GameSpy
Review
of FIFA Soccer 09
In the past generation of console hardware, the face-off between FIFA and Konami's Winning Eleven/Pro Evolution Soccer was an exercise in one-upmanship. One would come out with improved features, then the other would topple it. Debates raged between soccer fans over which game was better. The answer to that particular question has actually been indisputable on Xbox 360 and PS3: In each way that PES 2008 failed to deliver on its legacy, FIFA 08 triumphed. FIFA 09 continues to uphold the standards of last year's title. Although it's not the dramatic evolution that its predecessor was, its refinements handily give this one the league title again.
The first thing you'll notice about FIFA 09 (perhaps from the demo floating around your console's online store for a month) is how fluid the animation looks. Harping on framerates can be an exercise in looking a gift horse in the mouth, but in this case the 60 frames-per-second smoothness has a dramatic effect on gameplay. EA Canada has also added a multitude of new animations, and you'll notice them -- and how they can help and hurt you -- within your first few matches. For example, players overextend themselves to catch stray balls, which can be crucial when your opponent is getting ready to make a run. And unlike in past games, your player can have the wind knocked out of him, which means that he'll stay down on the pitch sometimes. Both examples function as something of a double-edged sword, but the impact of animation on the realism of the experience is quite profound.
You'll notice the emphasis on Be a Pro just as quickly. The solo mode, which EA introduced with FIFA 08, has gotten some big tweaks. Last year's game saw online Be a Pro released within a month of the main game thanks to a patch from EA. This year, Be a Pro is fleshed out beyond one-off single-player matches. With Be a Pro Seasons, you'll be able to go from a club player to World Cup superstar over four seasons as either a created persona or a real-life footballer. As you play through the seasons and meet certain game criteria, you'll gain experience points, which boost your stats. It's an evolution of the ideas EA displayed a few months back in its Euro 2008 tie-in and a replacement for the traditional season mode all at once. Thankfully, you're not completely shackled to one footballer during those four years, since EAC gives you the option to switch between a single player and the entire squad before a match.
Although EA's Be a Pro push for 09 is better than its introduction, it's still a work in progress in various small ways. The criteria for what defines a player's "correct" positioning on-field still feels vague, for some positions more than others, and it's downright baffling on other occasions. It's a bit ridiculous that if you choose an iron defender like Puyol or Cannavaro you'll still get served the occasional criteria of scoring goals to get experience; neither of the aforementioned players is a goal poacher of the caliber of Toni or Van Nistelrooy. This "one size fits all" approach is a bit short-sighted in this regard. Also, Euro 2008 incorporated a real-time meter of your Be a Pro performance, yet FIFA 09 omits it.
FIFA 09 doubles the amount of players you can use for Be a Pro online, and although a squad of incompetent nincompoops are the equivalent of the Three Stooges in cleats, it's great to get a big squad going once you've got chemistry. When it comes time to fire up a game, you can either pick a position (defender, midfield, winger, striker) or switch between unpicked players. It's a great way to steer an underperforming team toward scoring. During an online play session with a pack of guys who flubbed four runs at goal, we switched over from defender to central midfielder to striker and set up a successful run. It's in moments like these that the new online club system comes in handy, since it lets you recruit people into a clan-like system; more on that later. Overall, it performs smoothly, and we're happy with the update.
Gameplay, especially the trick system, feels more intuitive than last year's game. Perhaps it's the refinements to the Be a Pro camera, but it's a lot easier to focus in on your player and maneuver him around defenders than it was in 08. Overall, the control adjustments are a definite step in the right direction. In addition, if you're really into tweaking formations and tactics, you'll be glad to see that EA has incorporated custom tactics, a mainstay of PES, into FIFA 09. If you feel that the game's default offensive and defensive maneuvers don't reflect the style of your team, you can tweak those tactics. And if you're confident enough in your approaches and formations, you can upload them to an EA Locker and let others test out your concepts.
The basic online game has seen some overhauls. Much to the relief of hardcore players tired of people picking the same three squads (we're looking at you, Barcelona, Milan, and Man U players) and cranking up CPU assistance, FIFA 09 features a filter that lets you pick opponents based on whether they play with computer assistance or manual play. It's a welcome relief.
Besides stalwart modes such as interactive leagues and FIFA Lounge, 09 introduces online clubs. Think of it as clan-based gameplay extended to soccer; it's designed to help you find and network with other players, with the goal being to hopefully build a Be a Pro squad that doesn't look like the Three Stooges in cleats. (On an amusing note, we've noticed that the world's best squads already have slogans along the lines of "we're full, please stop harassing us to join.") Hopefully, some clan filtration along the lines of what we see in online shooters can make its way to FIFA for next year.
The final big feature, Adidas Live Season, allows you to pick a league and get weekly updates that reflect real-world conditions. It's similar to what NBA Live 09 has in place. You'll get a code for one free Live Season on the back of the instruction manual, and the rest cost roughly $7 apiece, or $20 for all of the remaining five leagues. The game's still too new to really test out the depth of the mode, but based on the performance of some of our favorite clubs early in this season, it's a good thing that the stats can be turned off as needed. I'm sure Tottenham and Bayern Munich fans feel the same way.
FIFA 09 is jam-packed with new content, from clan-based player support to real-world stat updates. Although it feels more like an incremental update than a revolutionary overhaul, EA doesn't need to reinvent the wheel so much as smooth out its edges. Be a Pro has finally been mostly realized, through both an expansive season mode and 10-on-10 multiplayer matches. Custom tactics are a cool new approach to gameplay that let you adapt your club around your style. Gameplay and camera angles have been refined from last year's title, and for once, all of the hyperbole about more animations adds up to something you can tangibly see within your first few matches. FIFA 09 is again the champ, for another year in a row. If it keeps performing like this, will EA add a star above the logo?
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