FIFA 09 PC Hands-on

EA Sports is making some genuinely bold moves with FIFA 09 on the PC. We grabbed a keyboard--and mouse!--to check out the improvements first-hand.

Although FIFA updates can often bring a feeling of deja vu, the development team on this year's PC version are doing some genuinely interesting things. Aside from the usual tweaks to animation and AI systems, they've included a new keyboard-and-mouse control system, a new interface with Web 2.0-like widgets, and a new engine that will make the game visually on par with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. We were lucky enough to play the game at EA's UK headquarters, and we were impressed with how it's all shaping up.
First up, the controls. The Wii version of Pro Evolution Soccer pioneered the cursor-based control system, and although FIFA 09 borrows heavily from Konami's idea, the mouse feels more precise than the Wii Remote. The idea's basically the same: You can make players move around using the standard W, A, S, and D keys, but you control passes and tackles using the mouse. An onscreen cursor helps you point to where you want to pass, while the computer figures out how to get the ball there. For example, if you left-click on a player on the opposite side of the pitch, your player will automatically perform a cross to get the ball there. Likewise, if you click in front of a player, you'll perform a through-ball, and the recipient will automatically run to get there. You can also use the mouse wheel to tell players to make a run into space, and pressing the space bar makes the player with the ball step up his pace. You can still use a joypad, but the mouse-and-keyboard scheme is highly intuitive, and we managed to score a goal within the first half of a game.

The new widget system may also have been taken from elsewhere, but it suits the FIFA front end perfectly. Assuming that you're online, FIFA 09 will pull in football-related info from the Internet and display it in the game. The main menu is dominated by five of these widgets, presenting information on your favourite team, your team's upcoming games, and a detailed history of your FIFA 09 activity. The data from ESPN covers most major football teams and nations, and you'll be able to see live updates on your favourite teams as well as their real-world upcoming fixtures and table positions. The widgets can be moved around and collapsed as you like, and anyone who's familiar with Web sites such as iGoogle and Netvibes should feel right at home.

Talking to the PC development team, it's clear that they weren't happy with the series in terms of visual fidelity. With high-end PCs superseding the power of modern consoles, they really wanted to offer PC gamers something that could rival the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. That meant using the same player assets and animation as the console versions, in addition to adding graphical effects such as shimmering 3D grass. The game looked great on the high-end PCs that we were playing on, but the team also assures us that the technology is still scalable and that the game will work on a wide range of PC specs.
The other changes are mostly behind the scenes and will be noticed only by players of the previous games. More than 350 new animations have been added, mostly to improve the collision system, which will now let Drogba come out on top in a battle with a smaller player such as Owen. There are also four new skill moves, two of which are performed standing, whereas the other two are used when running. Your players are likewise much more efficient at shielding the ball, and you can even push over players if you want to gamble a run-in with the referee. Finally, there are improvements to the goalkeeper, who can punch the ball in new ways, fake throws, and get up quicker than before. None of these improvements seemed to stop Liverpool's keeper Reina from dropping a simple shot when we were playing the game, but with the game still at alpha stage, there's plenty of time for bugs to be ironed out.

FIFA 09 on the PC is looking great, and it's encouraging to see the new mouse control system in action. Our only disappointment is the lack of 10-player online support, which is being included in the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. For the time being, the PC version is looking polished, and we're promised another look at this year's Leipzig Games Convention. We'll bring you more in the run-up to the game's expected September release.