FIFA Soccer 09

Like the seasons, the EA sports lineup will come at the same time every year. It may be a few days different each year, but every single year, EA will put out NCAA in July, Madden in August, NHL in September, NBA Live in early october, and FIFA in late october. Now, late October is one of the biggest times for games. Being any company other than EA and putting out a game in October or November would be a bit insane, but we know EA puts out a soccer game every single year at the same time. What makes FIFA 09 special and worth your cash?

First off, and the first thing you'll notice when you get into the game is the plethora of features that have been jam packed into this years edition of FIFA 09. It's got quickplay, tournament mode, manager mode, and lounge mode, where you can play with your buddy team vs. team and try to win badges. It's a fun way to play with a friend with more at stake than just a FIFA game and bragging rights (which go a long way with competitive friends.) Quickplay is the reason you've come to love FIFA, with just regular old FIFA action one game at a time. Play by yourself or with a friend.

The gameplay of FIFA 09 is simply incredible. The fluid and smooth animations, from tackling to doing your own celebration after you score, are great. Every kick looks believable, every player looks fantastic. The ball is no longer a part of the player but a thing of it's own. If you've felt like no soccer game has really captured what soccer is all about, look no further than FIFA 09. This is the beginning of the end of Pro Evo Soccer unless they pull out something big this year. What cha got for us Konami?

A major edition to FIFA 09 is the Be a Pro mode and all the upgrades its seen since FIFA 08. It's got all sorts of new stuff to it thats great like a new meter to tell you whether you're doing well or badly, and more animations and features all together. It does come with it's share of faults, however. Like in positioning. Positioning is important in soccer because you need to cover your man so they don't force a 2 on 1 with the defender. However, if you're the left forward, and there's a teammate on the right side dribbling up the field, of course you'll cut to the middle if no one's there! You get points deducted for this, and it's a real shame.

Probably the deal seller for FIFA 09 is the Be a Pro team play on Xbox Live or the PSN. You can get 20 people together, all being their own pros, for the toughest online team matches in soccer. It's a breeze to get into a game and find a match, but I did have problems with being kicked from sessions while in matches and in the menu's setting up for matches. If you can get into a good match, or a bunch of your buddies have the game, this is a great way to get into the game and have a great time with friends.

Just like NBA 09 before it, FIFA 09 has a similar DNA-like player update every week from the EA servers. This works well and changes the attributes of your favorite players, but EA kind of shafts you in the way that you only get weekly updates for one league. So whether it be the Italian Siere A (Go Roma!), the Barclays Premier League, or the German Bundesliga, you only get to choose one to have for free until the inevitable FIFA 10 (?, FIFA '010?) comes out. You can buy extra leagues for $5.50 each after that, but you only get one free, and that's pretty lame.

Once you really get into FIFA, you'll realize its one of, if not the, best playing football game ever. It just feels right. All who are adamant about PES being much better than FIFA, look no further than FIFA 09, a benchmark in soccer/football games, and sports games in general. All the game modes and fun packed into this $60 package is a steal. If you like soccer, if you like soccer games, or if you like sports in general, you should definitely check out FIFA 09. It's not only one of the best soccer games ever, it's one of the best sports games ever. FIFA is king now. Get used to it.