I have received PES 2008

I am a FIFA fanboy and since I can play formidably even at "Legend" difficulty, I decided that I needed a new challenge. So I got myself PES 2008! You may call me a traitor for playing PES 2008, but I need to play both before making a judgement of which is better. I will come up with a judgement of which is better soon enough. I may also come up with something like pes2008tipsblog!

Some more potential players

Kaboul- Tottenham
Huddlestone- Tottenham
Drenthe- R. Madrid
Marcelo- R. Madrid

Free kick takers

When you choose a free kick taker, you are most likely to choose a striker because he has better finishing. But the striker is not always the best free kick taker. In FIFA, an attribute called “free kicks” determines how good a player is at free kicks. When you choose your kick taker, along with the above attribute, look for a player who is good at long shots and has a considerable amount of power. Accuracy of course is important. To see the various attributes, look for an option called “Player Bio”.

The ultimate FIFA challenge

Imagine this- you have been playing FIFA for a long time. You have completed all challenges, unlocked all items and won all tournaments. You are even pretty good at the “Legend” difficulty. So what do you do next? Start Manager Mode and join Morecambe of course! For those who don’t know- Morecambe is a half star team in the Coca- Cola League 2. Play with Morecambe in the “Legend” difficulty and try to bring them up to the top of the Premier League! If you have done that as well, make them a five star team! So why am I overdoing the exclamation marks? Because I can’t overdo the question marks of course! (some dumb humor at work here) Anyway, if you really do all of the above, write about it in the comments section.

FIFA 08 tactics

There are many tactics in FIFA 08. To see them all, go to “My FIFA 08 option” and select the “Tactics Help” option.

Attack is the best form of defense; counter- attack is the best form of attack. To set the counter attack tactic, press numpad 8 in- game. This will speed up the defense to attack transition. This tactic is more effective if you have players with the counter attacking style. Recommended players are- Michael Owen, Oba Martins, Tevez and Rooney. If you have any suggestions, write them in the comments section of this post.

If you have are in the lead and its nearing full- time, the opponent will generally rush forward all of their players. Pressing Q+8 will set the “pressing” tactic. This will (obviously) press the opponent and force them back. Combine this with the counter attacking tactic in the last minute. You can then win the ball, rush forward and score since the opposition will have most of their players in your half of the pitch.

Choosing the right corner takers

It’s very important in FIFA to choose the right corner kick takers. The general rule of thumb is to take a player with average power and finishing. Never make the strikers as the corner takers because you need them to head the ball in. If you have decided on a player to take a corner, check his strength and heading abilities. If they are good (75+) then DON’T make him the kick taker because he is better off heading the ball. Midfield maestros are good corner kick takers.

Newcastle for newbies!

I was recently asked by one of my friends as to which club would be best for a newbie. Without hesitation I recommended Newcastle to him. Newcastle may not be as strong as Chelsea or Manchester United (on paper) BUT it is the best team for any newbie. I started playing in the “legend” difficulty with Newcastle and I have no regrets about it. Michael Owen and Martins make for a very good combination. Martins is superior in strength and can get the ball from the opposition and pass it to Owen, who, with his clinical finish can score goals very easily. Newcastle is THE team to play with if you are new to FIFA 08 or are switching to a harder difficulty level. Did I mention that the board expectations aren’t too hard to fulfill?

The perfect free kick

Experience counts!

So, did you sell that 34 year old player and buy a new 20 year old one? If you did, you might have done a mistake! FIFA 07 and 08 both have a new, more realistic game engine. This means that you have to use real world tactics to progress. In the real world, experience counts and it does in FIFA 08 too! An older player might have lesser overall than a younger one, but still his experience does improve his performance. An older player has more composure, just like in the real world. So think twice before you sell Beckham or Ballack.

Player Styles are Important!

Very often, we tend to transfer only the players with the best overall, ignoring the player styles. But player styles are very important. To know about player styles, in FIFA 08, go to the Tips & Hints option from the My FIFA 08 option and select the Player Styles option. For a good team, a combination of dribblers, clinical strikers, target men and stoppers are required. You also need a midfield maestro to score in set pieces. By the way, did I mention the need for a shot stopper?

Player with 101 overall!

Playing Lionel Messi in the LWM position is highly recommended. Since he is left footed, he won’t have any problem providing crosses if he is in this position. He also gains +2 overall. Messi as a striker grows till he reaches 99 overall. This means when he is in the LWM position his maximum overall is 101!

You don’t need the “end” key!

You don’t necessarily need the “end” key to perform tricks mentioned before in this blog. You can use the “Lshift” key instead. This is a boon for Macbook users because Macs don’t have the “end” key. This is also more convenient because the “Lshift” is near the WSAD keys and you can easily reach out to this key with your little finger and you don’t have to take any of your hands from their position. You can perform tricks more easily and you can still keep the ball.

Some more potentials

CDM- N. de Jong- HSV
CAM- van der Vaart- HSV
CAM- Renato Augusto- Fla Rio
CB- Torrejon- Espanyol
CB- Vincent Kompany- HSV
CB- Mertesacker- W. Bremen
CM- Obi Mikel- Chelsea
CM- Essien- Chelsea
RWB- Rafinha- Schalke 04
GK- Ustari- Getafe
RF- Delgado- Cruz Azul

Put the ball down

Once the keeper has the ball in his hands, press"W" to put the ball down.

Another tricks video

Here is another tricks video........

Tips for Co- Op season

In Be a Pro- Co op season when you are creating a player, choose to be a defender especially a right back or left back. You can increase your overall to at least 80 since the tasks are easy. To increase your match rating you can occasionally attack with the ball. You don’t have to worry about losing the ball because the centre backs are in position. To take all the corners, free kicks and penalties go to the kick takers option after pressing during a game and select your player as the kick taker.

FIFA 08 tricks video

FIFA 08 tricks with the keyboard

There are many tricks you can do in FIFA 08 using a joystick. But you can learn those tricks in the game itself. Performing tricks using a keyboard isn't as easy as performing those using a joystick. I can help teach you a couple of tricks.

During a goalkick or a corner kick, if you want a player to come closer to you so that you can pass him the ball, press the "C" key.

You must have encountered this scenario. It’s the 90th minute and you have received a corner kick when you are down by a couple of goals. You need everyone to help you...... even the goalkeeper. To push up the keeper, press the "END" key.

You know that you can do a fast sprint by pressing the "E" key while running. To sprint even faster (read super sprint), press the "END" key while pressing the "E" key and the direction key.

During a corner or free kick, you may want to kick the ball flat along the ground. Pressing "S" may not be the best idea as the kick is not powerful. Hold down the "Q" key and power up pressing "D". The kick will powerfully go along the ground.

These are some tricks to try during a free kick which is near the opposition's goalpost. Call the second player by pressing "C". To change the first player, hold down "E" and press the arrow keys to select the player and release "E".
Ø Kick with 2nd player- Hold "C" and power up and shoot using "D" or "A".
Ø Pass the ball to 1st player and then shoot- Hold "C" and press "S". Then shoot with "D" or "A".
Ø For the 1st player to walk over the ball and 2nd player to shoot- Hold "Z" and power using "D" or "A" and shoot.

To slowly roll the ball around the field hold "C" while running.

To make the ball curve in the air press the direction in which you want it to curve while powering up with "D" or "A" and then release "D" or "A" to shoot.

I hope these tricks will help improve your game.

Some more players to scout for

GK- Regino Baronti- 90 (Rest of Europe)
CB- Teodosio Dasmarinas- 92 (Americas)
CAM- Miguel Santana- 89 (Americas)
ST- Soares- ?? (Africa)

The best players to scout for

There are some players who are not there in the squads by default. You can only get them by sending your scout. First upgrade your scout to level 10. Before you send your scout first do a search by surname. If you don’t get them then send your scouts to do a deep search in the mentioned areas. These are the players and the areas.

GK- Adam Marriot- 85 (Rest of Europe)
CB- Bum-Kun Ha- 98 (Asia)
CB- Elimilton Vilna- 88 (Americas)
RWM- Will Crilly- 97 (Rest of Europe)
ST- Kyle Bridge- 89 (Americas)
CF- Bruno Grandet- 91 (Rest of Europe)
LM- Josh Walton- 90 (Africa)
LWB- Christoph Puntigam- 90 (rest of Europe)

More potential players

GK- Ochoa
GK- Ejide
CB- Richards
RB- Sergio Ramos
LB- Taiwo
CM- Fabregas
CM- Brown
LM- Barnetta
LM- Polanski
RM- Lennon
CAM- Rakitic
CAM- Anderson
CAM- Lulinha
CAM- Nasri
CAM- Jurado
CAM- Diego
ST- Agüero
ST- Fernando Torres
ST- Sturridge
ST- Bojan
ST- Alexandre Pato
ST- Carlos Eduardo
CF- Vaughan
CF- Naismith
RWM- Jesus Navas

Some potential players in Manager Mode

GK- Neuer 92- Schalke 04
RB- Castro 93- Bayer Leverkusen
RCB- Piqué 90- Man Utd
LCB- Agger 94- Liverpool
LB- Bale 92- Tottenham Hotspur
CDM- Matuidi 92- Saint-Etienne
RM- Denilson 91- Arsenal
LM- Nani 96- Man Utd
CAM- dos Santos 97- Barçelona
ST- Tevez 95- Man Utd
ST- Babel 93- Liverpool

Best team for 4-4-2

GK- Buffon
RB- Sergio Ramos
LB- Abidal
RCB- Terry
LCB- Nesta
RM- Schnieder
LM- Ze Roberto
RCM- Essien
LCM- Gerrard
LS- Eto’o
RS- Henry

FIFA 08 Review

Game ON: FIFA 08

The pressure is on at half time!

Ea Sports have come up with another splendid version of the FIFA series. Like all other FIFA games this one too doesn’t disappoint. FIFA 08 has a few new features and better gameplay to offer. It looks more like ’07 with a couple of changes here and there….



New Features:

There are better controls in this game, you can control the goal keeper with the touch of a button and you can make better use of free kicks by adjusting the turn and the angle of the shot. Those who have played ’07 will know the frustration of a wasted free kick and the anguish when the goalkeeper lets the ball go into the net when the game is about to close in.

There are new music tracks available and the song- “Toura Toura: Nav Deep Remix” which gets you dancing makes its appearance again from Cricket 2007. Obviously EA loves this song and so do I!

There is a new game mode called “Co- Op” in which upto 4 players can play a season together in the same team. Each player controls only one character whom he can create or select an existing player. Selecting an existing player however, makes it very difficult for him to grow. Each player gets XP points after each match and the player with the most XP gets to be the captain. You also get attribute points using which you can boost your skills.



Some new changes in manager mode are these. You can schedule pre- season friendlies with upto 4 teams. These help you assess the team and make necessary changes to the team’s strategy. You can also schedule practice sessions on free dates on the calendar. Note that these can add to the team’s fatigue and cause morale issues. The board expectations are dynamic!



There are new balls and 3rd kits available in the fan shop. You can gain points to buy items by completing challenges.

There are new leagues and cups to play for and to keep you busy till the release of FIFA 09. There is no World Cup to play for though. I expect the world cup to make an appearance again in FIFA 10, considering that the football world championship is going to take place in 2010.....

Overall

This game has quite a lot to offer and is worth your money if you’re a die hard football fan. The game isn’t as easy as ‘07 though. Even at the easiest difficulty you just can’t blindly score a goal. But if you have played ’07 in the “Legend” difficulty (which you have to unlock, by the way) you might just be a little more comfortable than first time players. There are enough tournaments and challenges to keep you busy, you can even take a break from work by an instant friendly match. The players’ faces are well detailed and the celebrations are phenomenal. The fact that this game doesn’t require great system specs means that it will find its way into most PCs. I reviewed this game on a system with the following configuration….

AMD Athlon 64 processor
3000+
1.81 GHz 512 MB RAM
Gainward 6600GT 256 MB
Windows XP pro SP2

My Rating: 7/10

FIFA 08 official website- http://www.fifa08.ea.com

Best team for 4-3-3

GK- Buffon
RB- Sergio Ramos
RCB- Nesta
LCB- Terry
LB- Abidal
RCM- Essien
CM- Pirlo
LCM- Gerrard
RCF- Rooney
CF- Henry
LCF- Messi