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FIFA 09
| Genre | Sports |
| Developer | EA Canada |
| Publisher | EA Sports |
| Modes | Single/Multiplayer |
| Rating | PEGI 3+ |
| Released | 09.10.2008 |
It’s that time of the year again, the football season has started and the inevitable rush of football simulator games hit the shelves. FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer embark on another annual contest to see which is the most realistic. The folks at Konami always seem to get one over on FIFA, sure they don’t have the money to buy licensing for every club in the world but they make up for it with the most realistic gameplay in the genre. Well, that is until now. In recent versions, EA Sports have started to close the gap and this season they finally have a life-like football experience that is now arguably better than PES!
In the past, football fans were forced to choose between realistic gameplay or authenticity. This year FIFA has put an end to that and now you can find the whole package in this year’s game. The entire gameplay engine was revamped in FIFA 08 and now this season’s version has been tweaked to a near perfect standard. A very noticeable improvement is the quality of animation and movement within the game, players now call for the ball by pointing to where they want it and defenders appeal for offside. The graphics have improved in respect to the player’s faces; the plastic look has been replaced by life-like models that bear great resemblance to the real pros. Opposition AI has been improved and now the other team will not stop until they have prized the ball from your possession, the only real way to succeed is through accurate passing and well timed runs. The whole pace of the game has been optimised to accurately simulate the real thing as much as possible.
FIFA 09 contains a number of exciting game modes to keep you entertained at least until next year. Be a Pro: Seasons allows you to step into the boots of your own, custom player or those of a current professional. Your goal over the four season is to work your way into the first team, stay there and secure a place in your national team. You control one player from a team in contrast to a whole team. This feature is best played online where you can get a group of friends together and form a team. Obviously the increased number of players gives the game more lag and communication can sometimes be an issue with all the shouting from your team mates but overall the online system is very good and great fun.
As with previous FIFA games you have the other generic game modes including Quick matches, Manager Mode and the online ranked and unranked games. The main difference to the standard games is the addition of the custom-tactics feature where you can adjust 11 different factors for each team, including positioning and aggressiveness, and then map your tactics to the D pad to trigger during a game.
The game, as always is presented in a way that is unrivalled by other games in the genre. The menus look spectacular and the soundtrack is varied. Various real-world feeds have been integrated to provide you with the latest scores and football headlines as you play. EA have also given users a direct link to the website so that they can upload tactics and highlights to share with others.
In short, FIFA 09 is the best in the series so far. If you have always been a fan then you shouldn’t have to think twice about picking this game up, if, however you are a devout Pro Evo enthusiast then maybe this is the season to try something new as FIFA boasts great gameplay and authenticity.