The FIFA football series is here once again with FIFA Soccer 2009, released just two weeks before it’s major competitor Pro Evolution Soccer 2009. Is this a cunning move by EA Sports? Or will FIFA ultimately fall victim to the astonishing gameplay of Pro Evolution once again? Only time will tell.

And you will not have to wait much longer now with Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 hitting shelves very shortly - but first let’s take a look at FIFA Soccer 2009 and consider how, if at all, it has improved on the previous titles in the series and other games based on the same game engine such as the recent UEFA Euro 2008 title.

For years, a major flaw levelled at most FIFA Soccer titles has been the gameplay - it has never truly felt like real football, despite the undeniably beautiful visuals and the hordes of official licenses the games throughout the series have been able to proudly boast. I, a long fan of Pro Evolution Soccer, am actually delighted to say at long last, FIFA has an element of addictive gameplay about it similar to that which has made Pro Evolution Soccer the preferred soccer series for the more serious soccer fans out there over recent years.

It feels completely different to FIFA 2008, which was an improvement on the release before that, and FIFA 2008 was followed up well by the better gameplay contained within UEFA Euro 2008, so there is a real sense of momentum building up with the EA Sports soccer titles of late and as I said, it has continued with FIFA Soccer 2009. Now, each time you play, you will not feel as if you are playing against a six-year old girl who happens to be blind and has no fingers with which to control her team - instead you are faced with a surprisingly intelligent AI opponent that will not stop until they have picked the ball from you which has been unheard of with FIFA titles until now. The goalkeepers in particular are now much improved.

A few minor changes have been made to the control system, but these minor changes appear to make a big difference when it comes to the playability factor you feel during a match. Attacking moves are far easier to kick-start, and your team members will automatically point to where they would like a pass to be played, and defenders act in a more realistic way too with motions such as letting the linesmen know when they feel an opposing attacker has strayed offside.

It has become tradition for FIFA Soccer titles to have a new ‘flagship’ feature each time around. This time it’s the Be A Pro Seasons mode, which allows you to take control of a single player within a team of your choosing. This can be a real-world player, or you have the ability to create a custom footballer of your own to play as. You will then control this player alone throughout a four-season career, with the ultimate aim of remaining in your club’s first team plans and perhaps obtaining the captain’s armband for your national team. The idea itself is a great one, but you will find yourself running around the pitch for the vast majority of matches and can find yourself getting a little bored at times.

The Be A Pro mode really shines when you go online and join upto 19 other footballers on the pitch in a real-time 10 versus 10 match, something which has not been attempted by a soccer game before. Despite some occasionally dodgy connection issues and lag, the online modes of FIFA Soccer 2009 are a huge success. It is implemented in such a way that players are strongly encourages to play as part of a team, rather than to try and do everything alone all but ignoring their team mates - and it seems to work.

Needless to say, all of the usual officially licensed single player modes are there such as the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and the various cups and tournaments you have come to expect from FIFA Soccer games. The attention to detail is once again highly impressive, with players being presented much like you would expect to see them in real life, and this time around, the clubs themselves have been personalised to represent their real life counterparts in terms of general tactics.  For example, Arsenal have a typically attacking style of play associated with them with attractive football and plenty of flair, whereas Manchester United play to dominate the midfield before pushing forward.

The ultimate test of how much the series has improved with FIFA Soccer 2009 will come in a couple of weeks time when Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 hits the shelves, and as it’s only half time in this latest head-to-head, nothing should be taken for granted. FIFA Soccer 2009 may well be the best game in it’s series so far, but Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 is still expected to be a better game for the hardcore soccer-fan.

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