Introduction: It was over 13 years ago now that Fifa made its first foray into the world of console football with Fifa International Soccer. Even now I can remember the thrill of excitement as I powered up the cartridge on my Sega Master System and was greeted with the now iconic slogan, 'Å“EA Sports, It's in the Game. As such I had been looking forward to EA's latest offering Fifa 08 for sometime and was not disappointed to have that familiar rubric blasted out as I started the game. Other than the fast and frantic Mario Strikers, this marks the first serious football game for Wii, and so I was interested to see how successfully EA had managed to weave in the Wii's distinctive controls into such an established franchise of games.

GamePlay:There's nothing particularly revolutionary with the gameplay although a couple of nice mini-games are included in the package. The opening menu allows the impatient gamer to plunge straight into a friendly with the quick 'Kick-Off' function. The more cautious gamer may be advised to take a trip through the 'Football Academy' in order to be taken through the interplay between standard gaming controls and the interactive wii controller action. For in depth leagues, tournaments and challenges including online play and interactive leagues, the 'Game Menu' can set you up with any league tailored to your taste'. The most notable variation on any standard Fifa game is the 'Footi Party' that contains 3 mini games; Table Football, Juggling and Boot It. These cartoony spin-offs are more in line with Wii Sports than a seriously minded football fanatic, although they certainly provide entertaining diversions in the midst of an intensive league campaign.

Control: This is where the serious questions were to be asked of the adaptability of the Wii console for hard-core football fans. And in general I'm pleased to say that EA have done a pretty good job of combining the best of instinctive Fifa controls with the added thrills of interactive nunchuck action. Although there are nominally 2 control set-ups- 'Advanced' or 'Family Play', it is really only the advanced setting that has any longevity for the true gamer. 'Family Play' entails using the remote without nunchuck and so uses a bare minimum of controls for passing, shooting and tackling. It's once the nun-chuck is plugged in that the real fun begins with control of player movement, a bewildering multitude of combination skill options and real-time tactical strategy changes. The nunchuck control stick moves your player with the A and B buttons doing most of the standard passing and tackling, and the C button used to unleash a whole raft of complex attacking and defending combination options.

It's only shooting and slide tacking that consistently use the instinctive wii remote, a swing down giving a satisfying sliding tackle and a swing up on the remote driving a shot on goal. The one real gripe that I still find after many hours of playing is that the two types of shot seem to be counter-intuitively programmed. A swing down executes a 'finesse' shot whereas the jerk up motion executes the standard shot. Time and time again in the heart of an attack I find myself instinctively thrusting the remote down to finish a killer attack only to realise I've chipped the shot into the goalie's ready hands. Ultimately, although the wii remote action is as well executed as it probably could be in a quirky sort of way, I'm not convinced it necessarily makes for a better or more complete game. When in possession, the intricacies required for attacking play don't require any flinging of the arms, so it isn't always instinctive to end the move with a sudden jerk of the arm. Also, attempted step-overs with a flick of the remote can easily turn into inadvertent shots if not perfectly executed.

I am not convinced about the AI modes; the easier settings present virtually no challenge whereas the professional and world class settings lead to your attackers getting instantly shoved off the ball at every attack. It's really with the online interactive play and multiplayer options that the game opens up into more competitive and enjoyable fixtures.

Graphics: There's nothing astonishing or terrible in the graphics department, as would be expected from a game that is trying to gain an edge through its gameplay rather than its look. The general year-on-year development at EA means that the players and pitches are more smoothly and realistically rendered than ever (although the players still look more like animated slightly melted waxworks of themselves), but compared to the pixelated days of Fifa 95 it is quite astonishing to think how far the graphics have progressed.

Sound & Music: For once I quite enjoyed the music in the interactive menus, it was pleasingly contemporary and varied. The reassuring dulcet tones of Clive Tyldesley narrate the standard commentary that helps to keep the gameplay exciting, as much for what comment he might pipe up with next as for what direction the attack will take. The crowd roars and boos in a predictable but satisfying manner, and I particularly enjoyed the sound of the ball clattering against the bar or post with the attendant quiver of the remote.

Final Comments: A pretty good effort considering this is the first serious attempt at a football game with such a new control setup. With the different control options, there is real capacity to have a kick-about with friends new to the game in a way that is never possible with Fifa games on more orthodox platforms which always leads to the experienced gamer running rings round his mates. I would probably advise the serious Fifa gamer to wait for Fifa 09 to see how the gameplay gets refined, but for a Wii enthusiast who fancies trying out console football for the first time this is a great introduction into the concept.

Pro: Competent blend of orthodox game & frenzied controller action. Online & interactive leagues are great.
Con: Some counter-intuitive and over-sensitive controller moves. AI opponents either too easy or too tough.
Final Score: 8.0

Reviewed by: Douglas Andrews