FIFA 08 Producer Interview

''IGN: Is the Co-Op Season Mode a single player experience, with competition from AI controlled players as you try to develop the best player on the team, or is this solely a multiplayer feature?

Hossack: We designed Co-op Season for both the multi-player (up to 4 friends playing together) and the solo experience. It's always against a CPU controlled opponent. Both are really addictive, but the mode is most fun when you're playing it with some friends.

IGN: Can you play as the keeper?

Hossack: You cannot play as the keeper in Co-op Season; however, we added the ability to fully control your GK this year - just push in R3 (the right stick) and you're now controlling the keeper. This is an advanced control that lets you re-position your keeper on FKs and CKs, as well as take control when your opponent has a break away. Be careful though … if you're too aggressive your keeper could get sent off. To switch off your keeper, just press the player switch button or press R3 again to get back to a field player.

We also added the ability for the keeper to push up on corner kicks late in the game when you need a goal desperately. It adds a real sense of excitement.

IGN: How much control do you have over the custom formations in the game? Can you completely tailor an entire team's offensive and defensive tactics based on a rival team's weaknesses?

Hossack: In FIFA 08, we've added Custom Formations. Now you can modify any formation and tweak it just the way you like. You can position all of the players, and assign specific attacking runs and different defending runs. Make your own perfect formation and surprise your mates.

IGN: One of the complaints we had about last year's game was the weak AI, particularly around midfield. Can you tell us about the enhanced AI for this year's game?

Hossack: The first two things you will notice with FIFA 08 are that the positioning is significantly improved, and you have to work harder for your goals. We focused a lot of time on positioning this year, making sure that it was much more intelligent, that you could see the difference between teams of different skill, and that it varied appropriately with our different difficult levels. Essentially, we made sure every player on the pitch was analyzing all the potential threats and opportunities so that they positioned themselves in the best spot whether they were near the ball or on the other side of the pitch. I'm really happy where we got to. This improved positioning was also one of the ways that we made it more challenging to score. We wanted gamers to have to work harder for their goals, knowing that they'll feel that much better when they put the ball in the back of the net.

IGN: We noted that Manager Mode returns this year with a number of improvements. Could you explain some of the adjustments made for this year's Manager Mode?

Hossack: There are three features we added to Manager Mode. We have added Pre-Season Friendlies so that you have more time to test out your players and the transfer market before the season kicks off. The Training Simulation lets you schedule different practice types for your club (e.g. goalkeeper training, fitness training). Each type of training has a risk/reward element: you could boost form going into a match, but also risk fatigue/injury. Finally, the Board Expectations update dynamically half-way through each season to reflect how you are really handling your club.''