The football season begins now...
I've written this review as an adopted fan of the FIFA franchise, so you can probably guess which way I'm going to swing.Having been a Pro Evo player for a number of years, I switched to playing FIFA last year because it offered the whole package in terms of the football experience. It had the official licenses, it looked great, it had superb game modes, a solid online component, but most importantly it delivered on the pitch, with dramatic improvements from earlier games in the franchise.
Unlike the fanatical sets of FIFA and Pro Evo players though, I have no loyalty to the brand. If Konami step up its game this year and its soccer title turns out to be the better all-round game, I’ll switch allegiances without hesitation. Pro Evo has really got its work cut out though and following the news that FIFA 09 has already broken the 1 million sales barrier in Europe, making it the fastest selling game in the franchise, it seems that even more Pro Evo players could be being pulled away by the lure of FIFA’s new features and re-invented gameplay.
It would be foolish to say that FIFA 09 offers the perfect football experience on the pitch, it doesn’t, but it does get pretty damn close to it thanks to over 250 improvements from last year’s iteration. What it does offer, in bounteous wealth, is choices - and brilliant ones at that - with the best game modes to have ever graced a football game. I said it last year and now I'm going to say it again; this years FIFA is the best yet.
First up, let’s take a look at what’s new…
Continued overleaf…
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