FIFA 09 (PS3)

... but only if you really like FOOTBALL.

If you are really into your football games, but wouldnt say you really had the patience or passion to learn the tactics of the real game, then dont buy this.

There have been a few negative reviews on Amazon for this game, and they all seem to be complaining about the same thing - fun and frustration. Many people have been saying if they wanted to play football realistically, then they could just go outside. Personally, I cant really understand this criticism as you are never going to be able to play to the level the game allows you to, and i also think that criticising a game for being TOO accurate is just bizarre.

There are negatives to the game. On PS3 the online is a bit hit and miss, sometimes you will go through periods of just being constantly disconnected all the time, but when it works, its great.

The manager mode is also not as good as Pro Evos master league. Dont ask me why, it just doesnt give you that same feeling of building a team that you get from Pro Evo. Thats not to say that its bad though.

The great thing about this game though is that it is just a total replica of the game of football. The movement of your teammates is just out of this world. Its some of the best AI ive ever seen in a game. You can play the game anyway you like. You can play long ball if you want, as long as its the RIGHT ball, but mainly you'll pass it around and thats were the game really shines.

On Pro Evo, if you pass the ball forward then you cant really go backwards again. Your AI teammates just look to run nto the box rather than giving you a number of options like they do in FIFA. In FIFA you can build brilliant moves and score utterly spectacular goals, but its all a case of learning the game, having patience, and understanding how football in real life works.

Most of the criticism that i've read here feels like it has come from one of the many people i've beat online in this game. I dont mean to sound big headed at all, but most people tend to get the ball to their striker as quickly as possible and just run up the pitch and shoot. The guys playing like this are just totally stuck in the past. You may still be able to do that on Pro Evo online, but not in FIFA if you're up against decent opposition.

Its easy to defend against people who are just going to try and run around you all the time, just like it is in real life. the best way to score is to keep possession of the ball, build attacks and allow the AIs movement to create space.

That is the beauty of this game. If you pass the ball and keep it in the opposition half of the field rather than just trying to burst thorugh the defence on your own, then your AI teammates will make intelligent runs behind the defence for you. Thats how I've managed to win quite a few games online. Its just patience.

So overall, this is the greatest football simulation ever in my book. If you have an open mind about games and want to actually learn how the mechanics work, then you will get a lot out of it. Its a fantastic game, one of the best of last year and I couldnt recommend it highly enough.

I've played ten games of FIFA so far, and am basing this review on the online game, as I don't really play against the computer much.

Good Points
1. The passing has been much improved from FIFA 08, giving the player much more incentive to play the ball around, rather than just running up and down the wings with Messi and Ronaldinho, as the majority of people I played against on FIFA 08 did.
2. There seems to be much less disparity between the teams, which I think is good, as Barcelona were far too good on FIFA 08, especially considering they finished third in La Liga!
3. The speed of play is faster than FIFA 08, which means the game is generally more fun to play.
4. It is much easier to get behind defences with passing, which was very difficult to do on FIFA 08.
5. It is easier to defend against low crosses - I played against hundreds of players on FIFA 08 who only tried to score from low crosses.
6. The crowd effects in the stadium are much improved, and now look much more like a football crowd as well.
7. The responsiveness of the online servers has improved markedly.

Bad Points
1. It is far too easy to play forwards in behind the defence.
2. Consequently, it is far too easy to score. I'm already averaging 4 goals per game on FIFA 09 and have not really mastered the finishing yet, whereas I played a lot of FIFA 08, got into the top 1,000 players in the online rankings, yet only averaged about 2.5 goals per game.
3. It is tough to stop opposition forwards from dribbling, in fact any kind of defensive game is very difficult.
4. From time-to-time when chasing a through ball, players sidestep alongside it for no apparent reason. This is quite irritating.
5. Rushing the keeper off the line rapidly is still far too effective as a tactic.
6. The AI is pretty poor. Frequently your own players intercept passes intended for someone else (sometimes admittedly this benefits you), and the off-the-ball running of defenders is abysmal. This contributes to the number of goals scored, which is too many.

Overall, there are elements of this game that are better than the previous FIFA, but the big drawback for me is the ease of scoring. I think the customer average of 3.5 stars is fair.

I purchased this for my sons, who are 11 and 14 and they think it's the 'bees knees'. What more can I add when a lot of the games they try out they class as OK, or 'not bad' if not boring. Plenty of opportunities to play different teams and players, excellent.