FIFA 2009
Reviewed by Rick Tittle
rick@ricktittle.com

The Beautiful Game.  Ninety minutes.  Eleven versus eleven.  Two goals.  Perfect symmetry.  But is EA’s FIFA Soccer ’09 a perfect video game?  Hardly, but it sure does try to be one.
    
Back in the early 90’s, Electronic Arts made a lot of soccer fans’ wishes come true when it released their initial FIFA title for the SEGA Genesis.  It marked the first time that soccer players in video games actually looked liked soccer players, and it also added real teams with actual players and genuine crowd songs.  Rejoice!  Well, that’s what we did at the time.  Since that time, however, we know that technology has advanced to the point where we now have virtual arcade machines in our own homes.  This why when we play FIFA Soccer ’09 on our XBOX 360s and our PS3s, we expect to be wined and dined by breathtaking graphics and symphonic sound.
    
The main question asked when it comes to annual titles such as these is, “what’s different than last year’s game?”  EA has stated that no less than 250 additions have been made to the core gameplay.  Two hundred and fifty!  Yes, but how many will the average gamer notice?  Most of these improvements have to do with slicker animation, thus resulting in faster action.  Hence, you can now shoot much quicker, run down the pitch with more pace, and be ever-so-smooth in your tackling.  You can also tweak your team’s tactics and customize them to your liking.  Want a team of brutes?  Fancy a Route One plan of kick and rush?  How about keeping the ball on the floor?  Tell your charges and they should respond accordingly.  You can also try your luck online and see how your X’s and O’s stack up around the world against other like-minded coaches.
    
You will find all the actual clubs and international teams in this game, as usual.  But one thing you still cannot get are the real stadia.  EA can do that with Madden and the NFL venues, but I suppose there are just way too many for them to animate in world soccer.  How hard would it be to animate all the English Premiership grounds?  Can we at least have that next year?  I would love to run out my Tottenham Hotspur team at White Hart Lane, not some farcical pitch with a made-up name, as it stands now.  Also, it would be nice to have corresponding songs for the respective teams.  Am I asking for the world?  Apparently so.  Graphically the game looks nice but the players, up close, still have a creepy, mannequin-come-to-life quality that never seems to be getting better. 
   

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