Fifa 08

FIFA 08 REVIEW

	Tech Info Publisher: EA Sports Developer: EA Canada Genre: Soccer Sim Release Date: Oct 9, 2007	Technical Support Visit EA Sports web site at: http://www.easports.com Official Site Visit the official web site at: www.fifa08.ea.com
	Game Information Number of Players: 1 Player Number of Online Players: 2 Online

Another year another update to an EA sports game. Can Fifa take the national game to a new level or is it rolling around on the floor waiting for the magic sponge?

The Fifa series has come a long way since the early days when it was a simple arcade game with great animations of bicycle kicks to add some sparkle. Last year's instalment has been widely regarded as the best in the series so '08 has a lot to live up to. The version for the next generation consoles has been redesigned with a new graphics engine, AI and physics. The same can't be said for the PC version however. There are updates but it's much less dramatic than the changes to the console versions. The PC has been short-changed with a port of the PS2 version.

	In with the new
	There are the expected the changes in the new Fifa: player names and numbers, animation, leagues and statistics. Beyond the usual updates there are a few new features – Be A Pro and Zone Play. The be a pro mode puts you in control of a single player so you can focus on a single area of the game. The Zone mode puts you in control of a section of the team either the forwards, mid-field or defenders. These modes are trying to immerse you more in the game by making you focus on the team aspect of the game rather than always playing as the guy with the ball. They do, however, rely on having great AI so that you don't feel frustrated while the ball is out of your control. Sadly, Fifa 08 rather disappoints with the AI. Computer controlled players just don't play an intelligent game. The whole thing feels rather scripted. This causes a problem for both teams of course but the computer doesn't get annoyed about it. Playing the solo be a pro mode does allow you to request the ball and the computer will pass it to you. You can't go it alone though so for this mode you need to be able to rely on your team mates.

There's no I in team

So your team mates don't work too hard when your in the be a pro mode. Sadly this carries through to the rest of the game as you might expect. The computer controlled forwards don't work too hard to get into space for the passes and crosses. The computer defence doesn't work too well in one-on-one situations. You can easily take the ball down the wing without challenge as long as you only have to run past one defender at a time. Once you get to a swarm of defenders they become extremely good at taking the ball and working it forwards. The only place where the AI isn't lacklustre is in the goalies. They're quite superhuman infact. They're all over the goal and almost always catch and hold the ball even at full stretch.

	4-4-2
	The lack of any sensible teamwork is a big shame because the focus for the strategy is in short passing. You need to work the ball forward with well placed short and through passes. This rather requires that you control everyone. Unfortunately, the control system is rather hit and miss. It's rather difficult to get an accurate pass using either the keyboard or an analogue pad. Controlling the power of shots and crosses is also particularly difficult. Hold down the shot button to control the power but hold it for more than a fraction of a second and you'll get full power which will send the ball sailing miles above the crossbar from the other side of the pitch. It takes a bit of practice to control the power of shots and crosses as well as the direction. Once you get the hang of it though it becomes a challenge to work out the fail safe strategy to always score. Sadly these opportunities do exist and all of the teams tend to fall for them so you can practice against the worse teams and the tactics will be just as effective against the top teams.

Instant Replay

Fifa 08 on the PC uses the old generation graphics engine. The next generation consoles got a graphics makeover but, for some reason, the PC has been stuck with the PS2 graphics. It's rather disappointing really. The players are rather small and lacking in detail. The players are identifiable by the unique points of their uniforms – sock colour, hair colour and such. The animation is reasonable although there's not a great range of moves. The speed of play is slightly slow in comparison to other football games but it's fairly realistic to the size of the pitch. Shots and passes have very few animations available but then there's only so many ways that you can kick the ball. The stadiums are distinctive and recognisable although the sidelines and crowd graphics are particularly flat and two dimensional. That sort of stands out against the other three dimensional graphics. As for sound, EA have managed to produce a pretty reasonable commentary track. There's a good variety of phrases and they generally follow play well. Occasionally the phrases will bear no relation to what was actually happening on the field but that's not terribly common. The other sound effects in the game, crowd noise and ball strikes is generally well done. Different stadiums have a selection of chants for the home team and overall the sound is pretty well presented.

		Living the Dream
		EA have included just about every major tournament from all of the leagues that are represented in this years instalment. Whatever trophy you want to have a go for, chances are it's present here with the correct selection of teams. You have a reasonable control over the game and tournament although the schedule is always randomly generated. During the game you can control the team tactics and formation and of course you control the substitutions. Outside the matches you control the transfers and signings. The only well defined progression for players is in the be a pro mode where you are set challenges and tactics during the game. If you complete them you can increase the abilities of your player.

Fifa 08 is really a missed opportunity for the PC. While the next gen consoles got a new facelift the PC version seems to have been an afterthought .Hopefully EA will correct this next year and bring the next gen graphics to the PC. If you're not concerned about the graphics and just want the best game of football you can find then frankly the 07 version will probably suit you better. The presentation is essentially the same and the gameplay seems unchanged. If you're desperate for the be a pro mode then you need to get this version but it doesn't really seem worth it. It's difficult to recommend Fifa 08 when next year will hopefully bring the improvements that other versions of 08 have seen already. The PC version is essentially 07 with updated team rosters and the one extra mode.

Tech Info