FIFA 08

Whereas the past few years have not been kind to EA Sports’ flagship soccer franchise, especially as far as next-gen consoles are concerned, this year’s entry to the FIFA series is looking to change all of that. By offering some great new features and gameplay modes, as well as substantially upping the team count, FIFA 08 is looking to be the most complete franchise entry to hit next-gen consoles yet, or any other system for that matter. The game’s new Be A Pro feature is an intriguing concept filled with many great nuances, and the skill stick elements are great, making for one FIFA game that fans of the sport might want to check out.

The skill stick functions have been greatly improved in this year’s FIFA, giving you several different ways to avoid defenders. You still use the right thumbstick to kick the ball away from defenders, but you can hold down the left bumper to tweak your moves and perform rainbows, spins, and so on, linking them together for combos and leaving your opponents in the dust.

The Be A Pro mode is a pretty great opportunity, allowing players the ability to take a single player on the pitch and play as only them. Although the AI will handle the duties of the remaining club members, you won’t be able to rest on your laurels while the other players do all of the work. The game will constantly be watching you, scoring you and crediting or removing points from your performance bar at the bottom of the screen depending on your performance. This can range from successfully performing a tackle or a pass to simply keeping on task with your position.

The Be A Pro mode is a great addition to the FIFA formula, but isn’t quite as fleshed out as it could be. In FIFA 08, the mode purely works as a simple practice mode and only works for single-game play. It would be great to see this further fleshed out into some sort of career mode where your character improves throughout the game based on his performance would’ve been great. Oh well, I guess there’s always FIFA 09…

The game has a pretty good look, with some well rendered character models and good animations. The game runs off of last year’s engine, meaning that it’s not much more than you’ve already seen, but it still does a good job. Some of the players look a little generic, but the more famous ones are easy to pick out. The sound is pretty well done, as well, with some great commentary and nice tracks from international groups like Simian Mobile Disco and Robyn rounding out an eclectic soundtrack.

FIFA 08’s Be A Pro functions are step in the right direction to the FIFA formula, and the new skill stick is great for getting the drop on defenders. Keep an eye out for more info when FIFA 08 when the game releases this October.