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FIFA 08 demo on Xbox Live ... and now in Europe [Updated]
In today's unintentionally hilarious news, the demo for FIFA 08 was released today on to Xbox Live in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the United States ... but not in Europe. So the demo for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association game was released in the country that doesn't even call it "football," but not in Europe, where a man can be shot dead in the street for calling it "soccer." Are they serious? Let us just soak it in for a second, OK? It rarely gets better than this for video game bloggers. Honestly, we feel like we should go out and buy a Powerball ticket or something.Major Nelson told users EA has promised the demo will be coming to Europe "very soon." Until then, they'll just have to deal with our clumsy, misinformed American impressions of the demo. (Sample: "The kicking looks sweet, but why are the scores so low?")[Update: The humor train has come to a screeching halt, and the demo is now available in Europe.]
Making of FIFA 08 Wii
So, EA has been doing these behind-the-scenes videos for upcoming soccer football title FIFA08. The latest one, which has that exotic flavor that only comes from being in French, takes a look at the controls in the game. With the power of the Wiimote and nunchuk, you'll have to actually perform throw ins like you would should you were playing the actual sport, like, outside.We've also tucked another video taking a look at motion capturing past the break.
LGC07: FIFA 08 to include video uploads, 5 vs. 5 online play
EA announced some new details on the next iteration of the FIFA series here at Leipzig today. Firstly, FIFA 08 will play at 60 frames per second on the PS3, so EA has clearly gotten over whatever development problems it had with Madden. The game also has an impressive feature list as far as team and league numbers go: 30 leagues 575 teams 15000 players Each of these players will supposedly use 35% more processing power whilst playing than in any previous versions of the game resulting in 1000 decisions made per second per player. We're not sure we can make even close to that many decisions per second, as we still have trouble deciding just which flavor of fruit drink to purchase. Will that leave us at a disadvantage?After seeing all the FIFA 07 videos on YouTube, EA decided it would make it easier for players and integrate video uploads directly into the game. There are no details regarding where they will be uploaded to, but for the moment we're optimistic about this feature. Finally, an announcement came regarding a post-launch downloadable extra mode which will allow gamers to play 10 person 5 vs. 5 matches online. Up to 10 consoles (EA said PS3s, but we're assuming it will be available for the 360 too) can connect online for true member-of-the-team online football (yes, football, not soccer) action.
FIFA '08 details surface, precision is key
If you've got to have your soccer on the go (or football, if you're anything but American), then you might want to reconsider FIFA '08 for the PSP. It's getting a pretty big overhaul in terms of gameplay, which to us means EA might actually care about this title more than we think. The PSP is gaining manual controls to create precision when it comes to through-passes and crosses as well as complete control over the goalie in one-on-one situations. If that's not enough, you can create your own strategy down to the location of every player on the field, assigning them different offensive or defensive tactics.Manager mode has also been changed and a new mode, Quiz mode, has been added. The former now includes pre-season friendlies, a training option, and board expectations that change depending on your performance. Quiz mode is fairly obvious -- test your knowledge! Who knows, perhaps Quiz mode will include questions about each of the 30 featured leagues, 30 locations, or 12,500 recreated players. It sounds like EA is taking steps to dribble this title to success, so keep an eye on it!
FIFA 08 gets dated, demo imminent
According to Xboxic, EA has confirmed that the next edition of FIFA, cleverly titled FIFA 08, should be hitting store shelves on September 28, which may be a worldwide release date. Furthermore, and of particular interest to our European readers, this move will put FIFA on store shelves before the next iteration of Pro Evolution from Konami. Finally, a demo is expected to hit Xbox Live Marketplace on August 27. Whether or not the demo will hit Marketplace in every region (i.e. US and Europe), we don't know. At any rate, it doesn't look like soccer fans have to wait to much longer to get their game on.[Thanks, DjDATZ]
FIFA 08 looks great, uses lots of math to kick balls
You might not think it while playing sports, but there's a ton of math involved in every single motion you make. Yes, that's right, there are people who care about how many degrees your bat swings, or how a ball travels in the air, or other more confusing arithmetic terms we really don't want to think about at this moment. The fact remains that in addition to making a great looking soccer game, EA wants to let you know they're putting a ton of math into FIFA 08. They've got a 22-page document detailing all their little formulae for the simple matter of shooting the ball. Impressive, no?We're not going to talk about the graphics. We're excited to hear about all this math! Tricks will play important roles instead of being nothing more than flashy nonsense and luckily, their implementation is simple, fluid, and realistic. Plugging gaps in your defenses is easier with the new ability for the team's formation to change on the fly. If you'd rather do it yourself (kind of like playing Final Fantasy XII without Gambits ... try it, it's a hell of a lot of fun and an insane challenge on Active Mode), you can click the R3 button and take control of your keeper. Everything seems less ... automated, more real and dependent on your actions as a skilled player. We're glad -- EA needs to put more attention like this into all their games.
