FIFA ’09 was released on N-gage a couple days ago. Now this is one franchise thats been with the N-gage since the N-gage v1 days.
But how well has the FIFA series evolved on N-gage since those days ? And more importantly, is FIFA ’09 any better than the previous FIFA ’08 game (which has been out for a while now) on N-gage ?
Read on to find that out !
I’m not a huge football fan, although I do enjoy playing any football game on any console. I know the basic rules of the game, or so I tell myself. So I’m going to approach this review from the angle of someone who’s played a couple Football games on consoles before, but isnt really a huge devoted fan of the game. Now EA , the publisher of FIFA on N-gage, usually releases an updated game of a sports franchise every year, as is FIFA ’09 from last year’s FIFA ’08. The new version of the game usually has updated databases with new players and their new stats added or some removed ,new teams if any, and more importantly bug fixes or any way to improve the overall gaming experience. This could be a new interface, new controls, whatever the developer thinks works best. Graphics : Graphics-wise FIFA ’09 is pretty much the same as FIFA ’08. I really did not notice any changes there. The shadow placements look better, and the frame rate seems to be improved, which is always good. That being said, everything’s pretty well distinguisable, no problems anywhere with the graphics. Sure it would have been nice if they used the onboard 3D gfx card that some of the N-gage compatible phones have, but its still pretty good without it. Gameplay : Gameplay’s pretty solid on FIFA ’09. Just as good as any football games I’ve played on any console. While Casual gamers will love the simplicity of the game, there’s a lot going on under the hood for those FIFA elite gamers who want more. Each player in your team has his own strength or weakness. He might be really bad at shooting the ball for example but really good at defense. You can change the formation of your team, changing the number of defenders or midfield players each team has. These can also be changed during the game. You can do a certain number of substitutions of team player too. There’s also every foul in there that official Football rules list, and there’s your coach who annoyingly yells things onscreen from time to time. It just adds to the experience I guess. Something I did notice as a major change, is the computer AI. It seems to be much smarter than in FIFA ’08. It positions its players better, moves the ball around better, and overall is a bit more challenging to beat than before, which is a good thing. In FIFA ’08 I found it almost too easy to score a goal, on FIFA ’09 its a lot more of a task. Controls : The control mechanism in FIFA ’09 has been completely changed from FIFA ’08. While before you had a handful of buttons to use ingame, for short passes, run, etc, now you’re limited to the two gaming buttons that your N-gage compatible handset has. Your controls are now basically just the Dpad, and the 2 action keys. This, admittedly, does make the game easier to pick-up-and-play, although I’m still so used to FIFA’08s keys that I havent decided if this is a better setup than previously. Orientation : FIFA ’09 can be played in both landscape and portrait mode on phones that support it. The game also supports TV-Out if your phone supports it, so you can play the game on the big screen if you wish. Game Modes : If there’s one thing FIFA ’09 does not disappoint in, its Game modes. You have a whole bunch to choose from. Friendly match, Scenario, challenges, Season, Tournament or Penalty Mode. Enough to keep you occupied for a long time thats for sure. Multiplayer : Sadly, the only kind of Multiplayer FIFA’09 has is score uploading for the global N-gage ranking. Thats it. There’s not even bluetooth Multiplayer, just like there wasnt in FIFA’08, which is something I’d have thought would be smart to include in a Portable console’s Football game. Conclusion : The old FIFA 2008 game is basically the same as the new FIFA 2009. But ’09s got a couple improvements under the hood and it is “the latest version of the series” on N-gage so if you’re a football fan, you might as well pick it up. I’d give it a 4 out of 5 overall. You can find out more about the game over on its Official Game page or if you need tips or help with the game, head on over to the Official FIFA ’09 N-gage forum. Also, dont forget about the FIFA’09 tournament going on right now. -Teh Cj
Clinton is currently based in New Delhi, India and is executive editor for UnleashThePhones. He is responsible for all editorial decisions, and covers all forms of Mobile and mobile-related accessories.
Cj is addicted to caffeine, social media, and technology. Always up for a good conversation, you can reach him through the contact form, his website, on Google Plus 
or on Facebook or Twitter: Follow @clintonjeff
Please give activation code for fifa 2009..thank you..
Please give activation code for fifa 2009..thank you..
Please give activation code for fifa 2009..thank you..
pls send me activation code 4 fifa'09
just want to try who ican get it
pls send me activation code 4 fifa'09
just want to try who ican get it
:) For a while, I thought I'd got my hands on the wrong game! No, dude - just try the Java version of PES, or any of the console versions of FIFA 09, and you'll see what I mean. Full review on http://bossfight.in coming up tomorrow - so stay tuned. Cheers.
Really ? I honestly didnt think it was that bad. Keep in mind, I did say earlier that I've very limited experience with football and football games lol. I guess for people like me it was okay. :)
"Gameplay's pretty solid on FIFA '09. Just as good as any football games I've played on any console."Are you serious?? FIFA 09 on the XBOX, PS3 and PSP is a stellar game, but this version is total rubbish, gameplay wise. Even the Java versions of Real football and PES slay this, dude.The AI is a disaster, the simplified control scheme doesn't work, and if it weren't for the fairly decent graphics, no footy gamer would be bothered to play it.
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