FIFA 08

If you're looking for a realistic soccer simulation game with amazing graphics that can run on slightly older computers, you should really giver FIFA 08 a try. EA has put in a lot of effort to bring an innovative and fun game for the 2008 edition of their popular FIFA soccer simulation series.

The game mechanics have been improved significantly from previous versions, making it more challenging to play, as your chances of scoring are now affected much more by the player you control, environmental variables and the strength of defensive players on the other team. For a game that was released 9 years ago, the graphics and animated sequences are very detailed and smooth, providing a more immersive gaming experience.

As EA has licensing agreements with FIFA and various teams from all over the world, you can expect a lot of real-life elements to be present within the game. FIFA 2008 lets you play as one of 1,500 players and there are 620 teams from 30 leagues in the game.

For 2008, EA has also improved the game's multiplayer modes. The addition of a co-op mode lets you create and customize your own player, then take part in games online with your friends or others playing the FIFA 08.

As FIFA 2008 is a couple years old, you don't necessarily need the latest and greatest gaming PC to enjoy it. The system requirements are quite reasonable, requiring only a CPU that runs at 1.3 GHz, 256 MB of RAM, an ATI Radeon 8500, NVIDIA GeForce 3 equivalent graphics card or higher and 4 GB of hard disk space. The game has been tested with Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 7, however there have been some display problems reported with Windows Vista. Some may be corrected by updating your video drivers.

Pros

• Lots of improvements over previous editions of the FIFA series.
• Highly realistic, includes many real-life teams, leagues and players.
• New co-op multiplayer mode.
• Reasonable system requirements.

Cons

• Some hardware compatibility issues under Windows Vista.