"The greatest battle of the new football season is not between any real world club but between the virtual giants of FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer. Konami’s game has always been the favourite but last year FIFA closed the gap to such a degree that the title race has never been closer." - a quote from Harrison Dent's review of the game, on Amazon.co.uk.
Loading Times/Setup | PS2: 8.5/10 | DS: 9/10 When you turn the respective games on, it takes little time to start them up, but not an incredibly long time. You select your favourite club, which, on the DS, will always appear on the start screen, and on both games, is always the first team option for any of the modes you may play. I would say that the DS is fractions faster than the PS2, as sometimes the game almost seems to momentarily freeze when you exit from a menu. But otherwise, Fifa 08 is a fast loading game, which possibly could be made slightly faster. |  |
Gameplay | PS2: 9/10 | DS: 6/10
When playing matches, the PS2 is brilliant. It is very responsive to subtle movements on the controller, which can make the big difference. On both platforms (like usual), there is a very clever control system, which makes them easy to play, once you get the hang of the controls. However, the PS2 controls have changed slightly, so you may have to switch the controls via certain menus on the game, or master the new controls. Switching players has changed button, but now you can use the right analog stick - R3 - (on the PS2) to switch players. At times, this can be incredibly useful, far better than just pressing a button, as you are in far better control. Flick the R3 stick towards the player you want to control and the game will switch to that player. This can also get very annoying, though, if you get it wrong. Generally, I try to use both of the options. Unfortunately, the Nintendo DS can be quite unresponsive, and the players seem to be unable to make smaller movements, unless travelling slowly. You aren't capable of being able to do as much with your players on the DS, as the PS2, although this can be forgiven, as there are less buttons and the handheld console.
Game Modes, Extras & Improvements | PS2: 9.5/10 | DS: 6/10
Unlike the trend that most Fifa games seem to have got into now, which is only adding small things to the games, Fifa 08 has broken it, for the PS2 at least. The new 'Be a Pro' mode, is a clever idea in which you only play one player on the pitch. It boasts quite a lot of realism, but if you play in an attacking position, your team doesn't seem to concede any goals. This may be a good thing, but it lacks realism. The Be a Pro mode has also been expanded into a 'Be a Pro Career Mode', where you control one player, possibly sell him to new clubs, but most of all play matches with his team. Next comes the brilliant idea of making your own formation. This is easy to do on the PS2, but is difficult on the DS, as you are required to use the touch screen. This new mode allowed me to make the strategy: '10-0-0'. There is also a 'Zone Play' mode, but I don't quite understand what it does. To add to the new modes, Fifa 08 still boasts all the old modes for the PS2, adding new features to some of them. For instance, in the Manager Mode, you can now schedule Pre-Season Friendly matches, and have Mid-Week Training sessions. Both are great ideas, that are realistic in the sense that it can have a negative effect on your team if you're not careful. As usual, there are many, many things to unlock on the PS2. On the DS, however, there are no things at all to unlock, and virtually no new modes, which is very saddening.
Multi-Player Activities | PS2: 9/10 | DS: 9/10
Both platforms score equally as well on this category. As usual, the PS2 version has the wireless version in which you can play anyone in the world, create virtual leagues, or play real leagues virtually, with your favourite team. These are all great ideas, but can only work if enough people participate (and if you have an internet connection). I haven't tried it before, so I can't comment on this much. And of course, you can still do two to four player games, with up to four people on the same team, which can be very team. The DS also scores greatly on this. There is the expected 'DS Download' which only requires one cartridge of the game for it's use, as well as the Multi-Cartridge option, in which the players can schedule tournaments, pit their created teams against each other. But the thing I like the most, is the fact the game has a Wi-Fi mode, now, so you can play anyone anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, the chances are that they'll beat you hands-down...
Graphics | PS2: 8/10 | DS: 4/10
The PS2 graphics are fairly good. They look quite realistic, but could be improved if players had better facial expressions. Strangely, they've improved little from Fifa 07, which leaves me wondering if Fifa 08 has reached the PS2's capacity for graphics. And as for the Nintendo DS, the graphics are shocking. They have improved slightly, by a microscopic amount, from Fifa 06. That's two years ago. Two years, and the graphics are virtually no different from before, still in that appalling, horrific standard. Very disappointing.
Music/Sound Quality | PS2: 9/10 | DS: 5/10
Both games have a great variety of songs, many of them unheard of by most, but still great to listen to. Past examples include Get on the Floor, and Guten Tag, whilst a current example would be Young Folks, although this is all my (far from trendy) opinion. The PS2 version has good sound quality, but I assume this would depend on the quality of the television speakers you use with these games. Unfortunately, once again, the DS version lacks, with poor sound quality, which cannot be blamed on anything else, and is not made up for by the jukebox that Fifa 08 boasts.
Bugs/Glitches | PS2: 7/10 | DS: 9/10
Strangely, the DS version has beaten the PS2 version in this category. Unfortunately for the PS2, the commentating can be far off, claiming that the keeper saved the shot, when really it was miles wide, as well as getting player names wrong. Also, when the game is simulating match results and the transfer window, in Manager Mode, the music can momentarily stop, and the game can appear to freeze, for a few seconds, which I guarantee can be quite unnerving, if you are attached to your PS2. I've found no glitches or bugs with the DS version of Fifa 08, so it has outscored the PS2 version in this round.
Overall | PS2: 9/10 | DS: 6/10
So, now that I've covered all of the categories I can think of, it leaves me with a final thought. The PS2 version is brilliant, to be short. It has improved greatly from Fifa 07, which wasn't exactly too shabby itself. I can't wait for Fifa 09, the next game to come out, in which they could hopefully fix some of the bugs, and problems with the game. And for he DS version? Very disappointed. Even for a handheld console, it lags far behind the PS2 version with much less to do on the game, much less to unlock, as well as having appalling graphics and sound quality. I don't think I'll be buying another Fifa game for the Nintendo DS any time soon...
Thank you for reading, and I hope my review helps you.
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