When the Wii came out, many people wondered how some games were going to be handled, especially sports. EA Sports has tried to handle their version of FIFA 08 on the Wii. While for the most part it succeeds, there is still definitely a lot of room for improvement.

FIFA 08 is the latest of EA’s football (soccer for us Americans) franchise. The game has an improved roster with 3 additional leagues from the last game, totaling 30 leagues which includes more than 15,000 players in total. There are also 44 National teams as well as a “Rest of the World” division that has 24 clubs that aren’t listed in the 30 leagues. The game also boasts stadiums from around the world, which includes stadiums from Germany, USA, Mexico, Wales and more. An interesting thing to note is that a lot of the stadiums that are in the Wii version of the game aren’t in the 360 or PS3 versions.

Now, game play wise, it is good but it could be a lot better. We know that the Wii version will have some waggle controls and for the most part they work. You control your player with the nunchuck and controller and your other actions will be done via the Wii remote. Kicking is handled by either doing a motion from down to up or for a finesse shot, up to down. Passing is used with the A button and long passes are done by using both the A button and the B trigger. Through passes are handled using the D pad in any direction you want as well as the B trigger and to sprint you hold the Z button. On the defense side of things, you use the Wii remote in any direction to slide and the B trigger allows you to put pressure on the character. These gestures do feel good and when you make a goal it certainly feels great to have your character kick it up, do headers and do throw ins. There is a tutorial mode for those who need a little extra help to understand the game.

Now, while it does work, there are some problems in the game. To start off, sometimes the game doesn’t register your movement’s right. When you go in for the kick, it works but if for some reason the ball gets blocked and it comes back to you, then instead of kicking you do a slide. Now it may not seem like a problem, but with the rules of soccer it is. If for some reason you slide and hit your opponent then it can result to a foul or worse, a red card. While I never did get a red card in the game, I still managed to hit my opponent. The same goes with throw in. You do throw ins by picking up the nunchuck and the Wii remote and then do a throwing motion. It works, but at times it is unresponsive.  Then there is the problem of not wanting to kick the ball and having the reverse happen. While it isn’t a problem as you need a degree of force put into the Wii remote, one time when I told my mom “it is over there” I pointed and it registered as a kick.

Speaking of mom, she can play as well with the introduction of the Family Play option. It is definitely a much easier game of football with this mode and should definitely appeal to those who want it easy. It isn’t to say that it doesn’t have its own kind of depth though. Kicking and passing is handled the way you would do with a nunchuck and you can do stuff like through passes. Tricks are omitted that way it can be kept simple.

Tricks are another problem I have with the game. Because of a lack of button, there are annoying button combinations and Wii remote gestures that feel unnecessary. I have been spoiled with the “trick stick” of the PS2 versions so it might just be a personal problem, but really it isn’t. Button combinations like Hold C and move the remote this way or that way is a bit of a problem, especially when you’re in the middle of a heated game that just doesn’t need unnecessary button presses.

Then there is the lack of modes in the game. While we do have the basics like the tournament mode and online, some of the features that are on the other consoles aren’t in this version. The “Be a Pro” mode isn’t anywhere to be found in the game. It is extremely disappointing because the PS2 version of the game had it. There is however, a new mode called Footii Party that includes Table Football, Juggling and Boot It. Table Football, which is the best of the three, is a classic game of Foosball for us Americans that involves your twisting the remote to hit the ball into the goal. It is a shame that there is no online mode for the game but if somehow there is a Wii Ware title for it, I won’t hesitate to buy it. Juggling is like a rhythm game in which you have to follow the on screen images that tell you to waggle the Wii remote left, right or shake. Buttons come in as well and a combination of both Wii shaking and buttons make for a fun diversion. The worse of the three, Boot It, is basically a game of penalty shots with a small twist. You aim for targets that rack up points. What makes this the worst is how sometimes the controls don’t register right. It is fun, but doesn’t exactly work because of unresponsive controls.

The graphics engine is using a similar one to the PS2 version, but I did notice an improvement in fluidity that isn’t in the PS2 version of the game. Faces, like always are a bit ugly but the more important characters (i.e. cover characters on the box, star players) are more detailed. The European teams seem to be the most detailed but other than that, it is standard PS2 fare. The game also boasts a different camera view in order for controls to feel more natural. The camera view is a vertical view that I didn’t like. I played many FIFA games and playing like that just didn’t cut it out for me. Luckily, I am able to change the camera view. On the sound side of things, it is pretty good. The EA Trax gives many songs from around the world. It is a shame that you can select which tracks you want to play though. The commentary is as divers as ever with English commentators Andy Gray and Clyde Tyldesley and Spanish commentators Enrique Bermudez and Ricardo Palaez. The crowd does its work by giving cheers and chanting.

On the online side of things, you use EA’s EA Nation service which, of course, works a lot better than the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. If you have never used EA Nation before, you first have to register by picking your own account and entering your email and what not then just go in and play. There are is some depth in the online. First, there is the Play Now function which works like the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. You search for an opponent and then you play. There are leaderboards showing the competition from around the world (at least I think it is around the world) and you can see how you stack up to the completion.

The things you want to keep your eye on are the Lobby and the Interactive Leagues. The lobby works like how you might expect it to work. You enter the lobby of your choice, which is based on your difficulty level. A lot of people hang around in the Beginner lobby, but occasional there are people in the Intermediate or higher difficulty lobbies. You enter and then you can challenge the people there. Once you do, you have access to EA’s messaging service in which you get 20 pre set messages and use those to communicate with your opponent. Messages like “Yes” “No” “Bring it on!” and my two personal favorites “You got owned” and “LOL” are listed in the game. If you are the one creating the game, you can choose your options like how long you want the game to be, if you want a ranked game, etc. You then play your game. The games that I have experienced, there was minimal lag. It never affected my game in anyway. One thing that does make me mad though is the disconnecters. There doesn’t seem to be a penalty or a win if somebody disconnects.

FIFA 08 for the Wii definitely shows promise for more football (soccer) games to come. While there is definitely room for improvement, credit goes to EA Sports for at least bringing Wii owner a pretty solid game of football.

Bottom Line 7.5/10