FIFA 09 (Xbox 360)

...when the first version of Fifa International Soccer (as it was called then) appeared on consoles in the early to mid 90’s. Its 45 degree angle pitch and amazing graphics blew everything away in its path. Every year from here on in, Electronic Arts sports division, EA Sports have taken the previous years offering and tweaked it slightly. Early on there wasn’t much real competition, Sensible Soccer came and went but Fifa was the only game serious football ...
...Gamers were either in the Fifa camp or the PES (as it is affectionately known) camp with very few gamers actually having no preference between the two. After seeing PES on the PS2, I too was converted, it just seemed more like a proper game of football than all the razzmatazz and glamour associated with Fifa. Right up until last year, PES was the only football game for me, it played like a dream, though if I’m being honest, not much was changing ... more

Background

I remember when the first version of Fifa International Soccer (as it was called then) appeared on consoles in the early to mid 90’s. Its 45 degree angle pitch and amazing graphics blew everything away in its path. Every year from here on in, Electronic Arts sports division, EA Sports have taken the previous years offering and tweaked it slightly. Early on there wasn’t much real competition, Sensible Soccer came and went but Fifa was the only game serious football fans talked about. Towards the end of the 90s’ Konami attempted to break EA’s hold on the football market with their game, Pro Evolution Soccer. This was to be the start of one of the biggest debates in recent gaming history between sports fans. Suddenly this new kid on the block was seriously threatening Fifa’s crown. Gamers were either in the Fifa camp or the PES (as it is affectionately known) camp with very few gamers actually having no preference between the two. After seeing PES on the PS2, I too was converted, it just seemed more like a proper game of football than all the razzmatazz and glamour associated with Fifa. Right up until last year, PES was the only football game for me, it played like a dream, though if I’m being honest, not much was changing from year to year. When this years versions came out, PES was slated by the gaming press as being nothing new. This coupled with the fact that I knew there were issues with the online play last year made me wary. At the same time, all my friends who were stout PES addicts had jumped ship and were telling me how awesome Fifa was. This piece of information alone, pretty much made up my mind. Off I went to Game feeling like a traitor. I walked past the display of PES titles on the shelf, picked up Fifa, handed over my cash and made a hasty retreat.

First Impressions

On loading the game for the first time, things were exactly how I expected them to be. A splash screen shows an impressive array of licenses leagues in the game (the first plus point over PES who have never managed to get the license). Before you get to the menu options though, you are taken to the Fifa arena which I love. This, in simple terms is where you get to show off in one on ones with the keeper, more on this shortly. Graphics are beautiful in full 1080hd and players movements are very realistic, especially the keepers who pull off some wonderful, but not impossible saves.

The game

There are now a lot more game modes than were in the last version I bought which was Fifa 2002. All game modes can be tweaked to your individual preference with plenty of difficulty levels which to me was a godsend as even though I have played football games for the past decade or so, I’ve always been rubbish at them. Even now I haven’t played on all modes although there is something for everyone in here from the budding striker to the new Fergie in management mode.

Fifa Arena

This is great fun, You have free reign to try out your tricks, which are not easy to perform, as well as tuning up your shooting from free play, free kicks or penalties. This mode is fun, especially when you try to make the keeper look silly by drawing him out, only to pull the ball back and leave him sprawling on the floor as you casually walk past him to fire into an empty net. To take free kicks and penalties in this mode, just press on the D pad at any time. You will then be able to take a dead ball kick from wherever the ball was when you pressed the D pad. If the ball was in the area at the time then, obviously you’ll get a penalty kick. You can spend literally hours in this mode as it is just so much fun. If you choose the right player to control then you can score some really good goals and pull off some great tricks. My only frustration is that I cant take my shooting boots from the arena to the actual game. If I could then I wouldn’t be a bad player.

Matchday

There are numerous ways of playing the match, single player mode where you are in full control of your team, multiplayer co-op where you can have your friends join you on the same team, and multiplayer versus where you and a group of friends can challenge each other for the bragging rights. Once the players are established, its onto the team selection. Fifa comes with a whole host of leagues and national teams, all fully licensed. I was really impressed that every professional league club in England is recreated perfectly. You can either choose your team and opposition manually or let the game pick one at random.

The match starts with the usual polished buildup we’ve come to expect from EA. It begins with the players in the tunnel before panning round the stadium showing the expectant fans. Time for kickoff and here the fun really begins. First thing of note for all you converts is that the controls are not the same as PES. Although they are configurable, I decided to leave them as the original configuration. What this did mean on numerous occasions early on was that I’d be clean through with the goal at my mercy only to put a long pass aimlessly over the bar as this would have been a shot on PES.

There is a vast array of button combinations that can be used to perform one-twos, fake shots, fake passes, etc. These all take a lot of time to get used to and perfect. I am still learning them now and it is very satisfying when they come off. I find the control system very responsive and all players react instantly to your instructions.
Probably my biggest criticism of the game is that the referees can be very strict. You can make an innocent tackle or barge which the referee will deem as serious foul play and send you off. As the game makes use of the advantage rule, it could also mean that game time could progess for 10 minutes or so before you actually get sent off for such a foul making it even more frustrating as you don’t even remember putting in the challenge. This aside, the game really does feel like you are watching a match on TV. Players make intelligent runs, defenders track back sensibly and you really have to work hard to put the ball in the net. Gone are the days in previous versions where there was a spot that you could score from every time!

Commentary in this game is superb, something that Fifa has always held over PES. The legendary team of Martin Tyler and Andy Gray from Sky Sports do a great job of calling the action and adding a bit of humor too. This commentary isn’t too repetitive and its quite rare for them to use the same phrase more than once a game.

If, at the end of the game, there is still no winner you get the choice of ending the game as a draw, playing silver goal , playing golden goal or going straight to penalties which is always good fun.

Be a pro

I wasn’t exactly sure how well this would work if I was being honest. You take control of a single player on your side, either a real player or you can make one up (ie yourself) to play as. The idea is to get out of your reserve team into the international squad within 4 seasons. During the game, your rating goes up or down depending on your performance. This is measured against elements such as shooting, passing, positioning and tackling. This mode is played vertically, giving you more visibility of the whole pitch at one time. I found this mode difficult at first as the tendancy is to go after the ball or to try and control a player other than your own. Once you get used to the concept however, it is a very good challenge and gives you an insight into how the pro’s have to think about their game. Saying that, I’m still in Tottenham’s reserve team and not showing any sign of progressing!!

Xbox Live

As with most games these days, Fifa 09 is available to play via Xbox Live. In order to do this, you will need to register on the EA servers once you have signed into your Live account. It is worth noting that you have to be at least 13 years of age before EA will allow you to play online, something that my 10 year old son wasn’t too happy about when he had a one month gold free trial but I suppose its good from the child protection point of view.

When online you can play a normal one v one match, either with your friends or a complete stranger from anywhere in the world. As someone fairly new to Xbox Live, I love just playing against random people with the headset on and having a chat whilst playing.

There are numerous leagues online which you can join, although from my experience most of them are either locked or full. You can also set up your own leagues, in which you determine the rules and decide who is eligible to join. I haven’t managed to find a league suitable to my ability yet!!

Perhaps the biggest step forward for online play is the 20 player team match. This is very similar to the offline Be a Pro mode but all 20 outfield players are controlled by humans which makes for some very interesting conversations over the headsets. One thing I don’t like about this mode is that team captains (appears to be the first person who joins the team) has the ability to kick players off their team. This is extremely annoying if you have been in the game setup screen for 5 minutes waiting for enough players to join, only to be kicked out within the first 2 minutes of the game because the captain wants his friend to play in your positon.

Conclusion

Fifa 09 is a very addictive game which has to be in the library of any football loving games player. It is so true to live and so incredibly frustrating at the same time. The learning curve from park player to international superstar is just right. Each day I play it, I am discovering new moves and techniques making this a game that is going to be hard to put down for a very long time. If you shop around at the moment, this game can be picked up for under £20 which is an absoloute bargain.

Fifa 09 has won its crown back from PES for now which can only be good for the future of football games as the competition will now certainly hot up for the 2010 versions. Over to you Konami!!
 

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