So my dear readers. One more week and we’ll hopefully be in FIFA 08 heaven. To celebrate this and to help you want the game even more, I’ve used my huge influence in EA Sports (actually I’ve downloaded it from the EA Sports press room, but it sounds better) and uploaded a couple of videos […]

1. With FIFA08 for the mobile platform, how many teams can a user choose from and how many leagues are available?

There are five European leagues available, including the Premiership, Serie A, Ligue 1 Orange, Bundesliga, La Liga as well as a collection of international teams from around the world. In total there are over 100 authentic licensed teams that users can choose to play with.

2. With so many teams available, how does the game work exactly?

It’s not as tricky as you may think! If you are unsure of how to play FIFA08 on your mobile phone, we have included a tutorial that will help you to get started quickly and play your first match.

Users also get the option to play through a half season in one of the leagues with a team of their choice. We really felt that the game had to make sense on the mobile platform while still feeling like a bona fide ‘FIFA’ game, so decided that a full season of 38+ games might be too much on this platform. As well as ‘season mode’, users can also take their chosen team through the ‘club challenge’ mode, tackling a series of gripping scenarios culminating in a match to win the title. Or if a user simply fancies a quick match, they can pick any two teams from any of the leagues for a one-off friendly.

3. Football is all about the passion of winning and losing, and taking your team to glory – how is this replicated in FIFA08 on the mobile phone?

Our aim for FIFA08 is for users to experience the passion and atmosphere that comes with watching or being a part of top-flight football. For users to experience that passion on their mobile phones we ensured that each game is preceded by a match intro with a famous football pundit (Andy Gray, for example) who introduces team lineups, etc. We have also included text commentary throughout matches, so all the crunching tackles, blinding goals and offside decisions are highlighted and brought to life. The match commentator will provide a half time comment in relation to your performance on the pitch.

We have also included a new ‘club challenge’ mode that presents a sequence of scenarios that a user can choose from, throughout a season, that really brings the highs and lows of football to the player, setting tasks such as coming into the second half 1-0 down or trying to win at 1-1 with only 10 men and 30 minutes left on the clock!

4. What new features can we expect with FIFA08 for the mobile phone compared with FIFA07?

There are plenty of new features for FIFA08. In addition to ‘game commentary’ and the ‘club challenge’ mode, we have spent a lot of time ensuring that each and every player has individual statistics. You will find that players such as Wayne Rooney have a great shooting attribute, and Ronaldinho has great speed and passing ability. We have also included what we call ‘in-form’ players. Randomly before each match, up to three players will be marked as in-form, which means these players will have heightened abilities for that match only. Defenders are less likely to get booked from slide tackles, passes from midfielders are less likely to get intercepted or go astray and strikers will have increased shooting accuracy. We have added a visual effect to these players, too, to highlight their skills.

There is also now a sprint key for an extra burst of speed but users should be careful in overusing this feature as we have also added fatigue to players. Use the extra burst of speed too much and you may need to look to your substitute’s bench late in the game. Players will now do an automatic standing block tackle as well as a sliding tackle. And we have added the offside rule, too, for the first time for the mobile game.

On capable handsets we have also added ‘landscape mode’, meaning that users can turn their phone on its side and play with a widescreen. We have also added more pitch textures and improved the stadium and crowd as well as allowing the user to customize the position of the radar.

5. Do you get the FIFA08 experience across all handsets; how does it differ?

We work hard to provide similar experiences of the game no matter what handset it is played on, but there are natural limits within some handsets that we try and work around without losing any of the ‘FIFA 08 experience’. On lower-end handsets users can choose from international teams in a tournament or friendly match only and don’t have access to the ‘club challenge’ or ‘season’ mode. You’ll also find the ‘in-form’ system primarily on higher end handsets. On some of the mid-end handsets we have had to reduce or remove small details like varying pitch textures, sound effects and music – but overall, players won’t be disappointed with their FIFA 08 experience no matter which handset they own!

6. What is enhanced season mode?

We have tried to make our season an emotive and fluid experience. If a player is injured in a match it will carry over into the next match and maybe even into future matches. If a player accumulates yellow cards or gets a straight red, then he will be suspended. Fatigue will also carry over into the next match, so your entire squad becomes important to you. On top of that, the commentator will recognize how well you are doing throughout the season and know when those crunch matches or local derby matches come up.

7. Are you able to use any of the data from the console game and transfer it to the mobile game?

Yes, that is one of the great things about FIFA08 mobile. We have access to the same database that the FIFA08 console game uses. This gives us an incredible amount of information about player statistics and abilities as well as team information. We have managed to transfer player statistics to FIFA08 mobile so each player is an individual on the pitch.

8. You can now play FIFA08 in landscape?

Yes, with an increasing number of handsets out there that cater for a landscape mode, it felt natural to integrate this capability into the game. It gives owners of compatible handsets additional choice on how they wish to experience the game – we’ve heard that people find the wide lateral view of the pitch useful for passing and following movements.

9. The console version of FIFA08 is a great looking game, but in comparison, FIFA08 on the mobile platform has its limitations – so how has EA addressed this?

For obvious reasons the mobile version of FIFA08 won’t look the same as the next generation console versions. However, we believe that FIFA08 for the mobile platform is a great looking game – especially with all the new features that are available with FIFA08. For example, we have included animations for such events as injuries, players warming up and goal celebrations. The stadiums are alive with flags and confetti, and the players will do a variety of shots, volleys, headers and overhead kicks. If you are good enough!

10. How many hours of enjoyment will we get from FIFA 08?

That depends on on the player. You can dip in and out for short bursts of footie action. Equally, the game is packed with great features that there is no reason why this game can’t be your season companion for the next 9 months and beyond.