FIFA 08, Entrevista ao Produtor da versão PS2 / + detalhes

O pessoal da http://www.ign.com/ entrevistou o produtor da versão PS2 (ou seja current gen, logo deve ter o mesmo motor que a versão PC).
Falam de bastantes coisas, desde os novos modos de jogo a novos detalhes relativamente a jogabilidade. Fiquei bastante contente ao saber que vamos ter mais controlo sobre o guarda-redes. Por exemplo vai ser possivel o controlar num livre, ou canto, bem como ter controlo total dele (basta carregar R3 – é o analogico direito). Atenção que agora o guarda-redes pode ser expulso (vá pessoal do PES não nos batam com "ehh só agora" pois vale mais tarde do que nunca).
A entrevista está em inglês, sorry pessoal mas não traduzi (está quase a dar a segunda parte do Manchester United vs Chelsea, GO GO REDS).

"IGN: What are the three new leagues that have been added to this year’s game?

 

Paul Hossack: The Irish Eircom and … two other leagues we’ll be announcing very shortly. 🙂

 

IGN: Manual controls are a big focus in FIFA 08. Can you give us an example of how through passes and crosses will work now?

 

Hossack: In FIFA 08, when you play a through ball, it will play it in the exact direction of your left analog stick angle, instead of automatically passing the ball four or five yards in front of the teammate your are pointing at.

 

Then, the weight of the pass is determined by the length of your button press. At first, it may seem more difficult to play a through ball, but that is reality – through balls are harder passes to place properly. However, you’ll quickly learn that the new system gives you freedom that you’ve never had before. You can now place your passes exactly where you want them. It’s actually really addictive trying to play that perfect through ball, and you get a real buzz when you play that ball that you couldn’t have played last year. It’s freedom.

 

The same goes for manual crosses. The left analog stick angle determines the direction of your cross, while the length of the press sets the strength of it. Now, with a little practice, you can place the ball exactly where you want, near post, far post, top of the 18.

 

The final manual control we added was right stick player switching, which gives you complete control over any player in any situation. If the traditional, press-a-button player switching isn’t selecting who you want, just flick the right stick in the direction of the player you want to control. It’s that easy and a great complement to the normal button switching.

 

IGN: Are the manual controls the evolution of last year’s trick stick controls, or does it completely replace the nimble moves from last year’s game?

 

Hossack: The manual controls are focused on the passing and player control (with the right-stick player switching and GK control). This hasn’t replaced our trick moves … you can still show off your skills on the right analog stick.

 

IGN: How does the "Be A Pro: Co-op Season" mode work?

 

Hossack: Be A Pro: Co-op Season is a new way of playing FIFA – as one footballer. Instead of controlling all 11 players on your club, you now can play through a whole season with your friends where each of you controls one footballer on the pitch. It feels much more like playing football yourself. There are lots of new things you can do in this mode, like ask for your teammate to pass to you and encourage your teammate to shoot. The way Co-op Season works is you pick a club to play through a season. Each match you get a specific task (e.g. attempt three shots on goal), and your buddy you’re playing with also gets a task. Together, you get a Team Task (e.g. win by two goals). After each game you each earn experience (XP) points based on how you played and if you accomplished your tasks. XP lets you level up and boost your player’s attributes. The gamer who grows his player the most, wins the season! It’s a really fun mode to play with your friends.

 

IGN: Is the Co-Op Season Mode a single player experience, with competition from AI controlled players as you try to develop the best player on the team, or is this solely a multiplayer feature?

 

Hossack: We designed Co-op Season for both the multi-player (up to 4 friends playing together) and the solo experience. It’s always against a CPU controlled opponent. Both are really addictive, but the mode is most fun when you’re playing it with some friends.

 

IGN: Can you play as the keeper?

 

Hossack: You cannot play as the keeper in Co-op Season; however, we added the ability to fully control your GK this year – just push in R3 (the right stick) and you’re now controlling the keeper. This is an advanced control that lets you re-position your keeper on FKs and CKs, as well as take control when your opponent has a break away. Be careful though … if you’re too aggressive your keeper could get sent off. To switch off your keeper, just press the player switch button or press R3 again to get back to a field player.

 

 

We also added the ability for the keeper to push up on corner kicks late in the game when you need a goal desperately. It adds a real sense of excitement. Now you can control the keeper during games.

 

IGN: How much control do you have over the custom formations in the game? Can you completely tailor an entire team’s offensive and defensive tactics based on a rival team’s weaknesses?

 

 

Hossack: In FIFA 08, we’ve added Custom Formations. Now you can modify any formation and tweak it just the way you like. You can position all of the players, and assign specific attacking runs and different defending runs. Make your own perfect formation and surprise your mates.

 

IGN: One of the complaints we had about last year’s game was the weak AI, particularly around midfield. Can you tell us about the enhanced AI for this year’s game?

 

Hossack: The first two things you will notice with FIFA 08 are that the positioning is significantly improved, and you have to work harder for your goals. We focused a lot of time on positioning this year, making sure that it was much more intelligent, that you could see the difference between teams of different skill, and that it varied appropriately with our different difficult levels. Essentially, we made sure every player on the pitch was analyzing all the potential threats and opportunities so that they positioned themselves in the best spot whether they were near the ball or on the other side of the pitch. I’m really happy where we got to. This improved positioning was also one of the ways that we made it more challenging to score. We wanted gamers to have to work harder for their goals, knowing that they’ll feel that much better when they put the ball in the back of the net.

 

IGN: We noted that Manager Mode returns this year with a number of improvements. Could you explain some of the adjustments made for this year’s Manager Mode?

 

Hossack: There are three features we added to Manager Mode. We have added Pre-Season Friendlies so that you have more time to test out your players and the transfer market before the season kicks off. The Training Simulation lets you schedule different practice types for your club (e.g. goalkeeper training, fitness training). Each type of training has a risk/reward element: you could boost form going into a match, but also risk fatigue/injury. Finally, the Board Expectations update dynamically half-way through each season to reflect how you are really handling your club.

 

IGN: Another thing that we were wondering about was the online interactive leagues. Will Interactive Leagues be back this year?

 

Hossack: Yes! And it’s much bigger this year. In FIFA 08, Interactive Leagues will be working on PS2, PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PSP and Wii!! Everyone will be able to get their fixtures in and help their team’s efforts to grab the win in the cross-platform leaderboard.

 

IGN: Are there more than four online leagues to choose from in this year’s game? Also, have you included online co-op multiplayer in FIFA 08?

 

Hossack: We will support at least 2 more leagues this year in Interactive Leagues. Stay tuned. We have not added co-op multi-player. However, we have added 8-player LAN play on FIFA 08 PC.

 

 

IGN: Are there any other new features within the online games that we don’t know about?

 

Hossack: On the PS2, the main addition to the online feature set is the Online Football Clubs feature. Now when you play online on PS2, you can create or join a "Football Club" – a small group of up to 15 gamers (kind of like a clan). You are working together, trying to get your FC to the top of the table by playing individual online ranked matches. Every time one of you gets a win, you earn point for your FC. This gives new meaning to each online match you play because your friends in your FC will see and benefit from your effort. You can try to get your FC to the top of the table, or just be number 1 in your club.

 

IGN: Will there be PS2 to PSP connectivity in this year’s game as well?

 

Hossack: Yes. The PS2 to PSP connectivity is part of FIFA 08. You can start your Manager Mode on either platform and swap it back and forth so it goes where you go.

 

IGN: Finally, what’s the one thing that you’d want fans of FIFA to know about with this year’s game?

 

Hossack: When you play FIFA 08, you will feel freedom. Whether it’s the manual through balls, right stick switching, GK control or many other features we added, it’s all about controlling your own destiny."

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Por fim deixo-vos com um video sobre o novo passe.
Até a versão FIFA 07 o botão de passe normal não tinha profundidade, isto é, não podiamos medir a sua força. No FIFA 08 já é possivel.
Um factor que me preocupa é termos um maior controlo sobre os cruzamentos, vamos lá ver senão é um tiro nos pes.
Talvez não seja pois quanto sei a EA Sports tem chamado Pro Gamers de Fifa para testarem o jogo.
Ah já me ia esquecendo, vai ser possivel gravar uma partida de FIFA, ao estilo de CS.