GC: Hands on with FIFA 08 DS

EA had a heavy DS presence at the Leipzig Game Convention last week and as we stumbled round its stand (which had an unusual layout consisting of concentric rings, each lined with PCs, consoles and DS Lites), one of the first games we came upon was FIFA 08 on DS.

So arming ourselves with stylus and notepad, we laced up our metaphorical boots and launched into a kickabout.

In terms of visuals, the difference from last year's version isn't huge but we reckon there is improvement in terms of the footballers themselves. Of course, FIFA 08 isn't going to blow you away with uncanny likenesses, but the players seem a little softer on the eye. The pitch isn't quite the toxic luminous green it was in FIFA 07, either.

Indeed, as is typical of an EA FIFA game, the game's presentation is generally strong, with animated logos and stat screens swooping in and out of the action between goals, giving a feeling of all-round polish.

As far as controls are concerned, the mapping of the D-pad, face and shoulder buttons haven't been fiddled with, while the touchscreen continues to display a somewhat baffling array of options, such as real-time formation changes.

Playing through a couple of games did highlight some new elements, though. One is the neat way you can adjust your defensive wall by tapping to its right or left with the stylus in order to tweak positioning. Attacking free kicks have also been overhauled with the option to use your stylus to strike the ball, which involves an intuitive touchscreen interface.

Finally, off-side decisions have been made more transparent with an overhead view showing the position of the penalised attacker and last defender when the ball was played, using TV replay-style coloured lines superimposed over the pitch.

We didn't get to see the promised new penalty shoot-out mode though, nor the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection-supporting multiplayer options.

Still, with these changes backed up by 30 official leagues, 30 stadia and in excess of licensed 12,500 players, there certainly seems to be plenty for DS footy fans to look forward to. And with each successive DS FIFA release getting a progressively higher review score than the last, FIFA 08 might even be the first in the series to gain a Pocket Gamer award!

FIFA 08 on DS is due to be released on September 28th.