FIFA 08 (PS3)

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

The greatest battle of the new football season is not between any real world club but between the virtual giants of FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer. Konami’s game has always been the favourite but last year FIFA closed the gap to such a degree that the title race has never been closer. This year’s FIFA uses a completely new game engine, for the first time built specifically for the next gen consoles. But improved graphics and animation are only the half of it, with just as much focus going on the artificial intelligence thanks to the new "35 point decision engine". What this basically means is that every player on the pitch is fully aware of those around him and constantly thinking about tactics and position when not under your control.

Other changes include better modelled physics for taking a shot on goal, which take into account everything from air pressure to the angle of your foot. You’re also able to create your own special moves to replicate every possible trick from real life. There are also new game modes including Be A Pro which challenges you to play the role of a single player through a whole season or career. On top of this there are revamped online leagues to play a virtual season in the Premier League, Bundesliga, French League or Mexican 1st Division against real opponents. With 620 licensed teams, 30 offline leagues and 15,000 players as well FIFA might just have made enough new signings this year to put it over the top.

Harrison Dent

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Manufacturer's Description
FIFA 08 challenges players to master the skills required to play like a professional soccer player. Fans around the world can experience the same highs and lows of real-world players and tackle the challenges they face on a daily basis.

The FIFA Soccer 08 next-gen gameplay engine, built to maximize the power of the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and the PLAYSTATION 3 computer and entertainment system, delivers animations and ball control that is so responsive you feel like you are actually on the pitch. Players are now aware of their surroundings, reacting authentically to threats and opportunities to make intelligent decisions.

Now with the FIFA 08 shooting system you can enjoy even more control and precision in front of the goal to become a true marksman.

For the first time ever, fans playing FIFA 08 will face the pressure to improve their game that real-world players endure every day. A new play mode called Be A Pro locks you in the role of a single player and challenges you to master the same disciplines as a real professional player--from positioning and tackling to reading the field and passing.

FIFA 08 now gives every football fan the chance to perform pro skills with a true next-generation organic ‘building-block’ system. You can combine tricks and skill moves together to recreate signature moves from the real-world superstars or define your own style of play. You can even capture video of your best moves and goals in-game and upload to the FIFA 08 website to show off your style and celebrate your glory with friends across the globe.

The award-winning Interactive Leagues debuts on the Xbox 360 and the PLAYSTATION 3 as part of the deepest online feature set to date. Represent your club online (Internet connection required for online play) against your rivals throughout the season in the F.A. Premier League, Bundesliga, French League or Mexican 1st Division. When they play, you play. Plus, create and organise your own multiplayer Friends Leagues and tournaments with all the tools in-game.

In addition, FIFA 08 is dramatically more real and exhilarating with the inclusion of 620 licenced teams, 30 official leagues, and more than 15,000 players

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-08-18 rating:
Fifa 06 with better graphics
A good game but it really is like fifa 06 with better graphics. No create a team, and most irritatingly, every save is called career 1, 2 etc. which makes it very difficult to find one if you have lots of saves. No practice either. The arena is a good idea but training allows you to have practice matches whereas arena is a player against a keeper. there are plusses. graphics 9/10. realism 9/10. having real boots like addidas, puma, umbro etc rather than just ea 1 2 3etc. a good game but lacks some crucial elements. 3 and a 1/2 stars.

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review by: date: 2008-07-29 rating:
Same old FIFA
FIFA 08 makes it first trip on the PS3. Does it dissapoint, well we'll see.
First, FIFA 08 bring the new be a pro mode which allows you to control 1 player on the pitch and get match ratings and advice. The camera angles is good but it gets frustating when you don't have the ball though. Another dissapointment is the Arena Mode. There is no way to really perfect your free kick technique because in the Arena Mode, free kick practice involves no wall. Also, in a match while taking a close up free kick the keeper stays more on the side where the wall isn't. This is silly because it's hard to get the ball over the wall and under the post and the keeper almost always saves it if you put it on the other side. The power bar doesn't feel right to me either. Maybe, I'm used to Pro but on close up free kicks, if u tap circle it will hit the wall, if you hold it, it will go over the bar.

The last fifa I played before this was fifa 06 and I think fifa 08 is much worse for the time Ea have had to fix its flaws. First, the keepers are terrible. Their positioning is awful and a lot of the time they get lobbed at corners. Also, their reflexes are almost zero. Say I was to head the ball onto the post, the keeper will dive 2 seconds after it hit the post which is so stupid.In addition goalkeepers almost always concede when a winger runs down the flank and passes it to the striker on the floor who always scores. This is so unrealistic. The keeper never savers which is pretty darn stupid. Also, during goal kicks or free kicks when you want to pass to a player the opponent can move and intercept and it diesturbs why a team mate would want to pass to the opposition It is also impossible to score headers against the computer yet the computer scores at ease from headers and they always seems to have 85% passing.

Passing is also flawed too. Say you want to pass to a player ahead first time. Half the time the player will take a touch so the opportunity to pass is gone. Also, when you are trying to go for an X button tackle, your player seems to pass the ball to nobody. Passing to your own players can be a chore. Especially in advanced attacking positions you pass to a player. Then you want to control the player who is going to receive the ball to run towards the ball. But when you do so, the player runs away and it feels as if I don't have full control of my players. Henry's left foot can score some spectacular goals with the CPU but with me, the keeper easily saves. The game also seems to have pre-determined matches. When I play against Barcelona on world class, I have never won. Once, I was Man United and it was 1-1 during extra time. Eto'o as through on goal in the 119th minute but I fouled him with Evra who was sent off. Ronaldinho then scored the most immaculate free kicks which gives the impression that had i let Eto'o through he would've scored anyway and that I was delaying the inevitable. So games in FIFA 08 are pre-determined quite alot of the time like professional wrestling.

One final thing is penalties which are god damn awful. The keepers can move fully from left to right. This annoys me alot online. For example say you power up a penalty, it takes a second to take the shot. when the power is done the player online can move to one side. When you have decided shot power you can't change the direction. The other player online can move to one side after shot power has been done and you can't change where the ball is going to go so alot of the time penalties are saved. This does not reflect real life because if the keeper moves to one side at any point before the shot is taken the penalty kick taker can change where the shot is going. Not in FIFA. So penalty shootouts boil down to luck and cheats rather than pure skill.

I know all my comments so far on FIFA has been negative but there are some good points. It's got all the licenses in a football games which gives the game authenticity. One thing it has over Pro is that you can't easily race through defences with fast players so it's quite realistic in that sense. However, some player are gods for example Cristiano Ronaldo is so fast and ferdinand, vidic and terry are defending gods. Evra is almost unbeatable at left back but bar those exceptions no-one is god in the game.

FIFA 08 is an Ok game but 06 was better for its time. 08 has just better graphics and reviewers have been blinded by Ea's big name in industry.
As for the Pes vs FIFA argument, Pes is better despite its disastrous showing on PS3. People are saying this game is getting better, but it's still the same slow, unresponsive playing FIFA you've been playing for years. Not going to buy FIFA again unti I see change. 09 is supposed to be better, but didn't they say the same for 08?

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review by: Dudderz date: 2008-07-13 rating:
Awful....
I've had this game for ages now but i guess ive been putting off writing a review 1) because im too lazy and 2) ive been trying to find some good things about the game.....there are few.....

The graphics are actually pretty good but i guess its what we come to expect from the Fifa series. But whats the point in awesome graphics when the gameplay is TERRIBLE!?

Hmmm where to begin?...

Well the reffereeing is a disgrace to football. Last time i checked (being a referee myself) football was a contact sport. Every match you'll see countless freekicks given against you for simply being near an opponent while they are dribbling. Even if you get the ball first when tackling the opposition always gets the foul and normally in a dangerous area which they will more than likely score from.
This leads me on to my next point. Goalies...

Trust me, your gonna want to learn to defend as your goalkeeper is a...liability at best. He will always seem to be out of position, especially on freekicks, and have the reactions of a corpse. On the other hand, the computers keeper must have 199 reaction rating and 199 diving rating as every shot you take, no matter how good it is, from outside the box seems to be easy for him. You'll find yourself scoring the same type of goal over and over and over again.

Ok time to wizz through the bad points now.

Computer seems to be that extra foot above you when heading. When the cpu is taking you on, it'll simply turn 180 degrees multiple times till he sees his opportunity to get passed you (or gets a broken leg after a tackle from behind). The through ball system is...flawed at best, it will always go too far in front or to the side of the striker when trying to slide him in on goal so dont bother trying. Eveyone on online mode plays as Man Utd or Barcelona, i know there are a lot of glory supporters out there but come on, its just sad. So dont even think about playing as a normal team. Andy Gray is annoying with quotes like "If you dont hit the target, you're never gonna score"...

Ok enough whining, lets look at the good points.

Graphics as said before are great
Real teams and lots of em
Ditto that for players
Proper season system gives a nice break from the whole PES masters league thing
And thats about it

Hopefully EA actually go and watch a football match before releasing the next Fifa ro else i might actually go back to being a PESy!

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review by: date: 2008-07-12 rating:
yet again FIFA doesn't deliver
every year there is so much hype regarding FIFA but it has always been overshadowed by the PES series. whilst Pro Evolution is not great this year in my opinion it is still better than FIFA.
the number of things wrong with this years FIFA is unbelievable. where to start!
the only positives i can say are that gameplay is greatly improved and the new online system offers a totally new aspect to the game.

graphics are good compared to PES from a distant but up close the player's details are comparable to playstation 1 football games.
playing against the computer is so unrealistic after playing one premier league season i never played against the computer. No computer controlled teams play differently, i beat Chelsea and Liverpool in the season but Derby county were able to beat me easily 3-0!
the computer has only one way of going past you - going round in a circle! it is so aggravating and you can't dispossess them when they do this. also the computer will never attack your defence by running at them they will always pass the ball. in one instant the forward was at the edge of my box and passed it back to the centre circle - ridicolous!

whilst the online system is a good idea yet again EA and FIFA have messed it up. online games rely so much on luck - you can dominate a match and a player gets a lucky deflection or your team won't change player properly and the other team is through.

I WON'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING ABOUT SHOOTING - IT IS SOOO UNREALISTIC!

believe me if you are a football fan, you will be bitterly disapointed with this game - hopefully the new season's game will be a big improvement or we'll be in for more disapointment.

In the past, i would have compared PES series to FIFA by say Manchester United V Liverpool. MU are always a step ahead and LUFC trying to play catch up all the time.
Now i would say both series are comparable to a match between Middlesbrough and Newcastle - boring and dull

COME ON EA AND KONAMI - RAISE YOUR GAME AND MAKE A TRULY GREAT FOOTBALL GAME


review by: date: 2008-07-07 rating:
FIFA 08 PS3
I have been playing Fifa for about 10 years now and am always impressed by how much it improves year after year. It has it's flaws of course but what game hasn't? I'll start with the positives.
1. Licenses to teams, stadiums, players etc. (Very important to me and im not sure why)
2. The playing experience. You have to be precise with your passing and shooting. A lot of people complain about this but I like a challenge, so for those of you who complain about how hard it is to score or complete passes then maybe you need to master the game a bit more.
3. The online play is amazing. Different lobbies for every level and custom lobbies if you just want to play your mates.
4. The arena. I love the arena because its a chance for you to master the tricks and your shooting. (You can also take free kicks and penalties in the arena by pressing any button on the directional pad)
5. Player creation. Instead of just being able to put created players stats to the max you have to earn experience points for them in manager mode, (which I will get to next) having to earn stat points is a lot better than just being able to put them up yourself, it gives you some self satisfaction.
6. Manager mode. Although its missing a few things it had with the PS2 version it is still good. It no longer has a youth academy and you can no longer arrange friendlies, it has got better. You now have player growth which means you can personally choose what area you want your players to improve in (Attack, Defence, Skill, Power, Movement, Mentality, Goalkeeping and Traits). Traits are things such as if a player has high determination or low determination, stuff like that. A better experience than the PS2.

Now to the negatives, though there arent many.

1. Player ratings. Some players are overated and other are underated. Cech for example is rated 89. Now for me he is not as good as everybody reckons. Without a decent defence in front of him hes not too good, as he showed at Euro 2008. Fabregas is rated 85 I believe maybe lower and he is such a quality player who I rate a lot higher than Cech and even Lampard who is rated at 86. This for me was a bit dissapointing
2. The Referees. The just as much if a pain on the game as they are in real life. They seem determined to give every advantage to your opposition and turn a blind eye when a foul is committed on you (unless its extremely obvious). If you foul your opposition and there is an advantage to be played he will give them an advantage for a few good seconds. If it is the other way round he will either give you an advantage when there is none or not give you an advantage when there is one. When he does give you an advantage its only for a split second. He calls fouls against you when theres nothing in the challenge but your opponents can slide you out from behind and not get penalised.
3. Offside. One problem that Fifa has always had is with the offside rule. I have been in clear onside positions and been called offside. Also if a ball is deflected through off of an opponents defender it is still called offside.
4. Soundtrack. Now I know the soundtrack may not be important to some people but it is to me. I really enjoyed the soundtrack to 06 and 07 but 08 was a let down. I like the music to get me in the mood for a game but this soundtrack doesnt do that. There are a couple of decent songs but the majority are not too good.

Thats all I have to say and if youve read this because your considering buying the game please do not hesitate to buy it you will not be dissapointed. Fifa really is for the gamer who likes a challenge (unless youve got it set on amateur. I truely hope EA can sort out its faults for Fifa 09 to make the best footballing game ever (though no other football game has anything on Fifa in my opinion). I will of course be buying 09 and look forward to seeing what they come up with.

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Accessories

Logitech Silver Chillstream Controller (PS3)
Logitech Black Chillstream Controller (PS3)
Logitech Cordless Action Controller (PS3)

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