Fifa 09 - 50,000 combinations of tactics

EA has been talking about its new feature for Fifa 09, customisable tactics, stating that the game will feature 50,000 different combinations of tactics to use.

"there are roughly 50,000 possible combinations. That's not really doing it justice. The point is there are over 40 different defensive ways to play and over 500 attacking ways."

In case you're not up to speed, the system works with a series of sliders "incorporating key parts of the team dynamic - aggression, mentality, positioning, etc". You can even assign four of your own custom plans to the D-pad and switch them mid-match.

"You can totally change the way your team plays, and apply it during the match. Every game is going to be different,"

"A long passing game isn't just about hitting the ball long. We've changed the support play so your midfield needs to be further up the pitch, looking for the long ball to be knocked down for them to run on to. In a short game, the team pushes together and is more compact to allow short passes to be played.

"But the AI will do it too, so if you play Man Utd and they go a goal down, they're gonna change to try to get a goal back."

Sounds great, the franchise has come on leaps and bounds over the last few years, and is really starting to set the standards for the competition to meet. I personally hope the game plays a little more like UEFA EURO 2008 than to Fifa 2008, the gameplay style of the really works well.

Source: CVG