You control a single player, either an existing pro or one created from scratch, whose aim is to move up the ranks of club football and make it to the national team and finally help his country win a major international tournament. This mode is four seasons long, and throughout this period, your player will pick up skill points that help build up his attributes. You are given specific objectives for each of the four seasons and additional objectives for each match, and if you achieve them, you are rewarded with additional skill points.

You will also have the opportunity to transfer to other clubs, and these transfers also affect your national team prospects. The Be A Pro mechanic at the core of BAP: Seasons is solid, but progressing through the first season can be very frustrating and difficult, particularly if you've created a player from scratch.

The upside to the difficult nature of Be A Pro: Seasons is that after playing a season or two, you will be able to decimate the AI opposition in every other game mode, including the Manager Mode, which makes a return in FIFA 09, although without much change from last year's game. I was able to soundly beat even the likes of Milan by a margin of 5 to 6 goals on World Class difficulty, which is never a good sign.

Even more disappointing is that the AI is tweaked to almost cheat and make the game harder in cup finals. After losing the Italian Super Cup final to Inter 1-0 in the Serie A season opener, I was able to destroy them 6-0 only a couple of matches later in a league encounter. Cheating AI notwithstanding, both Manager Mode and Be A Pro: Seasons offer enough to keep you occupied, until you're ready to take on human opposition.

Also see: Not hooked to gaming? Jump in!

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