Second Impressions: FIFA 09

[By Anthony]

With the release of the FIFA 09 demo on the PlayStation Store on Thursday/Friday it gave me a chance to try out an updated build of EA’s latest offering from the football world. I began to notice the differences imediately: textures looked better, player models had been updated and the whole game looked a lot more polished. Of couse there were still a few bugs in there (i’ve noticed a few anomalies with the opposition A.I.) but this is more than likely the build that was shown off at Lepizig earlier this month.

Gameplay seems more fuild and fact paced than the last build I played, in fact it’s faster than many of the past FIFA games. Don’t let this put you off this new found speed adds a lot to the gameplay and surprisingly makes the game more tactical.

The demo also gave me a chance to muck about with the improved trick system a little more and, although it might not seem like it at first, it’s a lot more diverse than in previous itterations. One of the biggest features is the ability for players to set themselves up for shots by juggling the ball, kicking it into the air, and volleying the ball at the goal. This might not seem too significant, but it could help get your team the winner in the closing seconds of the game.

There’s 250 new features added to the game and they definitely improve upon a greatly improving franchise. Watch out PES, it looks like FIFA’s coming back for it’s crown.

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