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FIFA 09: debut trailer, demo release date, adidas Live Season mode
Here's the first trailer released for FIFA 09, the newest iteration of the popular soccer franchise. The game is looking great, though some may complain the character models don't look enough like the actual players. You also won't have to wait long to try it out for yourself: the demo will be available from the PSN starting September 11st worldwide. Furthermore, EA has announced a new "premium service" (meaning it might cost money) called adidas Live Season. This service will provide a weekly update for each player's stats according to their performance in real-life games from the launch of FIFA 09 to the end of the 2008-09 season. It will be only available for Barclay's Premier League, La Liga BBVA, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A and Mexican Primera Division. Finally, there's a gameplay video and trailer, after the jump.
FIFA trade jinxes another EA Sports cover
FIFA 09 cover athlete Maurice Edu has been traded to another team, meaning EA Sports will, yet again, have to change the box art on one of its games. Edu, who would have been featured on the cover wearing his Toronto FC jersey, will now wear the uniform of the US Men's National Team -- not Scotland's Glasgow Rangers, which is the team he'll actually play on. EA Sports tells IGN that the cover of the game will ship with the correct art -- no "print out" version necessary.This would be the second time in a month that EA Sports had to dump extra resources into changing a cover due to an athlete changing teams. Earlier this month the publisher had to fix the art for perennial high-profile American football title Madden 09 when cheesehead favorite Brett Favre unretired and left for New York New Jersey.
Fifa 09 strikes this October
Soccer fans take note, EA Sports has revealed that FIFA Soccer 09 will release on October 3, 2008, for every platform known to man. The release date comes courtesy of MCV who spoke with senior product manager Trevor Uzice regarding the latest enhancements to the popular sports franchise. "We've made over 250 improvements from last year and we wanted to give the team the time they needed to make the best FIFA game possible."Focusing on improved AI, physics and an ambitious 20-player online mode, FIFA Soccer 09 should grab the attention of any footy fan when it hits this fall.
FIFA 09 official website kicks off
The official site for FIFA 09 has debuted with three new screeshots from the PS3 version for your viewing pleasure. Heavy emphasis is still placed on the 250 changes to be expected in the lastest version of the popular soccer/football franchise. Not much new information other than what we reported on before is revealed, and still no word on what the PS3 exclusive mode will be either. You can even place a pre-order at the EA Store; however, only a general release date autumn 2008 has been given at this time. %Gallery-26544%
FIFA Soccer 09 for PS3 will have exclusive game mode
An interview over at Gamespot with FIFA Soccer 09 producer David Rutter has revealed new information about the upcoming sports game. 30 leagues and 40 national teams are at your disposal this year, while the magic number of 250 key changes as reported before remain true. Highlights of upgrades from the previous year include improvements in "responsiveness, physical play and their affect through attributes, plus the AI." Different types of players are less homogeneous and you will have to utilize different types of players to achieve victory. A Custom Team Tactics mode will be introduced where 11 sliders or criteria will allow you to determine how your team will play. There is also a promise of 140 attacking and 40 defensive options. The ever-popular Be A Pro career mode will allow you to play unlocked, meaning one has the option of a change of position and still gain experience. Friends can likewise choose to act as a teammate or opponent to the player in this mode. Lastly, Rutter promises a to talk about "a game mode exclusive to that system," referring to the PS3, later in the year. We'll keep you updated as details of the mode becomes available. %Gallery-26544%
Joystiq hands-on: EA Sports All-Play
"All-Play" is the new brand of Wii-exclusive EA Sports titles that takes the publisher's perennial franchises and simplifies them in ways that make the games accessible to, well ... all. It's the obvious direction to take, as the changes in the Wii versions of EA Sports' games continue to distinguish themselves from the linear advances of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. All-Play isn't groundbreaking, it just wants to fit. All-Play succeeds in its commitment to consistency. Whatever whip Riccitiello is cracking has got the herd moving together in the right direction. We recently spent time with four of the five featured All-Play titles (sorry NCAA Football!) and can report that each has been treated with a certain level of care above the usual year-to-year tweaks EA Sports has come to be criticized by. These treatments are most definitely shaping a more casual product, which gives EA an advantage at both ends of the current-gen playing field.
Improvements abound in FIFA '09
Another year, another round of sports games. Usually regarded as rehashes with slight tweaks, every so often one of the annual sports titles gets a significant makeover. For 2009, that title appears to be FIFA '09 out of the Electronic Arts office ('06 is pictured). GamesMaster magazine published an article about the title, boasting 250 improvements made to the game including responsiveness and a revamped collision system. The responsiveness is improved by allowing "quicker release of the ball, greater urgency in the off-the-ball running, a new jostle system that takes into account the strength of the players when going shoulder to shoulder and subtle animations that enable players to take first-time shots." The collision system calculates speed, weight, and power as characters collide; each player has unique stats. If you get hit hard in your standing leg, the tackled player may not be able to continue playing that game. If you're just clipped, your character will probably be all right. So, for those who've wanted these things changed, there you go.
