Enemy Down

FIFA 09: Who Are Ya?!

Dekko: Hoofing it out of the park with FIFA 09

Posted by Dekko on Jan 15th 2009 14:17

EA are hardly seen as the benevolent, wise old men of games publishers, more as the withered Uncle Scrooge figure clutching for pennies while refusing another piece of coal be thrown on the fire in their Redwood City HQ. However, as of spring ’08 there seemed to be a clear out in the game spewing department with EA being behind some of the most innovative games of the year, such as Littlewood’s catalogues Game of the Year recipient (due to the number of new pairs of pants it sold) Dead Space, the vertigo inducing Mirror’s Edge and, believe it or not FIFA 2009.

Yep, one of the company’s oldest and most recycled franchises is actually one of the games of the year (in my football addled brain, anyway). It’s like EA came over all generous and said ‘Oh OK, here is the real FIFA game we’ve had for all these years; enjoy!’ and handed out the finished article to all and sundry. Well, Enemy Down being both ‘all’ and ‘sundry’ we couldn’t help but have a kick about.

Firstly, if you take a single player game in the default camera angle you’ll instantly be taken out of your comfort zone, ie. the old side on view used in both FIFA and PES for what feels like a hundred years, instead of this you are greeted by a camera up high and behind your team which focuses on the player you control, most notably zooming in on a sprint on goal, looking impressive as you lay in a heap at the keepers feet. It is basically a take off on the loading screen used in the game (and past editions) which sees, usually, Ronaldiniho facing a goal keeper in a one-on-one situation, the camera to his back as you control the Brazilian Cilla Black focusing in on the goal.

Imagine that with two teams, in a stadium (or a muddy field, depending on which team you choose) with a whole game around it. It’s pretty confusing at first but as soon as you hit your first good run at goal and the camera knuckles down with you, bracing behind your back you’ll be lovin' it long time and will be thanking the devs at EA Canada as if they’d just given you ten dollar, soldier boy.

The action is on the pitch, thick and fast, bodies jostle and bones crunch as players collide for the ball. EA reckon that there are 250 changes from FIFA 08 and this time you’d say that they weren’t lying.

The ‘Adidas Live Season Update’ is, although not hugely game altering, a cool addition to the game, giving it more depth as your teams’ real life performance affects your team in-game. I personally feel that this could be pushed even further with the ‘Reebok Season Update’ (only joking Adidas!) having its own section included, along side its current updating duties, with it really affecting your team down to injuries in real time, coming in to play in-game, so if you were to play as the Arsenal then all their injuries would be counted and you’d have to make do with, well with bugger all really as we have no team at the moment! But you see what I mean.

Obviously, I feel that ‘Manager Mode’ and ‘Exhibition’ should remain the same as is, you don’t want to be three seasons in with AC Milan for Kaka to break his ankle in real life thus leaving you galloping up diarrhoea drive without a saddle. However, a separate game mode with these injuries, suspensions, transfer buys et al would be cool. This is just smoke though as the game as is is, dare I say it, the best football game this decade. There, I said it.

I’ve always been a PES kind of guy since it was released; sure I loved FIFA back on the Megadrive (I remember the graphics being really amazing back then) but the later versions lacked that real footy spark that PES engendered. But my fellow internet countrymen this version of FIFA has the most realistic (I do use the term loosely still, folks) football ‘feel’ of any I have played in my time, yes including SWOS. You get the impression of a game; there is the build up, the on-pitch fight, the annoyingly patronising voice of Andy Gray, it’s all there! And you’re in the middle of it!

It’s like that Nike ad that was in first person and it cast you as a footballer for the mighty Gooners, being tackled, running and huffing, being fouled (typically) by Ronaldo, you remember the ad? Well this is the game version, experience wise, compared to what else is on offer.

Talking of ‘Manager Mode, as indeed we were, it really is addictive and adds such life to the game. I remember when you had FIFA and Total Club Manager and never the twain shall meet but FIFA 06 had FIFA Manager (Total Club rebranded) where you could transfer your data between the two games, well now they’re all (nearly) in one game. I do wish that ‘Manager Mode’ would go in to as much depth as the old Total Club Manager game but I’m sure we’re due a new one soon, eh EA, please? Why do you only release them on PC!?

Anyway, the game mode is great, you control your team and minor aspects of coaching and scouting, such as player growth and you get to dabble in the transfer window to build a super squad of world beaters. I started out as AC Milan and after a season unbeaten my record was shattered by Inter in the first game of the new season. You see though how good it is; you have these stories and rivalries like the real game, you have your own history as a manager and after a while you start to care about your team. I was toying with quitting after my first season with Milan and buggering off to Barcelona but in the end I couldn’t as I’d be letting down the team! Pathetic, isn’t it? But you'll be there too; on your knees, naked but for your boxers, cornflakes down your chest, cursing Inter/Barnsley/Villarreal for shattering your Cup dreams.

There is also the ‘Be A Pro Sessions’ where you take control of one player in a team and build him up. It’s weird at first not being able to flick through players at will like some over stuffed, bloated and red Alex Ferguson God-figure but you soon adjust and the little dotted arrows that fly all over the place telling whereabouts on the pitch you’re actually supposed to be soon disappear as you melt into your chosen players position and learn to shut your gamer ego up and be a part of a team. If your ego can’t take that then you can go and create your own tournament or league or bugger off to sulk in ‘Manager Mode’ like me.

Then there is the multiplayer, you versus a mate is as fun as ever, whether it’s head to head or side by side you can live a life time in a game and be a wrecked man or a God by the end. A favourite of mine is to take two teams into a tournament, me controlling one, a mate the other and to see who plays what teams and who emerges the Sultan of All Groovy-ness.

Now there is 10 vs 10 online; need you ever leave the house again? What the hell ‘Lounge Mode’ is I have yet to figure out; instruction books are the fru-eets of the Dev-eel and I shall never read one to find out anything; ever!

Ah dear, sigh and sigh again my little ones for EA have indeed blessed us with ye olde football game of ye Gods and we, friends of ye, must be thankful. So enjoy you ungrateful heathens and by God when ‘FIFA 10’ comes out and it’s just a repacked version of ‘09, you just remember... the year before we had it good!

First impressions: Forget all that, look at the Overall!

Overall: 9 out of 10