FIFA 09

I've never been able to understand just why Aston Villa has such a large fanbase all around the country. Of course, if you happen to be from Birmingham, then that's a fair enough reason, but I distinctly remember numerous kids at my school sporting Villa scarves - and I'm from Essex. Without wanting to enrage any Villa fans, they're what I class as an 'average' team - doing okay each season, avoiding both combustion and setting the world alight.

Maybe their fans live in hope of some billionaire buying up their club, 'doing a Chelsea' (or perhaps 'doing a Man City' is now a better way of saying it) and taking the Villa to new heights. Of course, in terms of football games, EA is the Roman Abramovich in this playing field, able to call on the big licenses, clubs and players every year to come along and propel it up the league table. FIFA 09 is no exception on that front, but it's also a vastly different package to FIFA 08 - no-one could accuse EA of not listening to its customers.

The most notable difference is the viewpoint. Rather than the isometric view employed last year, FIFA 09 follows its rivals and places the camera firmly at the side of the pitch, albeit with a slightly 2D perspective. However, this works in the game's favour, with a fully moving crowd and pitch full of 22 players able to co-exist with little trouble, play zipping along a lot quicker and smoother than in Gameloft's Real Football 2009.

The plus points don't stop there, either; EA is obviously very keen to make FIFA feel like a consummate package, lumping in a Training mode that schools both basic and advanced methods of shooting, passing, tackling etc. There's also a Challenge mode, which offers eight different predicaments that you have to get out of - such as overturning a deficit with 30 minutes gone on the clock, or nicking a winner in a score draw in the closing minutes of a game - awarding you with a card that you can trade in to cure an injured player or rid yourself of a suspension in the game's main Season mode.

A nice touch, but one that perhaps lessens the game's realism credentials. Though, either way, these features are secondary to the actual play on the pitch, and this is where FIFA 09 feels a little muddled. On the plus side, all of the running is done for you, so there's no need to have your fingers awkwardly held down - players automatically run, just as they do 99 per cent of the time in a real football match, and all you have to do is tap the direction you'd like them to run in.

However, the way players conduct themselves on the pitch is slightly bizarre, with defenses on both sides parting like the red sea on occasion, sometimes randomly unable to track the ball down when loose in the middle of the pitch. Red and yellow cards also seem to be handed out willy-nilly, and it's never really clear why one tackle is deemed a foul while another isn't. You can often find yourself being awarded two or more penalties in one match, which - while no doubt welcome - doesn't exactly lend itself to fair or coherent gameplay.

Tackles and shots are dealt with in a more effective manner, with FIFA taking a two pronged approach; either you can simply tap the keys ('5' for tackle, '0' for shoot) for some short and sharp action, or you can hold the key down to bring up a mini-bar, where the aim is to the stop the marker in the green zone. One-on-one with the keeper? Then you'll find it very hard to avoid that green area. Likewise, if you're chasing an opponent simply charging for goal in a straight line, sliding in and taking that ball from him is a lot easier.

When you add all these elements together, it's hard to be all that enthusiastic about FIFA's latest offering, but likewise, there's nothing here that makes the blood boil either. The free kicks aren't the best, but then again some of EA's rivals could learn a lot from the game's penalty system - it really is swings and roundabouts all the way, a game of two halves.

And, to use yet another cliche, it's horses for courses. Fans of more serious football games will doubtless prefer Real Football's more sober and authentic take on the sport, but if you like your football easy and arcadey, this might be the option for you.

Still, while FIFA 09 is a worthy contender and strong addition to series, it's a little more Villa than Chelsea, and at the end of the day your money could probably be better spent sampling Real Football's delights this season.