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As we get a break in EURO 2008, we take a few moments to catch up on all the FIFA 09 news that has started to leak recently. We start with a look at PSM3 UK's early review of the game...
"Fewer gimmicks, more solid, refined play. There's substance beneath the glamour" say the guys at PSM3 UK. What else do they say...
We're mindful of overstating this - regular readers might be aware of previous false dawns for FIFA on PS2 - but maybe, just maybe, this is the year FIFA emerges as a legitimate alternative to Pro Evo, not only for casual fans, but hardcore gamers, too. Truth is, the process has already started. We're at EA's offices in Vancouver, Canada, ready for our FIFA 09 hands-on. Before play, however, we're given a presentation and video highlighting the differences between FIFA 08 and FIFA 09, which can - says FIFA Lead Producer David Rutter - be broken down into a few key areas: improved physicality, better off-the-ball movement, new animations, a deep tactical engine that allows you to change your tactics on-the-fly, and a multi-season Be A Pro mode. More on all of this later.
So we sit down to play. The only match available for us is Manchester United vs Chelsea, in which we take on a journo from a rival games mag. First impressions are extremely favourable - it looks as good, if not better, than last year, with sharp, colourful player models, beautiful stadiums, lush grass and smart entrance sequences. And, although you'd need sharp eyes to spot it, the animation has indeed been improved, looking more realistic - although without the video demo of FIFA 09 next to FIFA 08, we'd never have noticed.
"Look at dribbling in 08," says Rutter during said video. "He's skipping animations - we're breaking animations to allow him to turn. Now, if you look in slow motion, he's manoeuvring his body to get to the ball like a real footballer would." And you can spot this in-game. Its affect on play is negligible, if that, but it's nice to see.
But for the first few minutes of play, it doesn't feel as if much has changed at all with the actual nuts and bolts of gameplay - we had to play quite a few games before we properly began to get a feel for the changes within the mechanics.
In the presentation, Rutter spoke of "momentum - the idea of weight and velocity having an effect on things. In 08," he says, "players had no idea where they were being hit from or which leg was being hit. In 09, players have a sense of direction, they know where the tackle is coming from and react accordingly [read: fall over in a more realistic way]. The non-standing leg, now... in 08, if a tackle caught that, he'd go down. In 09, you'll see players be able to skip out of those tackles and keep on running." And that's true - which keeps the game flowing, resulting in fewer frustrating breaks in play and extra goal-scoring opportunities.
Players are more physical when jostling each other off the ball, tangling together in a far more lifelike way than last year, when they would run on-rails next to each other before one of them came away successfully.
"Drogba is a hulk of a beast," Rutter says. "He can hold off a lot of people." When we were controlling Drogba, however, he tended to topple over as soon as a defender brushed against him, which means either physicality isn't that good or that FIFA is exceptionally realistic. While we're on the subject, FIFA 09 hasn't taken a cue from PES 2008 and included diving. "We didn't want to put cheating in our game," says Gameplay Manager Aaron McHardy. This is fine by us - we almost never use PES's dive buttons - but if players go down as often as Drogba does, it's likely to get frustrating.
Off-the-ball AI has improved. "Last year players had no sense of urgency that they really wanted to get into space," says Rutter. "Now you'll get a more urgent response from the releasing of the pass." We did see players sprinting more quickly into space, pointing where they wanted the ball to be played. There were still, however, times when we found ourselves screaming for a teammate to make an obvious run, but far less so than previously.
Also, if you press the button hard enough when going for a 50-50 ball, your man will slide in and sweep the ball to a colleague. Players are more responsive too, with people positioning themselves more precisely for headers on the goal and following up for rebounds more quickly. But the keepers are insanely good, pulling off unlikely saves as a matter of course. We can only hope they're made less superhuman before the game's final release. This time around a keeper will also able to dive at feet, "anticipating where people are going to be. But if he gets it wrong, he'll be able to change his mind. We're really humanizing the system."
EA's proudest invention is FIFA 09's customisable tactics system. "We wanted people to play how they want to play," reckons Rutter. "You can simulate the way the team you support currently play, the way you think they should play, or come up with some fantasy way of playing."
Although this wasn't available for us to test, it will work with a series of sliders "incorporating key parts of the team dynamic - aggression, mentality, positioning, etc". We're told it will be possible to create attacking or defensive tactics and everything in between, and that you'll be able to assign up to four of your own custom plans to the D-pad and switch to them mid-match.
"A long passing game isn't just about hitting the ball long," says Rutter. "We've changed the support play so your midfield needs to be further up the pitch, looking for the long ball to be knocked down for them to run on to. In a short game, the team pushes together and is more compact to allow short passes to be played. You can totally change the way your team plays, and apply it during the match. Every game is going to be different. But the AI will do it too, so if you play [Manchester United] and they go a goal down, they're gonna change to try to get a goal back."
It sounds vaguely reminiscent of Pro Evo 2008's TeamVision AI - which was meant to learn your playing style and adapt the AI tactics accordingly. Except, of course, TeamVision - in our experience, at least - didn't really work as we expected.
Lastly, and again we haven't been able to test this out yet, is the updated Be A Pro mode. For the uninitiated, Be A Pro allowed you to select a player and spend the entire match exclusively in control of that one man, with the camera at pitch level to make you feel more involved. It proved something of a hit, and now it's back with its own Career mode. You can take control of a player - or make your own in the editor - and spend four seasons trying to take him up the ranks from unknown to national legend. We're looking forward to trying it out, putting ourselves in the game and lifting the World Cup, but we're a little surprised at the four-season limit. Regardless, it should be fun, although playing as only one man is never going to distract us from proper matches for too long.
A word on the PS2 version: The last couple of FIFA's on PS2 have been commended for being a vast improvement - in that they've been just like PES. This year's is no different - it's fast (insanely so, at times), with smooth passing and excellent shooting. New additions? You can shield the ball from nearby opposition players, and it has the same 'strength collision' detection of its next-gen brother - but the big thing is Easy Play. This is a mode EA claim is for young kids to play, and basically involves the computer doing all the passing and running, while you simply press shoot or tackle at appropriate times.
Based on our brief hands-on, FIFA 09 is fun, with more precise passing than before - through balls are more accurate and easier to place - and shooting is stronger and more accurate. Tackling, meanwhile, feels suitably impactful. One odd thing, mind, is that while Euro 2008 was marginally, but appreciably, quicker than FIFA 08, now the tempo has reverted to type. And, of course, one thing FIFA's detractors often point to when voicing their displeasure is... the slow pace.
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..am placa video Nvidia GeFORCE 6200 de 256 MB cu 256 RAM...o sa fac un upgrade la RAM pana la 512...
