If you are both a video gamer and football fan, you must have heard of the 2 biggest football game franchises, the Fifa series and the Winning Eleven series. While the 2010 versions of both games should be available in the next couple of months, you might want to read about their current versions to decide which is the more suitable game for you.
Fifa 09
The Fifa series by EA Sports has always been strong in graphics and Fifa 09 doesn't disappoint. A big advantage of the Fifa series is that it has fully licensed teams, which means all teams are properly named as in real life and have accurate jerseys along with sponsor logos. This increases the gaming atmosphere by a great deal and it's a big draw for casual gamers. The online play for Fifa 09 is smooth and a joy to play with. The shortfalls in the Fifa series is that the gameplay is sometimes predictable and tactics do not matter as much as in the Winning Eleven series. The overall action is also slower and players not as responsive.
Winning Eleven 2009
The Winning Eleven series by Konami attracts a more hardcore fan base than the other football games. The lack of licensing means that team names and jerseys are not accurately depicted. For example, Liverpool FC might be known as Merseyside Red. This is a huge turn off for casual players though there are fan made patches available on the internet that can correct this problem. Online play is sometimes laggy and unplayable. But the strength of the Winning Eleven series is it's excellent and responsive game play. The flow of play is faster, more arcade like and also a lot less predictable than the Fifa series.
So which is the football game for you? If gameplay is of utmost importance, you might want to take a look at Winning Eleven, sometimes known as Pro Evolution Soccer, depending on where you are. If you cannot live without good graphics, presentation and online play, then check out the Fifa series.
