FIFA 09

FIFA 09 the latest installment of the top selling football franchise is
being developed at EA Canada and is boasting over 251 improvements from
FIFA 08. Over two weeks ago the game was shown at the EA Gamers Day.
Here are the latest rumours circulating about the game:

- Improved physics system. FIFA 09 has an improved physics system which
affects both players and the football itself allowing for beautiful,
powerful and deveastating shots and unprecedented levels of realism
during a match.

- Improved animation system. The brilliant animation system seen in
FIFA 08 is improved upon to include hundreds of new animations for
players that further add to the simulation feel of the game.

- New player faces. 3D player modelling is vastly improved and now
offers unbelievable similarities to the real life counterparts.

- Increased response times and game speed. Player response times have
been increased to increase the flow of the game as in real life, while
game speed has been tweaked from FIFA 08.

- Improved graphics, lighting, textures and crowd. Overall graphics
have been improved upon once again. Lighting changes in real-time
depending on the time of the match. Crowds in the stadium have been
redeveloped for the new entry.

- Player height and weight. Player weight and height plays a cruical
role in aspects such as aerial challenging and strength on the ground.

- Visible referee, linesman, staff and dugouts. For the first time in
the FIFA series referees, linesmen, subs and ground staff are all
visible. All have distinct animations such as subs warming up for their
arrival.

- Weather options and pitch affects. FIFA 09 now includes weather
options such as rain and snow which change conditions during the games
progression. In addition the pitch is now affected and becomes more
worn during wet matches and slide tackles.

- Increased number of teams and stadiums. As the same during every
release FIFA 09 will increase the number of licensed club and
international teams as well as their official corresponding stadiums.

- Changes to Be A Pro and Manager Mode. FIFA 09 will bring new changes
to Be A Pro and Manager Mode such as camera angles and enhanced options.

- Enhanced online modes. FIFA was the first football game to allow upto
5vs5 online and now this is taken up a gear with full 10vs10 online.
Matches now have options for simple 1 player matches, 2vs2, 5vs5 and
10vs10 online games.

- Interactive Celebrations. As seen in UEFA Euro 2008, interactive celebrations will be incorporated into FIFA 09.

- Greatly improved edit mode. Edit mode has now been changed to incorporate a wealth of new options.

FIFA 09 is set to become the ultimate football simulation. New previews
will be released along with first screenshots by the end of June 2008.

- Improved Artificial Intelligence system. AI systems have been recoded
and act far more realistically. AI now take actions based on the score
and change formation as appropriate. Attakcing and defensive measures
are used as well as risk assessment.

- Advanced tactics editor. Attacking and defensive styles as well as
changes to formation can now be changed on the fly. Risks can be chosen
as well as new changes to set pieces.

- Less loading. FIFA is now more streamlined and more efficient and as
a result there is less pause and play due to the fewer loading screens.

*με το FIFA08 να είναι κλάσεις ανώτερο από το PES2008, φανταστείτε τι έχει να γίνει στο FIFA09. Ειδικά το 10vs10 είναι το κάτι άλλο...

νομίζω τα face models θα είναι καλύτερα από πέρσι, και οι 2 μοιάζουν πάρα πολύ με την πραγματικότητα...

πηγή:www.fifasoccerblog.com

*φαίνεται ξεκάθαρα και η παρουσία του διαιτητή...

PS3 FIFA 09 graphics 'at least as good' as 360 version

PS3 FIFA 09's graphics will be "at least as good" as 360 FIFA 09's, EA has promised.

Speaking to VideoGamer.com in an interview, FIFA 09 PS3 and Xbox 360 producer David Rutter said that some multiplatform game developers had in the past struggled to get the PS3 version up to scratch simply because they started working on Microsoft's console first.

However, Rutter said that EA development on PS3 has now "caught up" and it has achieved "parity" on its multiplatform games.

Rutter said: "This year we've done a heap of work to make sure that the actual visuals of the game are at least as good on PS3 as 360, to the extent where we've had meetings with executives that have basically been fine tooth combing almost, taken a microscopic look at what's going on to make sure they are as good as each other, and they are. There's no graphical features or level of rendering or anything else that's different between the consoles this year."

When asked why such attention was needed to get the PS3 version to the same level as the 360 version, Rutter replied: "A lot of it is to do with the fact that when all the game teams around the world started work on console games they ended up making a 360 version before a PS3. So tools and technologies were there to support 360 in advance of PS3, and the investment required to do both is obviously an up front cost, and it takes a little while to catch up."

He added: "Yeah. As far as we're concerned we're there. There is parity, as it's called, between 360 and PS3 for us. We're chuffed about that."

http://www.videogamer.com/news/21-07-2008-8868.html

OK lads only a really quick post but look at fifasoccerblog over the next few days for loads more details and exclusive stuff. Well all I can say is that FIFA 09 is truly where next gen football begins.

A few key point:

1. Be a pro is 4 seasons offline

2. They have a new EA locker where the game tactics and formations an stuff by the fans can be exchanged!

3. They are also implementing a new online rule for quitters. If you quit in the first 3 minutes no penalty. Quit between 3 and 5 minutes you get a DNF and quit after 5 minutes you get a 5 minute loss and a really bad rating.

4. Collision system is phenomenal! You really have to see it in action.

5. New jostling system is also amazing.

6. Ball physics and passing is improved drastically.

7. The pace of the game is much better.

8. The manager mode is pretty much the same, as well the edit mode.

9. There will be some major announcements at Leipzig about the exclusive ps3 mode.

10. Player fatigue has been improved.

And there are loads more details and pics to come.

The FSB team touch down in the UK tomorrow so expect loads more exclusive stuff then.

And yes your questions have been answered in a 1 hour 1-1 with David Rutter

http://www.fifasoccerblog.com/2008/0...om-canada.html

*news

Two article from two big online games media both suggest different days for the release of FIFA 09. MCV and Computerandvideogames.com both report a release date of October 3rd. However, IGN is reporting that EA will release the game on the 9th of October.



Our most recent contact suggested a release date of the 3rd of October. We will be on the case to confirm the official date from EA. Stay tuned...

Best Regards,

FSB Team

www.fifasoccerblog.com[i]

http://www.fifa09.ea.com/gr

είναι η ελληνική έκδοση της επίσημης σελίδας του FIFA09.

Λέτε να έχουμε ελληνικό FIFA μετά από τόσα χρόνια???

http://www.videogameszone.de/aid,654...nd_in_FIFA_09/

screenshots από Bayern Μονάχου

http://www.vimeo.com/1441737?pg=embed&sec=1441737

είναι gameplay video από conference

*
-ποίο γρήγορο από το περσινό
-εξαιρετικά animations
-από ότι φαίνεται έχει γίνει καλύτερο και το shooting system
-πολύ καλά ΑΙ
-ερωτηματικό και πάλι τα ΑΙ του τερματοφύλακα. Προσέξτε το δεύτερο GOAL.

http://www.fifasoccerblog.com/

It’s been three years since the launch of the Xbox 360 and the beginning of a new generation of consoles. With so much promise this generation has produced some killer titles in other genres but unfortunately for football fans, it has been an agonizingly long three years and we are yet to see a game that truly represents the sport we love in true next-gen fashion. There have been many brave attempts but they have all fallen short, in some cases very short. Whilst EA have made the biggest strides (will the FIFA series please stand up), most purists still felt that the game lacked soul and suffered from crippling response times. But looking on the bright side, it was enough to make most football fans snap it up and enjoy the plethora of options ranging from Be A Pro to a joyous online experience.


Based on the response from the community and the fans following the release of FIFA 08, the development team here at EA Canada led by David Rutter have been striving to build on the advances of FIFA 08 and eradicate all the problems to produce the most advanced and rewarding football gameplay experience. Whilst Winning Eleven/Pro Evolution Soccer maintained its crown in the PS2 days, the crown is truly up for grabs this time around as Konami continue to struggle with next-gen football development. EA realise this and believe me when I say, are pulling out all the stops to make sure they are sitting in the throne come October 2008.

This week we had the pleasure of trying FIFA 09 on both PS3 and Xbox 360 in early build format. We were treated to a presentation to highlighting all the aims of the team as well as the major changes in the game. The development team had four core objectives:


1. Highly Polished Core Gameplay
2. Customisation
3. Be A Pro: Seasons
4. 10 vs. 10 Online


Objective 1: The heart and soul of any football game.


The primary objective of an impressive, rewarding and addictive gameplay experience is a challenge for any game developer but even more so in the sports genre as games have to feel like the real life sport. Konami were very successful at getting the right feel in the last generation. Forget all the talk about 250 key gameplay improvements because to be totally honest you guys only care how it feels and plays, right? FIFA 09 plans to achieve this by focusing on core elements of gameplay such as Responsiveness, Dribbling, Trapping, Off The Ball and First Time Actions. These have all been drastically improved when compared to FIFA 08. This game truly responds to your every move, to the extent that you will no longer fell the frustration you did in FIFA 08 when it would take 2 seconds to turn once you receive the ball. No more running along tracks… trust me if your pass is too short the player will make the attempt to stop short and collect it all this under your control and depending on your response-time, not that of the game! As soon as you dispatch a glorious Xavi style through ball your striker is onto it but you also have the ability to control his movement so as to cut or change direction once he reaches the ball. This is further boosted by the dribbling system that put a smile on everyone’s face!


The biggest hooray came as soon as people got their hands on it and realised this game had no response-time issues period! Dribbling in this game is a joy to the extent that I even heard W.E.N.B’s Editorial Director Suffwan Eltom whisper under his breath “This plays like Winning Eleven Carl, Its so smooth and responsive”. Remember, that coming from a self-confessed Winning Eleven/PES lover, damn it I wish I had recorded that on my Dictaphone! I think what really sealed the deal for him was the fact that players even use the inside and outside of the boot and even more skilled players can control it with much more accuracy and less taps that is evidently clear. What impressed me even more is the trapping system that doesn’t take half an hour to bring the ball down anymore like it used to in FIFA 08. It responds to your every action and movement allowing you to feel that you are truly in control of what your player is doing onscreen. Whereas in FIFA 08 players usually took three touches to control the ball, in FIFA 09 it can take either one or two depending on the players skill/technique attributes. So, no more having the ball stolen from you by a defender before you even know you have received it. Now you can receive the ball and instantly carry on in your attacking play without feeling like you are waiting for a London Bus.


Off the ball actions and animations are a joy to watch on screen and have you saying “Did you see that mate!” over and over again. Players point where they want the ball, shout for passes and I’m pretty sure I even saw Torres turn around and put his arms in the air when the pass to him was played way too long. Animations in this game have come a long way and the way that they are linked with motion capture and in-game actions is truly exemplary. The addition of stretching animations, when trying to stop a ball reaching an opponent or going out of play are a life-saver especially if you misplace a pass along the backline! You can now prevent corners and instead end up with thrown-ins against you. Try to save hopeless passes by your team-mates… It just oozes with new animations. Heading has come a long way as a result of improvements to the Collisions system that we will mention later on. There is a much wider range of animations introduced that will make each header that players compete for look different especially when they will all land differently. It also depends on the strength of the player going for the header, how you time it and whether the player over-commits or not. I remember Gary Paterson, the lead creative designer and gameplay man for FIFA 09 telling me that they have tons of motion capture that they have not touched.


Picture this, there is a player on the floor and he is in your path whilst you are sprinting through. Outcome? Your player jumps over him and carries on his run. In one instance I was playing against a French lad whose player had just fallen over and kept possession of the ball whilst on the ground. Ref blows his whistle and awards me the free-kick due to obstruction of play. In another game against Dave Witts from SweetPatch.tv, I even saw David Silva get taken out after releasing the pass and get up and push the culprit whilst the action on-screen continued due to the advantage rule. We both sat there in awe! The ball shielding system in FIFA 09 has also undergone work in order to improve it and make it more rewarding and true to the game. Shielding is now more effecting when protecting the ball from an opponent and will lead to better possession. No more struggling to hold the ball up field with Berbatov while you wait for the Cavalry to arrive from midfield. If you get really excited you can hit the right analogue and push the defender back, although we have been warned it often leads to a foul against you.


Collisions, well where do we start! Say good-bye to scripted play that repeats itself over and over. Referred to by the team as physical play and attributes this truly is one of the highlights of FIFA 09. To put it simply it must be played, not just seen on a video, but actually played and felt to understand how good this system really is. Built from the ground up you will no longer see un-realistic slide tackles and players going through other players and just knocking them over. EA went to the extent of hiring real football players to motion capture the dives and falls for the collisions in FIFA 09 and in some extreme cases they had to get stuntmen that didn’t mind getting clobbered and going down hard. The system deals with all the player collisions in tackles, during jostles and headers. The outcome is calculated based on momentum, foot placement, physical attributes and point of contact. This will results in the player falling or stumbling in a certain fashion. In FIFA 08, a tackle comes flying in and the player either falls to ground in a generic fashion or stumbles losing possession and disrupts your play without getting a foul. In FIFA 09, the type of fall, intensity of the fall and direction of the fall are all determined by the direction of movement, contact from another player, whether it hits a trailing leg or standing leg and most importantly physical attributes and momentum. All very complex physics involved in doing some very difficult maths sums! But the outcome is near to real-life falls and stumbles on-screen that looks incredible.


The new jostling system is an absolute joy. Gone are the days of players running beside each other and the faster one zooming past without a battle. Closely linked to the collisions system now, wingers are defenders or strikers and defenders really have to battle shoulder to shoulder to get ahead or gain possession. The animation is super and you can see arms going up and elbows appearing. Shoulder barges as well as legs coming in the way. True to life the players react, I was watching a Spain vs. Italy game and saw Torres jostling with Materazzi for a good 15 yards before he won the battle and hit the turbo to cut into the area.


There’s one more thing that I’m sure you all want to know, Goalkeepers. Given the amount of time we were given to play the game and that we were playing a very early beta/late alpha version we couldn’t really notice any major flaws in goalkeeping. Although they do now punch when instructed to do so. The Goalkeeping logic has been re-written from scratch, now giving them the ability to have a better sense of their defensive line. They now also try to correct any incorrect decisions they make. For example if they dive early and/or in the wrong direction they will stick their legs out further or try and change direction in order to rectify or try to reach the ball.


Objective 2: Customisation


This year sees the introduction of the custom team tactics giving players the freedom and ability to truly control the tactics and mentality of their team. Many tactical parameters such as specific location on the pitch, mentality of each position, specific actions for each position and the list goes on and on. These tactics can be simulated (based on the real-life teams/clubs) or pure fantasy. What’s even more exciting is that you can upload your tactics to EA Locker where it will be available to the masses. So go on, create an unbeatable tactic/formation and make yourself an instant FIFA Idol! EA are hoping that this new tactical freedom offered by the new customisation system will start a community of tactics from around the world with varying playing styles. The tactics are divided into three distinct disciplines; Defensive, Attacking Build-up and Attacking Chance Creation. We were so eager to play as many games as possible we didn’t venture into the tactical aspect of things so much. Can you blame us?!


Objective 3: Be A Pro – Seasons


Based on the massive success of the Be A Pro mode following its introduction in FIFA 08, EA realised that this mode needed to be built upon, especially in the single player mode. So, you pick a real-life player or create a custom one, and play over four full seasons building up points during each game by performing well. The aim of the game is to break into the National Team and become a National Legend.


Objective 4: Be A Pro Online – 10 vs. 10


Given the unprecedented success of this mode online EA naturally wanted to expand upon this. Last years 5 vs. 5 mode was played exclusively by 40% of FIFA 08 players. In English, that means 40% of people who played FIFA 08 online ONLY played Be A Pro. That’s quite a statistic. This year its 10 vs. 10 and it’s gonna be a massive hit.


Further Points:


The AI in FIFA 09 really has been improved, we still felt some niggles here and there but given that this is an early build that is understandable. In one game against Everton at Professional level I lost 6-0, and I was Roma! I can’t begin to imagine how difficult Legendary is. The AI controlled players seem to have a better sense of awareness and better reactivity. However, at the same time they make mistakes like humans do, and don’t put away every chance. The Manager mode has seen very little work this year to the disappointment of most fans. This is in both next-gen and the PC versions of FIFA 09. Although the developers did let us know that they realise the fans request to have a much deeper manager mode with improved features and depth. Refereeing is another plus this year, and I felt it many times during out play-test. The refs seem more on the ball and more responsive. We loved the advantage rule as it was applied time and time again and action brought back to the foul when the advantage is lost. There was a match or two however where the decisions seemed a bit erratic, but these things will surely be ironed out for the final release. The graphics in FIFA 09 are also significantly better. We were sceptical that they would be improved based on the screenshots we had previously seen. However, there is a significant improvement which is even more evident in the PS3 version.


Many other improvements that we haven’t mentioned include the ability to completely customise the controller to your preference with each individual button. This includes separate selection for Defending and Attacking controls. This can be done at the main menu or during the pause menu. Featured this year is a much better network matchup system that will setup matches with a higher success ratio with regards to team preference and connection quality. The disconnection rules this year will also see a significant drop in the number of “cheaters” online who pull out that network cable! In the first 3 minutes there is no penalty for disconnection. In minutes 3 -5 there will be given a DNF and finally any quitting after 5 minutes will lead to a 3-0 loss and a higher DNF value. For the realist’s, home and away fans sit in the correct locations in the relevant stadiums. No more away fans in the Kop!


So there you have it, my personal full in-depth take on FIFA 09 for the Xbox 360/PS3. Trust me when I say that footie fans are truly in for a treat this year. This game is going to fly off the shelves. At the end of the day grown men (including myself) cried as we needed to play for longer! For a more detailed discussion be sure to tune into the Inaugural FSB Podcast that goes live late tonight and don't miss the exclusive FSB interview with David Rutter.


All the best,


Carl Freedman

Γαλλία vs Iταλία

The Ronaldo free kick

Προβλέπω να έρχονται πολλά 9 και 10 στα Reviews φέτος. Πραγματικά το FIFA09 είναι Masterpiece...

First Impressions

The first thing you're presented with is the arena, which looks the same until, of course, you start taking shots and start moving around with the player. Players felt less heavy and seemed like they could turn and react to the positioning of their bodies much quicker. But for a better impression you need to play the game from the normal camera angle, obviously.

Gameplay is obviously the most important part of all, so I'll break my thoughts down into several key areas.

Passing

The game is a lot more fluid than FIFA 08, and you can string passes together easily now if you are e.g. Manchester United. In FIFA 08 the pitch felt very congested at times when you had the ball, but now you feel like you have more time on the ball and more space to move into, which is excellent as sometimes (in Euro 2008 especially) it felt like your players wouldn't pass quickly enough. Playing on "semi" passing, this little bit of added space makes the game much less frustrating than previous games.

Players are now put off the accuracy of their passes when they are pressed by the opposition, and this adds a whole new level of realism, although it has quite a strong effect. For example, if you are playing against an opponent who likes to sit back and defend, your players are able to pass the ball around them all night long and this seems to build up a hidden "confidence bar", with passing accuracy rocketing to around 80%-90% accuracy. However, when the opposition start to pressure your team, you lose that bit of responsiveness, and passes become a lot less accurate. You can no longer string passes together when you're under intense pressure, because it leads to a lot of mistakes, and although this is realistic, it means the game will become very difficult and very scrappy if your opponent sets his players to team-press!

Dribbling/Skill

This is one of my favourite parts of FIFA 09. Dribbling is now a lot more responsive. By that I don't mean when you are using the "trick stick", but when you are actually dribbling, doing 45-degree and 90-degree turns. It's a lot more intricate and players can shimmy through players a lot easier than before. This is important because when you use Messi, for example, it is a lot easier to go around players without having to use a trick; last year in FIFA 08 I depended on the lane-change skill to dribble around players, but this is no longer the case and you can now mix it up with tricks and close ball control.

Crossing/Heading

Standard crosses in the box are basically the same as before, but now you can give them a bit of curl, which is good - but it was a lot more noticeable from set pieces and corners, where you can curve the ball a lot more.

Headers are a lot more like Euro 2008, meaning that if you win the header you now feel like you can really bullet the ball into the back of the net. Where you aim is where the header ends up, whether that be miles over the bar or the bottom corner. Aiming headers is a lot easier than in FIFA 08, where headers would often be too soft or simply not go where you wanted them to. You can now really pick your spot; I scored three headers with Berbatov, and managed to pick out the bottom corners three times in a row. I also scored a couple with other players, which were unmarked headers where I had all the time in the world to produce a good hard headed goal. I am happy to say this part of the game is much improved, perhaps too easy in-fact, but this is probably down to the players' traits and abilities. Expect a lot more headed goals in FIFA 09!

Tackling/Collisions

This is a huge part of the game, and easily one of the best additions to the series. You can honestly feel the physicality of certain players when you have control of them, and is a massive help against quick, skillful players. In FIFA 08 I focused my game on defence and always used Inter Milan, and this is the same team I used in FIFA 09 when I noticed how useful the tackling/collision system is with certain teams. I had Maicon, Materazzi, Samuel and Chivu in defence with Vieira and Muntari as defensive midfielders (the rosters were up to date as of at least a few weeks ago), and I was up against Manchester United. My opponent set Ronaldo as a striker, with Rooney supporting him, and Nani and Saha on the wings. I knew this was either going to make or break the game for me, because if he could tear me apart like Manchester United could in FIFA 08 I would have been majorly disappointed - not because it was easy, but because there is no stopping the "big" players like Ronaldo in FIFA 08.

The game started and he piled on the pressure from the start. He was always looking for Ronaldo. I had Materazzi square up to him but with Ronaldo's ball control he managed to get past him without even using a skill-move. He was through on goal, but Samuel came running in from an angle. He ran into Ronaldo and with a push of LB + A on the 360 controller (R1 + X on the PS3 pad) to try and win the ball, he barged in with his elbow and Ronaldo was shrugged off the ball. He didn't roll over, he was just barged a couple of yards backwards, and with him off-balance I picked up the loose ball with Samuel (who is quicker than Materazzi and was able to recover the situation for me).

This happened several times, and the key to winning possession was coming at these skillful players from the side (rather than squaring up to them head-on), where a player's strength can make more of an impact and you can be more successful with tackles from the stronger/quicker players in your side. As the attacking side, you can still beat defenders with players who are good in one-on-one situations, but if I had not been good with using the jockey button he could have scored on several occasions.

It really is difficult to explain the collision system; I've tried as best as I can but it has to be seen to be believed. It's very hard to do it justice, and it's definitely one of the biggest additions to the game.

Custom Formations

Another new feature is the ability to truly tinker with your formation. You can now set four custom formations up, store them and take them online, but the big part of the new formation settings is "player roaming". You can set which areas of the field each player commands, telling them to risk going into certain areas, or staying strictly within their zone. So if, for example, you want your full-backs to stay back for the entire game and provide no attacking width, staying put and tightly marking the likes of Robinho and Robben, they will do that.

Another example; if you want Gerrard and Lampard to roam, in-case there's a lucky bounce they can latch onto and dispatch into the back of the net, they will do that as well. You can really see the difference when you alter the tactics in this way, it makes a huge difference. I was using a 4-2-4 formation but I wanted my full-backs to push forward, with my defensive midfielders covering the space left behind by each full-back when they were in the attacking third. So I set this up, and what did I see? Cambiasso and Vieira occupying the left-back and right-back positions whilst my full-backs were giving me some attacking width. I thought this was a great addition to the dynamic of the game, as "player arrows" have never made as big a difference as this in previous football games.

Now you feel like you are the manager of your team, and that you decide what your players do in the course of the game. Of course, I could also have had Cambiasso and Vieira roaming into attacking midfield positions, putting huge pressure on my opponents, but my strategy in FIFA is to keep the defence as tight as possible!

Sliders

This section will be brief as I only altered the sliders once or twice. I can see this being used in the last twenty minutes of games very often, when you need to really pile on the pressure on your opponent. I didn't use this too often, I was too concerned about my defensive line, but you could definitely see everyone push up when I set the "chance creation" slider to the maximum setting. Expect to be countered very easily if you dare turn up all the sliders!

Goalkeepers

Now, this is the one aspect of the game people are the most worried about and, from my experience, I can honestly say there is room for improvement here. It all depends on what goalkeepers are on the pitch - once again, player ratings are of huge importance. I used Tottenham, who still had Paul Robinson in goal, and he was pretty much a Euro 2008 goalkeeper, i.e. he could be beaten at the near post pretty easily, and the same with finesse shots from the edge of the area. But when I had Julio Cesar of Inter in goal, people were regularly having their shots saved when it was one against one, and it felt like every one against one was a 50/50 situation. Cech made the most miraculous save I have ever seen in a FIFA game; Rooney blasted a shot like a rocket, the ball hit the crossbar and bounced down onto the line, with Ronaldo coming in for an easy tap-in. Cech was on the floor, Ronaldo was closing in, and Cech scrambled across the goal on his knees to punch the ball away just before Ronaldo could arrive. This was probably the most exciting thing I saw all day, with the goalkeepers having such life-like animation for that kind of situation. I've not seen anything like it before in FIFA, or in any other football game for that matter.

Cech could also deal with long shots comfortably, but was definitely weak on crosses and corners where he was often caught napping. On a few of these occasions he came out to catch the ball and didn't get there in time, reminding me of many a David James howler! My advice is to pick a team with a goalkeeeper rated 80+, otherwise they may concede some poor goals.

Shooting

Talking about goals, shooting is one of the most important aspects of a football game, and I think FIFA 09 has got this spot-on. The ball feels a lot less "floaty" now, and shots seem to have a slight accuracy increase from distance when compared to FIFA 08. The power in these shots is also a lot more noticeable, and was clear to see when I scored a couple of scorchers with Adriano and Drogba. I hit some long, hard shots with power that smacked into the bottom corner of the net, which wasn't possible in FIFA 08, and the curl and power of the shots is now a lot more realistic. This is another area I find hard to explain but a lot of people will absolutely adore this! You can actually feel and see the power in shots now and it makes a massive difference. The response times when shooting are also spot-on and I have no issues with them whatsoever.

AI/Player Movement and Reactions

AI seems to be exactly the same as in FIFA 08, and as such, you are forced to use the player roaming feature mentioned previously to make the players move into positions they should occupy. It would have been a good idea for EA to set player roaming for the players that move into certain positions in real life, but once you have set this for your team, it makes no difference either way I suppose.

Player movement in attacking areas is pretty good once you start tapping the LT button on the 360 controller (L2 on PS3) to trigger player runs. Seeing them call for the ball, pointing when they want the ball played, is a very good visual aid as many previews have stated. You now feel like players are reacting to situations like this as they should. Player turning has improved and along with what I detailed in the dribbling section, people should have no complaints with responsiveness in this area! Players do what you want them to when you flick the analog stick, and with closer touches that also helps to increase the responsiveness.

"Super-cancel" is much improved, as now you can finally get your strikers out of those "railed" runs and start running towards the ball at full speed more often than before. There are still occasions when they stand still, meaning you have to react within the first second of receiving the ball or else you lose possession, but I am hoping this is tweaked just slightly before release. It's definitely improved and should be less frustrating for the more advanced players who use these features.

Some of the new animations are excellent, especially reactions to things unfolding on the pitch. When you do an awful pass, or you are greedy with the ball and take an awful shot, players will react to these situations and it is great to see! You will constantly see the likes of Ibrahimovic and Berbatov moan when delivery is not perfect, just like they would in real life.

I have missed out a couple of things like how player traits and player ratings affect the game, but I may go into more detail about these at some point. For now, I think the above tells you just how much an improvement this game is over FIFA 08 and Euro 2008.

Hi all, just to keep the excitment flowing; FSB can now bring you details of the upcoming FIFA 09 demo due for release on Spetember 11th.


PS3 & X360 Demo
The online availability will be Sept 11.

For PS3 and 360 we’ll have a full exhibition match with the following 6 teams available. If the match ends in a draw, it will go directly to penalties.

1. Marseille
2. Schalke
3. Real Madrid
4. Chelsea
5. AC Milan
6. Toronto FC

The demo features ‘increased accessibility’ (i.e. better flow for setting up matches) as part of the EA Sports focus on letting new players into our games. The player can also practice in the Arena and view tips on basic or advanced gameplay techniques.

Both versions unveil the new Team Management feature: Custom Tactics, giving the player a chance to sample tactical options in each of the key categories (Build Up, Chance Creation, and Defence).

The Playstation 3 demo features the FIWC Stadium, while 360 features New Wembley.

For PC, the demo will be available online from Sept 12.

1. PC demo has same teams.
2. 2x2 minute halves, no extra time or penalties
3. Kick-off Team and Kick-off Be A Pro flows are accessible
4. adidas Live Season info and tips & hints screens
5. additional “New for FIFA 09” screens
6. PC controls video/Intro video

fifasoccerblog.com

και ένα νέο video

http://www.gamersyde.com/stream_8421_en.html