Football is back! No, I don't mean that NFL thing that's been going on for a few weeks now - I mean football. You know, the one with the white and black ball that you kick around, the crazed rivalries and World Cup action? You still don't get it? Do I really have to say it? Okay, soccer! There - are you happy now? I've said it and now whatever 'Yank cred' I tried to earn is gone. But fine, whatever, we have a review to get through - and if the GSE comes after me, I'm sicking them on you!

Anyway, the FIFA series is back after a solid, though superficial, 2007 entry that appears to have taken the former game's criticisms - mainly additional league licenses, World Cup options (even if its not 'official'), and tighter gameplay - with an open mind, fixing and tweaking all that they could think of. Is it enough to push EA's series into the lofty stratosphere of glitz and control? With Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (known as Winning Eleven over here) not due out in the US until next year, I cannot provide a certain answer, but I can at least say that Konami had better be ready to bring their A-game, because FIFA have finally brought theirs.

One of the biggest complaints last year from football fans was the lack of real team licensing; FIFA 07 had a paltry six league licenses. FIFA 08 rectifies this by including thirty, which translates into 576 teams and over 15,000 real world players. This isn't just a case of slapping some colors and logos around either, as proper kits, sponsors and squad numbers are all included. To go along with all this are sixty tournaments - thirty-five licensed and twenty-five unlicensed - plus the tournament creator that finally allows you to recreate the World Cup. We're talking the difference between night and day here with these additions.

Put your hands on the controller and you'll find a game of football that's actually transcends the slick presentation. Finally budding out of arcadey roots, FIFA 08 mixes silky smooth passing, accurate goalkeeping and solid A.I. to craft an experience that does its exceptional graphical engine justice. Utilizing the trick stick to execute some over-the-top moves is easy and intuitive, although it fails to be the difference maker that EA wanted it to be (against the computer at least). Defense has been tightened up, with collision detection issues a thing of the past, and the trigger happy referees have been taken down a peg or two as well.

That's not to say that everything missing or broken from last year's game has seen a change though; corner kicks are still a pain in the ass, nerfing a real life threat into a garbled mess of poor perspective and lack of ball control. Players fail to adjust to the defense amidst forward passes, continuing forward and leaving the ball to fall to the opposition. The radar isn't clear enough to be useful either, as your players are far from discernible. Are these problems enough to hold the game back from an overall mark of above average? No, and unless you live and die by the PES brand, the pros will override the cons.

How you play the game has changed for the better this year as well. To go along with the standards - the excellent Manager mode, Lounge mode, quick plays, etc. - you'll find the aforementioned tourney creator, online play that supports single game, Interactive Leagues and full league play and, new to the series, Be-A-Pro mode. In this mode, much like it is replicated in EA's other sport titles, players take on the role of a solitary player on a team (goalkeeper excluded). As you have no control over any other player on the field except your own, the camera moves from bird's eye view to an over-the-shoulder view. Playing the game correctly, based on your position and playing style, earns or costs you points. No longer is the game about managing all the action and enjoying all the spoils - there can, and will be, depending on the variables of your position and you're team's performance, times when you will not even see the ball and must stay patiently in position. This is definitely not going to be a mode for everyone, but if football is your oxygen then this could be your window to a world of dreams.

I have already mentioned how great the presentation is, but I haven't really explained why - let me remedy that. The graphics, a facet of the FIFA series that EA rarely goes out of bounds with, continues to be a major selling point. Fluid animation and realistic character models are draped in a cape of crisp, HD grandeur, flexing next-gen muscle, while the in-game frame rate is solid, although it becomes a bit shaky during close-ups and replays. Martin Tyler and Andy Gray return to the commentator's booth with positive results, as their interesting and well-rotated quips, stories and calls (as long as you mix up the team you play as) make for one of the better and less annoying commentaries in sports gaming. If there is one gripe to make about the presentation that detracts from the overall authenticity of the sport, it is the crowds, which react favorably and kind of loud, when the home team has the ball and scores, respectively. That's not how crowds appear to react when I watch football on TV or catch highlights on Sportscenter, so what's with the tame reactions?

With plenty of single player modes to entertain you for months and the online depth that fans have craved, any self-respecting FIFA fan who picks up FIFA 08 should be ready to clear off their gaming plates. Though still a few steps behind the sweet game play of PES, the gameplay gap between the two series is becoming less and less discernable, while the presentation gap is an ever widening chasm, in FIFA's favor. Depending on how PES 2008 ends up, the battle for football supremacy may yet yield roses to EA. Competition has a way of bringing out the best in two entities - so let's hope Konami proves this to be true, as no one profits more from this concept as us gamers.

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).