Oct 19, 2007
EA's FIFA 08 on the PS2 was a real triumph thanks to a combination of crisp passing, believable AI and surprisingly sophisticated team shape and player movement.
Basically it felt just like you were outside playing real soccer, with jumpers down for goalposts and so on. FIFA 08 on the PS3 on the other hand, felt like a game feeling its way around football's complexities and was a disappointment. Fortunately, the PSP game shares most qualities with the PS2, resulting in game reward careful passing, sensible dribbling and sharp movement around the box. It's a game that allows you to build attacking play easily but really makes it tough to find space and time in the final third giving it a more sim-like feel rather than arcadey feel.
There are some faults particularly with restarts such as corners and throw-ins where it's very hard to hit the player you want. The value of the manual through ball, which was a major success in the PS2 version, is lessened by the fiddly PSP analogue nub, too, while the shooting doesn't really make clear what constitutes a good or bad shot.
Obviously limited in terms of presentation due to the PSP capabilities, this is still a good soccer game that has just the right qualities and immediacy to make it suitable for sporadic play.
