FIFA 08 (XBox 360)

Gameplay 80

Let’s start off with the good; pretty much every aspect of the gameplay has been improved from UEFA Champions League 06/07. Firstly, the pace of this game is perfect. If FIFA 07 was a tad fast, and UEFA Champions League 06/07 a tad too slow, FIFA 08 is (say it together now) just right. In fact, going back to the PES 2008 demo after an extended session with FIFA 08 is downright shocking. The former is hilariously too fast and hectic.

Controls in FIFA 08 are largely the same as before, but are now noticeably more responsive with far less lag between button presses and waiting for animation cycles to finish. This applies to both dribbling moves and passing/shooting. There are still some occasions where you’ll send in cross, be hammering away at the shoot button and your player will still try to control the ball but these occur far, far less than before. EA Sports have also added a Skill Stick (hold the Left Trigger and move the Right Analog in specific directions to complete specific dribbling moves) and while every player can perform most of these moves, there are a few that can only be done with players over a particular dribbling skill level.

EA Sports have also included the option to make all passing and shooting in the game completely manual (whereby you can control the direction and pace). While this sounds good in theory the main problem occurs with quick one touch passing or when you have a split second to control the ball before you lay off a pass. With manual control you have to hold down the button to set the speed of a pass making this needlessly difficult. Thankfully, there is are semi-auto settings for passing and shooting that are a happy medium.

Ball physics are also improved from previous versions. While the ball still seems a bit too floaty on crosses and long aerial passes, EA Sports have definitely let out some of that helium they were adding to the ball. In FIFA 07 you could send in a cross, set the controller down, put on a pot of coffee, go out for a cigarette and return just in time to see Jan Koller jump up and chest-control a ball at head height! This is far better in FIFA 08 and while the ball still hangs in the air a bit more than it should it’s not a game breaking.

Interestingly, long shots are absolutely spot on and have the requisite zip and swerve. When you score from 30 yards out it really does feel like you’ve sent in a rocket past the opposing goalkeeper.

Speaking of goalkeepers, this is another area that has been improved greatly. In FIFA 07 and UEFA CL 06/07 keepers would routinely save breakaways and point-blank shots, all before letting in the most innocuous of floaters. The keepers in UEFA CL 06/07 were particularly bad with protecting the near post/short side of their goal. Thankfully, EA Sports have modeled the keepers on human beings and if you get a breakaway, more often than not you’re going to score. Likewise, if you’re in the correct position and aim to the open net it’s very rare that a keeper will produce a superhuman effort to stop a certain goal. Importantly, they also don’t let in floaters or poor angled shots. This does wonders for increasing the sense of satisfaction when you score.

Importantly, this game is fun as heck. There are a massive variety of goals that can be scored and you get a solid sense of satisfaction when you bulge the twine.

So…..what’s wrong?

Well first off there’s the defensive AI , which is just far too good regardless of whomever you’re playing against. The team at EA Sports must be huge fans of Claude Makalele because every midfielder and defender has the ability to cut out passes and block runs like the Frenchman in his prime. I don’t mind playing Chelsea and having the aforementioned Makalele, Essien, Terry and Carvalho cutting out my passes, but you can play against Accrington Stanley and their players are just as good at playing defense!

The result of this is that even the most simple of passes get cut out, through passes in particular are notoriously difficult to pull off unless you have acres of space or just the right angle. I’m all for realism but there are passes into space that I could pull off in real life that are intercepted by the most crappy of AI-controlled players.

Thankfully, the more you play the game the less of a problem this becomes. The key is to stay in continual motion and to draw markers and defenders out of the way in a fashion that’s more exaggerated than in reality. After the first few hours of play (once you get this idea in your head) you can start to pass the ball around in a manner you’re accustomed to. I don’t mind this kind of defensive AI when I’m playing the top club and international teams but surely teams in Coca Cola Division 2 shouldn’t be this good?

Secondly, and in tandem with the defensively-biased AI, is the fact that playing defense is too easy – even on Professional and World Class difficulty levels. Your AI-controlled defenders are always in the right position and it’s very easy to just hold down ‘A’ plus sprint and nick the ball off an attacker. This means that the limiting factor to winning games in single player is simply scoring goals rather than a balance of scoring goals and keeping them out of your own net. To illustrate, thanks to the stat tracking, I can tell you I’ve played 98 games on Professional difficulty against the CPU and I have an average of 1.19 goals scored per game (so basically 1 goal a game scored) and 0.31 goals conceded per game (so basically…er….half a goal a game against). It’s got to the point where if I score a single goal I pretty much know I’ve won.

This emphasis on defense also carries into the online game where a game between two evenly matched (skill-wise) players is often an ugly defensive struggle with a chaotic cycle of possession and dispossession every few seconds. That may be the case in real-life when Chelsea are playing Liverpool, but not when Villareal are playing Newcastle. Playing attacking football is just more difficult than it needs to be. Now, this isn’t me complaining of being crap at the game – I’m 21-0-7 online having not once picked Barca, AC Milan, Inter or Man U – it’s just that football has to be about more than defending and the ease at which anyone can defend in FIFA 08 means that attacking play is artificially difficult.

However, the biggest problem with FIFA 08 is that individual and team AI and abilities just don’t matter nearly as much as they should. In fact, with the exception of speed and strength, I don’t think they matter much at all in the offline game.

One way to illustrate the problems with the AI and the similarity from team to team is in the Be A Pro mode. One of my first games in Be A Pro I played Bayern Munich versus Barnet (Coca Cola Division 2) on World Class difficulty and I was Frank Ribery. Since this is Be A Pro mode I only controlled 1 out of the 11 players on my team and I was shocked by just how damn good Barnet are! Really, despite the fact that Bayern won 1-0, Barnet shared possession evenly and gave them a run for their money. As a Liverpool fan I’m hoping they pick up Adam Birchall because he gave Lucio and DeMichelis a hell of a time! Likewise, Alex Baptiste had Bastian Schweinsteiger in his pocket!

At the root of my sarcasm is the fact that these two teams, a gulf apart in class in real life played pretty much the same. Yes, I could notice that Schweinsteiger was faster than the Barnet defenders but at the same time their position and defensive AI was on par with a team far, far better than them. On attack, I didn’t notice any difference in the creative abilities of Ze Roberto versus Matthew Hamshaw. That’s not accurate, and that’s definitely not a simulation. Compare this to the Fantasista mode in Winning Eleven where even the most subtle differences between crappy J-League players are apparent.

Another example, occurred in my Manager Mode with Nottingham Forest. In my first season with Forest in the Coca Cola Division 1 I won the FA Cup beating Derby, Bolton, Manchester United and Blackburn along the way. Okay, so maybe I’m just really good? Perhaps. But the thing is…I didn’t even win my division! I actually finished tied for second but got promoted on goal difference! Indeed, while I was able to beat Manchester United 2-0 at Old Trafford, in preceding match I drew 0-0 with Bristol City and in the subsequent match I drew 0-0 with Northampton. Junior Agogo and Nathan Tyson were able to score more goals against Vidic and Ferdinand than they were against Bristol City and Northampton.

Am I saying that the top teams in FIFA 08 are worse than the crap ones? No, I’m saying that there isn’t much of a difference at all, particularly because EVERYONE plays the same defense against you and when YOU play defense it’s too easy. In fact, in my FA Cup run I only conceded 3 goals – one in the second round against Wycombe, one against Bolton and one in the final against Blackburn. Which sits about right with my aforementioned average of 0.31 goals conceded per game (even though the vast majority of my matches contributing to that statistic were against lower league competition).

Even in Winning Eleven’s crap Master League, if you take the default idiots (Vorlander, Baroja and company) against Manchester United…er…I mean “Aragon”, you’ll definitely notice how much better your opposition are. You’ll also probably concede at least a goal….

Finally, the example that breaks my heart, and I’d have to say is the game’s biggest problem, is the fact that player abilities don’t matter much against the CPU even when YOU’RE controlling the players! What do I mean? Well, after my FA Cup success and lucky promotion with Nottingham Forest, thanks to the dodgy Manager Mode AI, I was able to sign Wesley Sneijder, Emanuel Adebayor, Jozy Altidore and Julio Baptista (all, with the exception of Alitdore, as free agents). So here I am in the Coca Cola Championship, one Division below the EPL, with a team that has Sneijder, Adebayor, Altidore and Baptista! You’d expect me to start crushing the opposition, right?

Wrong! Nothing has changed! Yes, my new players are faster, stronger and have better stamina but I still score about a goal a game on World Class or Professional. In fact, it doesn’t matter if I play Nathan Tyson or Adebayor, I still create about the same number of chances. Both get disposed just as easily, both have the same sense of positioning and awareness. Likewise, my midfield is no better when attacking and no less airtight when I have Sneijder and Baptista versus Lewis McGugan and Sammy Clingan! For me, this is a huge downer because it means that pretty much every team in the game is the same when you play against the CPU.

Compare this to Winning Eleven where you can add even a mediocre player to the default Master League squad of rejects and notice a massive difference in the way that player passes, controls the ball and orchestrates the play.

Don’t get me wrong, this is still a fantastic game. Thanks to the tracking I can tell you that I’ve played FIFA 08 for exactly 1004 minutes since its release (that’s 16 hours and 44 minutes)!! Even I’m not masochistic enough to play a game that long when it’s not any good! There are a lot of positives with the gameplay and this is easily the best FIFA game ever but there are still a number of key areas that need to be further improved if this game is to challenge Winning Eleven in the gameplay stakes.

Replay Value/Longevity: 85

The problems with the AI and player abilities are a downer and reduce the replay value of the Manager Mode – what’s the point of me playing in La Liga when the teams will play the same way as in the English lower divisions? That said, I still intend to take Forest to the top and along with the Manager Mode there are a plethora of different game modes. Online is where the bulk of the replay value will lie and it’s implemented fantastically well.

Overall : 85

Winning Eleven is an example of a game that’s worth more than the sum of its parts – the phenomenal gameplay makes up for the mediocre-to-awful graphics, sound and options. FIFA 08 is worth precisely the sum of its individual parts – the gameplay isn’t stellar, but it’s solid and when you combine that with fantastic presentation and a ton of options you get a very, very good game.

I think this is a must-buy for soccer fans and hopefully EA Sports continue to improve upon their game engine. I just wonder how much I’ll still be playing this when PES 2008 comes out.

Added: October 17th 2007
Reviewer: Lavan Chandran
Score:
Related Link: FIFA 08
Page: 2/2

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