FIFA 08

The biggest complaint about EA's FIFA franchise has been the absymal controls. Well, thanks to the Wii, those days are long over. Tricks and skills involve simple flicks of the controls instead of complicated late 80s Street Fighter type moves, and furthermore, things are no longer based on the perspective of the player in-game. Swinging the remote to the right ALWAYS means right, regardless of player facing or camera angle. Though Wii controls can be intimidating to those of us raised on control pads, everything is intuitive. Plus, FIFA 08 includes a nice tutorial / training feature that explains things so simply and easily that even an Xbox 360 fan could understand.

It is true that FIFA 08 on the Wii does not include a manager mode. The reason is quite simply that this game is meant to be PLAYED. The Wii has established itself as the ultimate party console, and now FIFA 08 is the ultimate footy arcade game. There are a number of highly sophisticated manager sims out there. This game is for those of us who want to dive on to the pitch and hear the roar of the crowd instead of sit in a boardroom and count our pounds or euros.