Football is a funny old game and usually when EA’s FIFA series is mentioned it is the same old game, however things are now starting to improve on this front as we discovered when we got our hands on the final version at The Gathering 07 on Saturday.

The first thing you notice about FIFA 08 is how good it looks, as usual EA have done a fantastic job of delivering a football game with first class presentation, from the licensed strips and stadiums to the players themselves, nothing can be faulted it really does look perfect, but we know the question you are asking, how does it play? well....

The problem with FIFA games of the past has always been that they just don’t play like real football, movement always felt almost scripted and play slow, however after last years improvements we are please to say that this year the game could finally be challenging for Pro Evo’s crown. Everyone knows that the on-field action is always were it counts in football games and FIFA 08 doesn’t disappoint, players move more fluidly than ever before, the computer controlled opponents always seem to read you next move well and that feeling of randomness has finally been captured.

Perhaps one of the things that will strike you most about FIFA 08 though is the celebrations after you score a goal, this is definitely some of the best graphics ever seen in a football game, the people standing watching us play actually gasped when watching this. 

EA are always trying to add new features to their games and this year is no different with the addition of the all new Be A Pro Mode, in this mode you take control of only one player with the camera following him rather than concentrating on the ball, your teammates are controlled by the computers AI and therefore it is up to you to get your player into decent positions to enable him to receive that ball from them, this is certainly a different way of playing the game and to an extent it works well.

The controls in FIFA 08 take a while to get used to especially if you are a Pro Evo fan, all the basic controls are there to control your player as well as a few new tricks such as being able to flick the right stick to flick the ball and chase it down or do a basic dribbling maneuver by holding down the left bumper, there are also some clever tricks which are performed during play, like your player jumping over an opponents mistimed tackle.

Although we only played about four full games of FIFA 08, we were left very impressed with the improvements that are in place, it was difficult to tell if this will finally be the year that FIFA becomes a better game than Pro Evo amongst the hardcore football fans, but it is certainly going to be an interesting battle to watch.