FIFA Soccer 08

Oct 16, 2007

It's been a long, hard road for the FIFA franchise on HD systems. FIFA 06 was terribly mediocre, save for the five hours work it took to get 1000 Achievement Points from it. Last year's game was an improvement, but still paled next to its current-gen counterpart, and that's not even mentioning the two tie-in games. When push came to shove, however, EA Canada scrapped the other formulas and brought in the team from last year's current-gen FIFA to give this new game a retooling. What a difference it's made. Thankfully, those iterations mean that 360 owners get a solid game at last, and the franchise makes a great debut on PS3.

FIFA 08 is a handsome title, and the character models don't suffer from as much of a greasy effect as they did in overly bloom-lit predecessors. The game runs at 720p native for PS3 and 360, although 360 owners with high-end HDTVs can take advantage of the system's 1080p upscaling. PS3 owners can rightfully gripe that the framerate isn't as smooth as in the 360 version, although it's not something that renders the game totally unplayable. The action on the pitch looks great; it's significantly better than rival Konami's Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer title, and we can finally see the number of animations that have increased from last year's game to this years. Overall, it's good to see that models aren't as ugly as they've been in past years.

Two years ago, we complained about the implementation of the "new" controls, calling them a pander to Winning Eleven fans. Since then, we've softened our stance a bit, and frankly, outside of the touted skill feature, the ball handling in FIFA 08 is much better than last year's, in which the physics had far too much float to them. It no longer feels as though you're kicking a volleyball; instead, it has some heft and weight to it. The through ball has improved from past games, too. In the past, a grounded through pass tended to feel a bit like a crapshoot; either it was too loose and became a strategic crutch, or it was an open invitation to switch to defense. It's much more balanced here.

The new skill moves feature, however, doesn't work as well on the pitch as it does in the game's menu. Ideally, with either the L trigger or L2, you set up a modifier that allows you to perform a variety of cool-looking tricks with the right analog stick. Skill moves should allow you to perform lots of feints, flicks, and cool stepovers anywhere in the gameplay experience. In reality, they're not ideal in a one-on-one situation, and the average North American FIFA player probably won't use them very often. It's still fun to practice crazy stepover moves and trademark feints while you're waiting for a game to load, though.

EA has never skimped in the presentation department, and FIFA 08 is no exception. Podcasts are back, but this year, there's even more in store. Not only can you get sports updates from ESPN, you'll have British, French, German, Spanish and Italian podcasts that discuss the beautiful game. The amount of integration across the boards with EA's servers shows off the evolution from the cruder EA Nation online matchmaking found in the likes of the PS2, Wii and handheld games. EA Sports Football World tracks every stat of every game you play, as well as your Achievement (Accomplishments on PS3) progress, Manager mode, and both Be a Pro and Challenge mode. The breadth and depth of what's on hand, as well as its integration into the game's official website, are well-polished and should keep you busy for quite some time.

The crowning jewel of the FIFA 08 experience, however, is the introduction of Be a Pro Mode. In this new gameplay style, you'll choose one player on the pitch, and it's your task to perform the duties at hand. If you're a defender, it's going to be your job to keep the ball clear of goal and snap at the heels of strikers and attacking midfielders. If you're a midfielder, it will be your job to support either defense or offense, depending on your position. If you're a forward, it will be all about weaving around defenders and setting up opportunities to call for a pass... as long as you stay onsides. It's also an amazing experience that could have never been rendered in this light during the PS2 era, as evidenced by the limitations of the PS2 version's Be a Pro feature.

The camera will stay fixed on your player, as you maneuver him up and down the pitch. The CPU has a meter that keeps real-time tabs on your performance, from positioning on the field to your success at such skills as tackles, dribbling and defending your post. For the most part it works well, although the positioning has some problems. At times, you'll lose points for positioning on a failed score attempt because you won't be able to move back fast enough. Even so it's a great mode, possibly the best in the game, save for a monolithic caveat: it's not available for any sort of career season mode. You'll only be able to play the mode in one-off matches, and as of release time, it's currently confined to offline. By the end of the year, EA has promised to release a patch that will enable you and a few friends to hop online and play co-op, but it's disappointing this year's introduction is likely a stopgap to the "real unveiling" of a fully fledged mode in next year's title.

Among the alternate modes, Manager mode feels fairly unchanged from last year. You'll still enter your name, pick a sponsor, and manage everything from player morale to ticket prices. After playing through it, we have to say that Manager mode, while certainly not the wacky card-based crapshoot seen in UEFA Champions League, is in need of something to freshen it up after so many years. FIFA Lounge is back for more couch-based competition, but still feels like it did upon its inception two years ago. Out of the alternate modes, it's Challenge mode that has seen the most benefits this year, as the Be a Pro camera has been integrated into challenges to spice up the action.

FIFA 08's online multiplayer has improved greatly over years of laggy matches around release day. We noticed no lag over PlayStation Network on our PS3 games. Xbox Live worked equally well, a pleasant surprise considering the issues that have plagued nearly every EA soccer title on 360 all the way up to Champions League six months ago. Also, the full integration of Interactive Leagues, introduced in the PS2 and Xbox games last year, into the HD-gen games is a welcome introduction. Not only will yours and other teams' performances affect game outcomes, gamers across other platforms will add and subtract to your club's conglomerate score on the FIFA message boards. Does that mean you can irrationally blame those five PSP owners for dragging the team down after your embarrassing string of defeats on Xbox Live? Probably, but it'll be a lie.

After four iterations, FIFA Soccer 08 feels like the first title to live up to the "next-gen" name. Besides visual horsepower, the number of possible modes and EA Canada's strengthened emphasis on incorporating online interaction with the game have gone a long way toward improving the experience. Also, even though the online update for Be a Pro will allow greater depth for the mode, it's tough not to feel as though EA is holding back until next year's game to flesh it out fully. However, the improvements to Challenge mode, a significantly improved online multiplayer experience and the overhaul of gameplay give it a polish that has been sorely missing from the series on Xbox 360. And in spite of some frame rate shortcomings, it's still a solid debut on PS3. It's got some issues that keep it from decisively winning the domestic league, but finally, with FIFA 08, EA qualifies for a Champions League slot, if not cup finalist.