9. FIFA 09
FIFA 09 was another step in the right direction from the team at EA Sports as they made improvements on the successes of FIFA 08.
Gameplay
Much like FIFA 08 the game plays brilliantly and it runs so smoothly. Improvements were made to the players off the ball running, the responsiveness of non-user controlled players and the shooting system. Goalkeepers were not as sluggish as they had been in previous games so they were quick to react and double saves became a greater occurrence. This meant players were no longer frustrated by their goalkeeper making a fantastic save only to be beaten by a simple tap-in from a player who was 20 yards away from the ball.
New Features
Be A Pro mode was improved as players could now play 10 vs. 10 online matches and in career mode player’s Pros could now feature for their national teams. FIFA 09 also marked the introduction of the now insanely popular Ultimate Team mode. The simplicity of the original Ultimate Team mode is actually quite attractive when compared with the new games which seem to have overcomplicated it.
Special Features
In FIFA 09, players could use the “Adidas Live Season” to have weekly updates to any of the major leagues. Players would get one league for free but if they wanted updates to other leagues they would need to purchase an online pass. Another first for this FIFA was that players could do their own celebrations for the very first time.
Verdict – Soccer revolutionary
This was a fantastic game but Ultimate Team pushed it to the next level, especially considering how important the feature is to the FIFA franchise today.