone like Christiano Ronaldo, but try doing it with someone like Robbie Savage and I guarantee you the outcome will not be what you were hoping for. Only the better players in the game will be able to perform the more complex tricks, but most players will be able to do a simple side step. Don't think for a second that you will be to pull off tricks from box to box with a defender and stick the ball in the net. The computer A.I is much improved and more aware of what's going on around them. The game makes you play tactically rather than direct. You will usually be forced to put passes together and build up to an attack rather than go direct down the flanks running at full speed. If you do manage to beat your man, you wont be able to just lose him as he will stay on you and try and close you down as best he can. This is a great feature which is what has made Fifa so popular. Pro Evolution always got the vote when it came to game play but it seems that this time Electronic Arts have nailed this one and got it spot on. Everyone will remember the times when you could take a defender from one end, and do multiple tricks all the way down the middle of the pitch and score at the other end. In Fifa 09 this will be near impossible as it plays to a more patient and realistic approach giving you the greatest football experience to date.

The movement of the players is the most realistic you will see ever in a football game. Players call for passes and point to where they want the ball played. This is a big help for picking out killer passes to break down the opposing teams defences. Even the goal keepers are vastly improved and react much better than in other games. They will rush out and dive at the player's feet in an attempt to close you down quickly and stop you from scoring. The biggest drawback to any football game is once you play it time and time again you can usually learn which the best positions are to score from. Lots of football games have sweet spots which when you shoot from will almost always result in a goal. Fifa on the other hand is the opposite. You can score from many different positions including screamers from outside of the area but just because you score from a position once will not guarantee the same outcome again. This is one of the best things about the game which prevents it from being repetitive. I personally got bored of playing football games and winning every game 8-0 with all goals looking exactly the same as the previous. As you play the game more you will realise that you will play an even number of plays from the wings as you will from the middle, as there is an even chance of creating a goal by both. There is nothing sweeter than hitting a 30 yard screamer and although you wont get them constantly, you will try them more than often in hope of beating the keeper to the top corner.

If you have Xbox live you can hook up for some really fun online play. All the basic game modes are there as well as a 10 v 10 mode in which every outfield player can be controlled. I have not tested this mode myself yet but I think it will definitely be one worth trying. As long as its not jumpy and its not a case of all 20 players chasing the ball at once then it could be a really good feature. On a lot of EA games I have played however in the past the servers always seem to suffer and run slower with the more players you have, so I will refrain from commenting until I have actually tested it.

The developers are also adding downloadable content via the market place which will include stat updates. As the real life season's progress and players go in and out of form, the developers will update their stats so that you can download them and keep you game up to date constantly. This I think is a great little thing which will mean that your rosters are always up to date and that they mirror the real game themselves.

Overall if you like football games then you will love this game. Even the die hard Pro Evolution fans will find it hard to argue with the facts this year. Having heard some not so impressive things about the new edition of Pro Evolution I would not be surprised if like me, more and more people make the switch.

The game plays fantastic, it looks great and the sound is superb, so what more can you ask for in a football game. EA have certainly hit the jackpot this year and stole the top spot from Konami. Konami are going to have to produce something pretty big in next year's game as this year's does not seem to be much different from the last. Fifa may have been criticised heavily in the past but the developers have went away and had a long think. The end result is a game that is enjoyable and fun to play while giving you a realistic gaming experience.

Top marks to EA for finally getting it right. The best football game to date.

Summary: Takes the top spot from PES. Best football game to date.