FIFA 09 (Xbox 360)

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 ... more

I used to scoff at Fifa. Smug and superior, I dismissed it as a mere scuff on Pro Evolution Soccer's shinpad; a soulless exercise in licence-whoring drudgery with nothing to distinguish between each release. Frustratingly my mates all loved it - pouring over close-up preview screenshots of a faithfully horrific looking Wayne Rooney every September like this was the key constituent of a great footballing simulation experience. "What about the gameplay?" I'd protest in vain. "What about the licences?" they'd retort. Yet over the last couple of years, the yawning chasm between the respective A ... more

The game This is a football game which allows you to interact with all aspects of the game and then play in football games against other teams from around the world and in the Fifa series you can play as the official team names such as Manchester United or Newcastle United so if you like one of the major football teams from the UK you should find them available on this game. The menu The menu is laid out quite simply, there is a fair amount going on and from here you can select the different modes of game play and change the settings for your controller and the sound etc. The menu is laid out ... more

It was the day after my birthday. (when I got my Xbox 360) I was walking down the dull and dreary Newmarket high street. Suddenly. One thing attracted my eyes. Blockbuster stood there like a diamond in the rough. I entered the shop and my eyes were further attracted by something. It was a shelf. A shelf that had a pre-owned sign over it. I went to have a look. My eye was again instantly attracted to two games. One was Grand Theft Auto IV. I bet you can never guess what the other was. Of course, it was FIFA 09. As they were both part of the same offer I snapped them up that very second. (They ... more

For years I was a stalwart supporter of Pro Evolution Soccer. Although the shiny FIFA graphics of past years appeared attractive at first glance, as the vast majority of football fans will agree, the gameplay would be more acceptable in a Winter Olympics figure-skating game. While the FIFA players glided effortlessly across the pitch with a 'Torvill & Dean-esque' gait, the Pro Evo games would pack the box and scramble the ball across the line with almost the realism of the true game. 2009, however, is different. It seems the roles have been reversed, where the good men behind Pro Evo appear to ... more