If you’re a student, which there’s a good chance you are, then it’s more than likely that you have heard of a game called Pro Evolution Soccer, more commonly abbreviated to PES… It seems that no matter what your football simulator of choice beforehand was, once you get to uni it becomes almost mandatory to become sufficient at PES, in fact for some courses I think it actually carries UCAS points now.
I myself had always been a FIFA faithful before my time here but I can see why students so readily make the change, the PES series runs at a much faster pace and the freedom of movement and the detailed physics makes for a unique and frankly nail biting experience everytime since the ball can slide into the goal after three or four lucky rebounds as the defending player franticly but hopelessly bashes at buttons or it can be blasted into the top corner from range following an inspired bit of build up play. For a while now PES has been the multiplayer dream.
But this is a FIFA review isn’t it? Yes it is, but the point is that recently EA have dropped the ball (pun absolutely intended) somewhat when it came to the football experience. Whilst Konami took a good hard look at the gamplay for console football and ultimately brought a much more fluent and free experience to the table, EA failed to up the ante and tended to reproduce the same old story with updated player stats. For a while then, it was understandable that PES was top of the league.
As a born FIFA fan I’m happy to report that with FIFA 08 on the PS3 this has all changed. It seems to me that Konami have made the same mistake that EA made in previous years when, despite crossing the bridge to next generations platforms, they failed to make any real improvements to the football experience with Pro Evolution Soccer 2008. EA on the other hand have pulled their fingers out and taken a good hard look at what the potentials are with these new powerful machines.
Aside from the graphics, which have never been lacking in the FIFA series, EA have made crucial improvements to the overall feel and freedom of the game, clearly learning a lesson from their nearest rivals. Players now more in a more varied way, a quick flick of the analogue stick no longer causes a ninety degree pivot, Sensible Soccer style, but instead a much more useful and subtle movement to the side which can be quickly reversed again to confuse the opposition.
The same can be said for having a shot or sending a ball long, whilst previous FIFA additions seemed to be limited to the same handful of animations when it came to shooting time and time again, each goal now seems much more individual as the ball reacts differently depending on when and where it is hit and at what pace which is all down perfect timing on the controls for that perfect goal.
Now, rather than being a matter of filling the power bar to just the right level, getting the best shot out of a player is all about finding that ‘sweet spot’ in the game-play, making it all the more satisfying when you do. At the pinnacle of freedom and versatility is the new skill system based largely on the right analogue stick. This time, rather than pressing a button or using a stick to set off a pre-programmed set of animated moves it’s up to you to piece the movements together.
So now a single semi-circle flick of the right analogue stick will only provide you with a single step over, mimicking the movement you just made with you finger for example, if you want more than this then you have to move your finger more, wonderfully logical isn’t it? This seems to be a new trend in EA games since there are similar systems in both Skate and Fight Night and whilst it requires more skill to get the hang of it gives the player more control, more versatility, more room to be creative and create their own style (so a little more work pays off).
Aside from the game-play itself, EA have, in my opinion, improved the features of the FIFA series ten fold with the inclusion of the ‘Be A Pro’ mode, where you take control of a single player on the pitch and control only him for the whole match. Now, you might be thinking that this could be a little bit dull leading to long periods of inactivity whilst you watch the computer play football and you would be exactly right but strangely that’s also the brilliance of this feature.
With a dynamic camera which zooms in when you have ball and gets closer and wobblier when the pressure is on it makes you feel the pressure and the fact that you don’t have control of the ball all the time gives you the desire to make each pass and each side-step count, it makes you think like a footballer, and it’s even better online!
If I had to come up with any criticisms of FIFA 08 (and lets face it, in this line of work I do) then I’d say that there are times when it still feels a tad slow, especially when your trying to sprint past the back line on the counter attack, some of the players just don’t get the speed I’d like. Having said this, I do find PES far too fast and FIFA’s pace makes for a much more realistic and strategic game which is one of passing and moving rather than through balls and sprinting, tactics which are never used on the real pitches because quite frankly if your players can keep doing that for ninety minutes then your drug tests aren’t thorough enough.
Overall FIFA may not be the best football game to sit around with your mates at 3:30 in the morning with a kebab and blurred vision but it’s the best football simulation out there at the moment.
9/10
By Tom Pakinkis
