Review: FIFA 09 (360)

The front end may be similar. Menus look the same, and the training pitch makes a welcome reappearance, but once you get down to the bones of it there’s plenty here that’s been greatly improved. The most evident improvement will be the appearance of on-screen referees. Already a recent addition to PES, they mark there debut here and are better than expected. Rather than just a man in a black shirt running about a bit, the ref actually has animations that he performs in certain situations. If there’s a foul you see him blow the whistle, if it’s a more serious foul then you’ll see him run up to the player to brandish a card. Even the signal for “play on” if your team has the advantage is included. Not content with just referees there are even linesmen that go through all the animations for offside and fouls, exactly like they do in the real game. It may not seem like much and those that don’t follow their football releases will snigger at this inclusion, but trust us, it adds to the overall experience.

Just like the FIFA 08, you’ll need more of a passing game if you plan on beating your opponent. Previously this could become quite annoying when your computer controlled team mates would refuse to make proper runs and linger offside for ages. Well, the AI has been improved and now they even wave their hands in front of them asking for the ball when they’re making a dash forward. The goalkeeping AI has also had an improvement with far less fumbles and now will often come out for the ball rather than waiting for your instruction.

All modes from FIFA 08 are present, with one major new addition, Be A Pro. Although it originally made its debut in UEFA Euro 2008, this is its first inclusion in the main series. If you ever wanted to live out your footballer dream then this is the mode for you. Choose the team you want to play for, the position you want to play, and then either pick a player you want to control or create your own. Naturally we went for the second choice. Once that is done you start your career in the lowly reserves, but as you perform well you’ll get called up to the first team and eventually (if it all goes according to plan) you’ll reach the dizzy heights of the international squad. Rather than playing as the whole team though you only play as yourself or the player you choose. It can become a pain when you’re constantly forced to defend thanks to the incompetence of your back four, but it all comes together when you string some brilliant passes together. You can actually tell your players what to do if you so wish, though whether they follow your orders is another matter. Everything will add to the overall rating at the end, ultimately deciding on whether you win Man of the Match. Objectives are given to you before each game and completing them will earn yourself experience to improve your stats and overall play.

The last big inclusion (particularly for those into their online play) will be the 10 v 10 mode. Yes you read that right, ten versus ten. If you have a large friends list with plenty of FIFA players then you can actually have two full teams playing each other. Unfortunately we’re not that popular so only managed 6 v 6, but even then it was a shockingly smooth experience. Although you will get frustrated if your team refuse to pass the ball and go for the glory. It is far from perfect however, there are a few minor faults. The advantage rule is still hit and miss, you can find yourself in on goal only for the referee to call play back because of a foul your opponent committed. The EA servers can also be unreliable. Though better than they once were they can still appear sluggish and at times can be down completely.

Even with such niggles, FIFA 09 is the closest a football game has ever come to scoring the magical score of 10. An impressive variety of modes, great online play and plenty of touches make this a football fans dream. It’s going to be interesting to see what they do with the next one, after all, where do you go from here?

Rating: 9 / 10

Words by Adam Gulliver