This increased fluidity hasn't come at the expense of detail, either compared to last year's version FIFA 09 looks far more sophisticated, with complex player models and instantly recognizable kit detail. Like a player proudly pulling on the season's latest kit design, FIFA 09 is resplendent in its shiny new graphics engine and although we're sceptical about the publisher's claims that it runs at sixty frames a second, there's no denying that it's as smooth as a baby's posterior. Sporting a new graphics engine, updated statistics and the coveted 'Be A Pro' mode, FIFA 09 on the DS is serious about capturing the title, but does it possess the consistency required to become the ultimate champion?įirst impressions would suggest so. Konami's last effort possessed all the flair and skill of an inexperienced bench-warmer fresh out of the youth academy, and while FIFA 08 was a step in the right direction for EA, it was still a far cry from the kind of brilliance we've become accustomed to on other systems.Īnd that brings us neatly to this year's update. However, despite some sterling performances on the home console formats, both FIFA and PES have struggled to make a significant impression on what is undoubtedly the world's most popular console right now: the Nintendo DS.
It's somewhat fitting then that the fans of EA's FIFA and Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer are engaged in a similar rivalry both series have been running for well over a decade now (although PES used to ply its trade under the name International Superstar Soccer) and in that time they've succeeded in annexing the entire world soccer video game market, making rival franchises look like hopeless low-league minnows in the process. These hotly contested encounters are given an additional degree of interest by fans purely for territorial reasons - as the name suggests, the proximity of the two teams involved means the fans of both sides are forced to spend the entire year eyeing each other up and waiting for the handful of times a season their respective clubs clash. In terms of content and stuff to do and the "motivation" to play - PES loses super hard.In football, few matches cause the pulse to race as much as a tense local derby. You cant even select the formation and play style you really want, if you dont buy a specific manager and if you dont enjoy it, well, tough luck, buy another (and they are not really cheap).
Afk farm ai vs ai matches if you want to be free to play and keep your players, as the winnings you get are usually so-so, and if you lose your games, you wont be able to pay the top players. Then you need to keep stamina of players up, after like two games. Players like to let the ball to go straight through them (even worse than in FIFA) and you can lob pass from kickoff to a lonely striker if you opponent is not careful. The waiting times for an opponent are crazy long and then you get even worse servers than in FIFA which is something.
Also, in that game, a rank 800 can somehow lose to ranks 300 because the skill gap is just not there really.
PES myclub is so annoying with no real "competitivness" in it, you get the same objectives every week with same rewards, but if you invest money you can get the best players in a week if there are good spins available. Gameplay-wise, both games have terrible, terrbile and annoying flaws and I would say PES is even more inconsistent than fifa.