Once you've had enough practice offline, you can test your skills online, where, again, there are several game modes for you to explore. The newer ones, the ones that have been talked about the most, are the Be A Pro Online and Clubs modes. Be A Pro Online has been a major talking point ever since it was announced, allowing 20 people to each take control of one player on the pitch, with only both goalkeepers controlled by the AI.
In theory, this concept reeks of brilliance, a true virtual recreation of the beautiful game. But incessant lag robs the Be A Pro Online concept from living up to its true potential. Whether you're playing with just three players or a full quota of ten on either side, lag is always a factor, affecting everything from player movement to registering button presses. Changes in the player’s direction, passes and shots take about a second or two to register, and in the middle of a frantic match, it seems like an eternity. What you get as a result is a sloppy game with misdirected passes, frequent off-sides and scrappy goals.
Similar issues also plague the ambitious Clubs mode that had many excited. A novel idea, Clubs places a lot of emphasis on team work, requiring players to group together to form teams of three players or more. Based on performances, teams move up the ranks across 15 divisions. Like Be A Pro Online, it's a remarkable concept, but this again falls flat due to constant lag, whether your team has three players or ten. An enthusiastic group that makes up GamingIndians FC, a club that I am proud to be part of, grows more and more frustrated with each passing day as we lose and draw matches that we should have won if not for the confusion that is brought on by the constant lag.
But even with these issues, you can't help but notice how brilliant both these new online modes are in concept, and how much fun they would be if not for the lag. Hopefully these issues can be fixed with a patch. If not, this is something EA will certainly want to work on for FIFA 2010, because they have something special on their hands here.
I am happy to report, however, that lag is almost non-existant in the one-on-one online matches, whether against Indian opposition or American. Besides the 1v1 ranked and unranked matches, you can create an online league, where you can get together and compete with friends and aim to climb to the top of the table. While, on the whole, the online aspect of FIFA 09 is hit-and-miss, things are certainly looking very promising for the future if EA can manage to iron out the lag issues.
Also see: Review: Codemasters' Race Driver Grid
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