Review: FIFA '08 (X360)

FIFA ’08 has become the best football ‘simulator’ on the Xbox360.

For: Match engine; loads of replay value & features; ‘Be the Pro’; online integration

Against: Some bugs; clumsy menu system; dodgy character models

For the last 6 years the two football franchises, FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer, have been in annual competition with each other. PES was always the choice of the football purists, whilst FIFA was the game of the masses - with it license and star names.

The next generation consoles gave Konami and EA a chance to change and improve the football genre, which had become a by-word in minimal annual updates. It has taken 2 years, but finally there is a football game worthy of the title ‘next gen’. The surprise is that it is FIFA ’08!

Having played and enjoyed every PES since ISS64 on the N64, I have often looked at EA’s FIFA with a sense of disappointment and indifference. Sure, they had the licenced names, and a good sound track, but the match engine was stuck in the 90s and there was too much emphasis on dribbling and shooting - the ball magically sticking to your feet. FIFA just wasn’t football.

Last year PES 2007 was released with much fanfare, but for me it just seemed like a graphical update on the 5 year old game. It still played fine, but little gimmicks that had plague FIFA were starting to creep in -the number of button combinations could now be measured in the 50s- and it was feature sparse:the solo play game modes were uninspired; the online options were even worse; features in the Xbox version had been stripped out; and the Xbox Live matches suffered bad lag. PES was starting to feel more like an arcade cabinet football game, with minimal features, rather than a ‘next gen’ iteration of a much loved franchise.

Earlier this year EA released UEFA Champions League that featuring a brand new match engine where the ball, rather than the player, was the central object. The change and improvement was remarkable. EA had finally produced a game that looked and played like real football. Gone were the gimmicky controls, and in came a simple control scheme, excellent ball physics and tons of fun. It also introduced a number of innovations (such as Card Collecting) and some excellent lag free online modes.

Now with FIFA’08, EA has perfected the engine to create what is definitely a ‘next gen’ football game. The match engine is now almost flawless, and plays so much better than I would have expected. If anything FIFA has become a football simulator - the quality of the physics and game engine is really that good - you might actually think you are watching a televised game. FIFA ’08 rewards slow tactical build-up and quality passing game, rather than the headless chicken running of yesteryear. Thus, for football purists, FIFA is now the game of choice.

FIFA ’08 also features a number of excellent solo and online game modes, several of which are new. The best of these modes are listed below:

+ Online Club Tournament - you play as your club and all the results of all the XBL players’ playing as your club contribute to an overall club leader board.
+ Managerial Mode - you manage and play for the team. You have transfers, sponsorship, press, contracts, the whole lot!
Challenge Mode - match challenges in both team and “Be the Pro” modes
Custom Tournaments - FIFA’s version of Halo’s Forge mode - construct competitions and post them on XBL


“Be the Pro”, a feature in other EA Sports titles this year, is simply brilliant. You control just one player, and you must play your position as a part of the team. Through clever use of the camera and adaption of the match engine you really do feel part of the game - even to the point when you call for a through ball and get angry with the computer for not picking you out!

The presentation in FIFA ’08, normally the strong point, is actually the weakness in this version. Clearly EA has concentrated on the important stuff, like the match engine and ‘be the pro’, and spent less time polishing. The graphics are fine, but the character models are quite ugly up close, and I’d wish EA Sports would ditch the stupid menu system they use on all their games. I also uncovered a rather nasty bug where my online match was played against invisible players - I managed a draw some how!

So FIFA ’08 has become the best football ‘simulator’ on the Xbox360: it has tones of features; some excellent new innovations; and a real sense of ‘next gen’ quality in its scope and play. There still is a place for the arcade like immediacy of PES, and I could see some people owning both to get the best of both worlds. However, I will get my arcade kicks from Sensible Soccer and so it is FIFA ’08 that will now sit in the disc tray when I want a football fix.

8/10