This Year - THIS is football
See while many are quick to bash the FIFA series , with it's licensed teams, kits , stadiums, balls and even training bibs, because the actual football aspect of the game has been found wanting compared to it's rival '' pro evolution soccer '' (PES) which concentrates purely on the football side of things whilst FIFA's main selling point was it's licenses, thus PES achieving far superior results in the past.
This year has seen such a promising turn for the FIFA franchise it's almost physically shocking, whether this is simply because of FIFA continuing it's slight annual improvement whilst PES has hit next gen rock bottom is debatable, but I'm not here to talk about the failures of PES, I'm here to talk about FIFA 08. When you very first turn the game on you will notice one innovation straight off the mark. The usual loading screens are replaced by a mini game in which you control Ronaldinho (default) in an arena accompanied by only a net, and a goalkeeper. This is a fantastic way of mastering the ways of the skills locked within your players stats, without actually having to jeopardize control of a real match, or go out of your way into a training mode trying to figure out the expert tricks, that come in very very handy in actual matches although not essential.
Then there's the actual football, which will astound you if you are a football fan, it actually feels like football. One think that I noticed after playing a few matches of FIFA 08 is how much of an arcade style game football games have been for the last few year, the pace is slowed down by a large amount as opposed to PES 08 where players like Steven Pienaar will race up the field at what seems like 100 MPH, you actually have to tactically play the game and think like a footballer. Whether it's where to play the ball, a split second decision you get on whether to play your man through first time or to hold the ball up whilst your midfielders make darting runs or even just how hard you cross the ball into the box. you live and die by your onfield decisions and will often find yourself regretting the decision you made. Games are very often settled by a 1 or 2 goal margin.
If you are a football fan,YOU WILL love this game, it's xbox live capabilitys are great and they actually make you sit forward and pay attention to every move you make.