If this game is anything to go by, FIFA 09 will be the best football title ever made
So, you can imagine somebody with such a passion for video games and soccer/football would greatly anticipate the release of Konami and EA Sport's offerings every year. Ever since the PES/Winning Eleven series came Stateside back in around 2003 I have looked the other way at every FIFA title since. Sure, I rented them every year to see if any changes were made, but all this would do is justify my purchase for the latest Winning Eleven title. Winning Eleven 2007 was a great game (that had me log in enough hours I probably wouldnt want to say publicly) and held up to the standards the franchise has built. FIFA 07 was also decent enough to maintain my interest in at least renting FIFA 08 the following year.
After getting my PS3 in the fall of 07, I decided to rent FIFA 08. I was surprised to realize that it was actually a pretty decent game. Didn't exactly feel as fluid and responsive as the PES games, but was definately a good enough game in it's own right. After playing it for a couple weeks (the online was great), I returned it and downloaded the demo for PES 2008. This was when I came to the realization that I my loyalty to the PES series was over. PES 2008 played like an NBA JAM of football games, everything about it screamed mediocre. It was then that I decided to cross over and buy my first FIFA game in almost 10 years.
6 months later, FIFA 08 is a really solid game. Sure, the responsiveness can be inconsistent and it's a little too difficult. Also, the goals seem on a scripted and formulaic side a bit too often but it still plays a great game of footy, and in comparison to Konami's trash offering it comes off looking a lot better than it actually is. I also have some qualms with the game's difficulty against the computer. I consider myself a good football gamer, but I routinely have my arse handed to me by the computer on even the medium settings. There's way too many cheap tactics by the computer AI whcih makes FIFA 08's single player experience a bit too dodgy for my taste. I guess its a good thing I mostly play against mates or online.
For the most part the visuals are all up the standards of other sports titles on the PS3/360. Unfortunately though, EA seems to have tried "too hard" in some aspects. In order to flex their lighting muscles, EA's staff have made games played at dusk or night time look fairly unrealistic. Any game played on a pitch at night will be brightly lit entirely, with little to no shadow. However, in FIFA 08, games played at night appear to have dark spots on the field and are a lot darker than they should be. Games played at dusk in some stadiums are almost unplayable because of the grim and dark shadows. As if professionals would actually play on pitches of this quality. The lighting was handled right on EA's forgettable Champions League 07/08 game and I hope they can improve on this for 09.
If the progress made in Euro 08 is anything to go by (as well as gameplay videos ive seen), FIFA 09 will be the perfect blend of a realistic football sim with more pace and responsiveness of the PES series. For now though, 08 is good enough