In Be a Pro, you control a single real-world player or a custom character instead of an entire team and then craft the career of that player for both club and country over four years. The new cover feature is Be a Pro: Seasons, which expands last year's BAP mode to cover a full four seasons. Only the odd AI mistake from your own team conspires against you, with goalkeepers running to punch a ball that's flying well wide of the goal or the computer selecting the wrong defender for you when the other team is on a break.Īdding to the deep and rewarding gameplay is a wealth of new and existing game modes. This punishing difficulty forces you to up your game, and you soon start to develop a rhythm and accuracy that can cut through defenses to score some spectacular goals. The AI is particularly good even on the easier settings, not only moving in to take the ball off you, but springing offside traps and adapting their tactics throughout each match.

The result is a game that's heavy on midfield battles-even the commentators remark on how often possession moves between teams. Experienced players can still use the left-trigger-enabled trick system to run around players, but unless you're passing the ball around effectively, you have little hope of keeping possession. With opponent AI that absolutely will not stop until it gets the ball from you, FIFA 09 is now firmly rooted in simulation territory. As a result, player weight and speed are now a vital part of overall tactics, and combining runs with perfectly timed passes has become the only way to succeed. Although you can still spot individual animation routines during replays, the players now feel as if they're interacting with one another and the ball. Attackers point to where they want the ball, defenders direct offside violations to the linesmen, and everyone has lost that plastic look from FIFA 08 that was so off-putting. The most noticeable improvement is in the physical quality of the players. However, the pace has quickened slightly, passes need to be directed with even greater accuracy, and the referees seem even more eager to dish out cards. Given the six-month period of time between Euro 2008 and FIFA 09, it's no surprise that the two games play similarly. By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's

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