Gameplay - Written by BluChampBlogger on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 2:18 | 8,041 Views | 22 Comments | Add Comment
Exhibition Matches - The Best of FIFA 09!
Exhibition matches - That’s where you’d get the best out of FIFA 09. I have played online games, offline competitions, offline leagues, manager mode, be a pro seasons, exhibition matches - every mode that’s available, all in WORDL CLASS difficulty. I can tell you with confidence that the game plays best in exhibition matches more than anything else.
I gave up on online games the very first week I had the game. All offline competition/league/MM game modes are crippled by two things (a) the AI’s scripted game play (b) your tactics and tweaks won’t work best. So there’s something unreal about the offline game modes. I’m not saying games are fully scripted. The results are scripted. And your team is being crippled to achieve that scripted result. Before the start of the game itself, there is a result that AI fixes for this game and achieves it SOMEHOW. Ok, scripting is in every game. I should be a good enough player to overcome that. But I’m not. That’s why I have made this thread.
Whereas exhibition games play such a great game of football devoid of AI scripting. So I have decided now that I would play a series of exhibition matches instead of playing a competition where I can’t (not allowed to?) progress beyond the second round. I don’t want to reduce my difficulty level to PROFESSIONAL because that’s way too easy and the game play is realistic in WORLD CLASS only.
In every gaming session, I would play about 6 to 10 matches. I would invariably start as Chelsea in a champions league or league, and start losing and drawing big time before I call it a day. Instead of going through this pain, I have decided to play that many number of exhibition matches for various reasons:
1. Unlike the other offline modes, the AI does not play with a desired result in its mind (?). Exhibition matches are the most open, natural and unspoilt version of this beautiful game. When you’re a goal up, in offline game modes, you’ll see your defenders pushing up when you don’t want to, you’ll see your defenders messing up with two-yard passes, you’ll find yourself passing to your opponent, you’ll find that none of your defenders bother to jump to win the incoming cross no matter how much you mash the buttons. In exhibition matches, the game played by the numbers - the player attributes with no turbo boost by AI to any of the values.
2. AI plays a very good game of football. It just plays a natural game with the flow and ebb of the game. AI plays a better open and creative game that can keep you guessing and you’ll be on your toes. Also it’s nice to see the AI challenge you in a very appropriate, honest manner. The teams will play true to their strengths and weaknesses only in exhibition matches. A good team plays like a good team and a crap team plays like a crap team. May be it’s not a coincidence that my best goals and my most satisfactory goals have come from exhibition matches.
3. The custom tactics and the speed/acceleration tweaks work best in exhibition matches. Try this yourself. Play team A vs team B in a competition or a manager mode or whatever offline mode. And then play the same team A vs team B in an exhibition match. See the difference. The exhibition match is much much more fluid and natural.
4. You can play as any team, instead of your favourite team. When you play in any of the game modes as one of your favourite teams, you mostly play the same formation (because that suits the team well) and the almost in a similar playing style every match because you’re using the same set of players. In exhibition matches, you could play as Chelsea one match, Lyon another, Napoli in anothere and so on. The variety keeps you going and makes a great gaming session.
5. You can choose which stadium to play, whether you want to play day, night or dusk. This is a big one for me. When I kick off in a pitch that I don’t like, it turns me off and shows up in my performance. Also I hate playing night matches in FIFA (be it 08 or 09). When I play exhibition matches, I can play in the choicest of stadiums in day or preferably dusk.
So it’s exhibition mode for me henceforth. When I play champions league, I might play Fenerbahce in knock out round, Valencia in quarters, Liverpool in semis and Barca in final. I might as well play four exhibition matches, one each against Fener, Valencia, Liverpool and Barca. It’s not that we need to win stuff to unlock anything. I just want to enjoy the game as much as I want to.
If exhibition matches are your most ignored offline game mode, please change your mind. Compare the gameplay and AI behaviour/style in exhibition matches and in other offline modes. You’ll realise it and agree with me. I’m going to play exhibition matches only and enjoy the game to its fullest potential. What do you feel?
22 Comments
1. ze-pequinho
2. BlessedWale
You are right, go on brother.
3. Fabien
I have the game only for a few days but I already noticed this. My best games were exhibition ones, probably because of the AI as you say but maybe too because there is no pressure for me, I can take it easy and a loss is absolutly not a bad result in exhibition 
I played as Barca against Lyon the other day, in a competition. Our Barca was absolutely nothing special when compared to the superpower that was Lyon. I quit and played as Barca against the same Lyon in an exhibition match. I could then feel how much I can control the players and how well I can smack Lyon.
5. FIFA 09 - BluChampBlogger - FIFA 09 Revolution Update
[...] player select set to automatic, two points from the left. I no longer play online and in offline I play only exhibition matches, single player and also co-op with my mates. My style of play is possession [...]
6. TN
Spot on, albeit it’s a bit sad that we had to pay 50 quid for a game that only really works in exhibition mode and you cannot record any of your progress when using that approach.
But playing any of the career modes is not good for my blood pressure, even though I managed to win the championship with Bayern. For every nice, natural and balanced match there are 5 infuriating ones. I don’t know how many times I’ve yelled at the screen or smashed my controller on the floor because of the blatant metascripting going on.
There was this one incident in MM when I played against a rather mediocre team (Hannover) and restarted the game 5 times, and every time the game came up with another inventive move in order to NOT make me score. Of course there is the often-used trick that a perfect finesse shot hits the post or crossbar (it feels as if I have hit aluminum in one FIFA season more often than it was hit in all of real football over the last 10 years). If that doesn’t work the keeper pulls an amazing Bruce-Lee move. If that becomes to blatant, then my shot balloons over the net, even though I ever so slightly tap the shoot button. Needless to say, all my superstars behaved sluggishly and mistimed simple passes. 4 of the matches ended 0-0. In the fifth I was able to go ahead 1-0, only to receive a shoddy equalizer on the counter-attack (you now the type: your defender inexplicably stumbles the ball across the goal line. Corner. Keeper inexplicably doesn’t jump, neither your defenders. CPU-attacker jumps, though. Goal.)
Why, EA, is it harder to win against a low-ranked team in general, and why are matches towards the end of a season more difficult than the ones in the beginning? This does not compute. It’s ok for ‘enemies’ to level up in RPGs, but this kind of stuff has no place in a football game that calls itself a ’simulation’. I understand that you want to create a challenge for the gamer, but it’s totally counter-intuitive to gather all these stats on players and teams when they can easily be overridden and bend during the course of a season. When I, as the leader, play a backbencher on my turf I expect to be able to dominate that match NO MATTER which week of the season I am in. It’s absolutely idiotic to give that backbencher sudden super-powers just because some game engine decides it’s ‘cool’ to raise the bar just for the sake of it. At least make it an option, FFS, so that people who like this turn of the screw can still play with it, yet people who like to go for a more realistic approach as well.
What angers me most is the fact that PESs Master League was plagued by the same issues, and it was one of the reasons I switched.
7. muso
i cant play a fifa 09 on my pc beacuse a i have one problem ,i open a game and when i choice a kick off and again to choice a team its opened a window which wright this,IT APPEARS THAT YOUR VERSION OF FIFA 09 HAS NOT BEEN PROPERLY AUTHENTICATED.YOU CAN GET A VERSION OF FIFA09 THAT CAN BE AUTHENTICATED FROM EASTORE.COM.IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE IN ERROR PLEASE CONTACT CUSTOMER SERVICE. please tell me what is this problem beacuse yesterday i played this game and i had installed befor two weeks
8. indian
((((http://www.mediafire.com/?ezirs322aoz)))
check out this crack…. download it and paste it in your folder…. it works…. it worked for me…No authentication probs now…
9. DRPD07
@ indian
Can U upload it on Rapidshare, MU, Ziddu or whatever. I never has complete downloading this file. It automatic complete even file’s size less than should. Sorry ’bout my English ^_^
10. Zonamista
You are great!! I think like you
11. bashdwg
the turbo button on my player one controller does not work. Yes I switched controllers but that does not help neither does putting controllers on then going to settings and switching controllers. It is soooo frustrating and I am hoping someone knows the answer……
12. Alexwebmaster
Hello webmaster
I would like to share with you a link to your site
write me here preonrelt@mail.ru
13. the boss
if you are having controller problems go to http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/fifa-09-pc/353325-fix-your-gamepad-controller-issues-easier-way.html hopefully this will help you out..
14. Ivan
I dont have the correct CD key on my Fifa09, and i have the same problem like most of you .. The message that I need to get authentication from EA Arts. I did what indian said, but i need a correct CD key :S What to do ?
15. FIFA 09 – Revolution Update from BluChampBlogger | Football Gamer
[...] player select set to automatic, two points from the left. I no longer play online and in offline I play only exhibition matches, single player and also co-op with my mates. My style of play is possession [...]
16. Costa C
Fifa 09 is amazing!!!!! I play for pleasure
17. A-r-c-h-i-e_T
All Hail FIFA 2010…
18. A-r-c-h-i-e_T
AYE?
19. Costa C
hi Guys
Why is it when I play online and it searches for a opponet it freezes and sometimes it takes me 10 try to find a apponet?
20. A-r-c-h-i-e_T
Can someone please tell me which is the most normal style of play - fast paced or normal?
I play at three different friends house and experience different speeds at each one…???
21. Maria Howard
i always download games from bittorent and emule. -::
22. Sophie Wilson
i download a lot of free games online and there are lots of it online..`;
i think i found someone who love’s fiffa more than i do!!
i’m very disappointed in fifa09 for several known issues so i’ll give all you’re
tactic’s and suggestion’s a go and report back here and on the fifa forums.
cheers
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