Honestly, FIFA ’08 was a great game. It looked great. It had plenty of authenticity with all of its leagues and players. It sounded great, with match commentary from Andy Gray and Martin Tyler. But most importantly, it felt great — like real soccer.

Granted, there were minor hiccups that prevented the game from leaping into the elite category of games. One of the major gripes with last year’s game was the computer’s artificial intelligence. Opposing players would dribble out of bounds, make stupid passes, fail to be challenge anyone in the box and generally act very dimwitted. It’s why so much excitement is generated around the release of the EA Sport’s newest effort, FIFA ’09.

There are many reasons to be excited about the ’09. For one, EA has once again landed all of the major licensing contracts with the biggest and best leagues around the world. It’d be difficult to find anyone whose favorite squad wasn’t represented in the game.

Next, EA boasts of over 250 improvements from last year’s edition. These include refined graphics, better player models, new player momentum physics (bigger players react to collisions appropriately) and the addition of Adidas Live Season, which essentially allows gamers to update rosters, players stats and tendencies on a weekly basis online. It’s really quite awesome.

Along with these new upgrades, comes one of the flashier and more visually pleasing aspects of the game: the ability to choose goal celebrations — on the fly. Last year, gamers needed to enter the “Edit Player” screen and choose which celebration he would perform upon scoring a goal. This year, it’s as easy as holding the L2 button plus any combination of rotating the right joy stick (PS3 version).

No longer are those goals easy to come by. No longer will opposing defenders stand and watch as players dribble by as they put one into the back of the net. Nope. Scoring in this year’s game requires genuine soccer skill and knowledge. Believe it, when that ball is fired past the outstretched arms of the opposing goal keeper, utilizing the celebration system will feel well justified.

This is where the improvement on through balls (lead passes) really makes its mark. Computer controlled players now point to an open spot while on the attack, asking for the ball. It’s part of what makes ’09 feel so real. Though a bit tricky at first, once mastered, through balls will certainly become every player’s best friend.

The game features Be A Pro: Seasons, which allows gamers to create a player from scratch, place him on a team and build him up to the reserves, to starting 11, all the way to international duty. It provides for serious fun and a bit of change once the Exhibition Modes become stale.

The real genius of the game, though, is the Manager Mode. Take control of a team — literally. Manage player movements, contracts, ticket prices, upgrade the coaching staff and choose sponsors that best fit the personality of the club — or which ever pays the best.

FIFA ’09 has its own blunders here and there. The players are a bit erratic at time, the online play can be troublesome due to lagging and sadly EA left out the option of changing player numbers in Manager Mode. All very small offenses that are easy to overlook for the true soccer fanatic.

It may not be a perfect game, but it’s the closest thing to it. It certainly deserves to be an addition to everyone’s game library.

Reach the reporter at mel.flores@asu.edu.