Since 1993 EA Sports' FIFA series has allowed hardcore video gamers and football fanatics alike to step into the boots of the world's biggest stars. While previous versions may have highlighted the positive, the new game, released worldwide this autumn, offers a more well rounded experience with as much realistic frustration and adversity as hat tricks and bicycle kicks.

FIFA 08 gives gamers a whole new series of options that seem to blur the lines between the real and the virtual realms, catapulting the game free from earlier restrictions. Designed for the 'next generation' platforms of Playstation 3 and Xbox360 (although still playable on PS2), the innovations found in the newest version of EA's longest running game series and, incidentally the company's biggest money-maker, set the bar far higher than ever before.

The realistic bounces of the ball and deft movements of the players in the 08 edition are second to none and offer the sensation that you are actually involved in the elegant, boisterous, and often chaotic world of top-tier club or international football on matchday.

The touch of the ball has an added realism, while increased control of players off the ball and more control of passing angles and power allows the gamer to feel far more in control than in previous versions. Shooting too has become frustratingly realistic, with an almost infinite amount of options for placement, power, curve and deflections making for the feel of the real thing.

"We wanted to unlock the power of the new generation of consoles (PS3 & Xbox360) to give new football game play experiences such as the organic skill move system where you can really express yourself and invent new skills," FIFA '08 producer Joe Booth told FIFA.com, pointing out that you can actually make a video of your coolest moves and upload them to the FIFA 08 website.

Nowhere is this ability to truly express yourself on the virtual pitch more satisfying than in one of the new game's biggest innovations - the 'Be a Pro' option. Here you can actually step into the shoes of your favourite player, Ronaldinho for instance, and invent moves the elegant playmaker hasn't even considered yet with a few deft flicks of your thumb. With the option, you can control a player for a full 90 minutes, taking advantage of Wayne Rooney's thunde-bolt strike, Lio Messi's turn of pace, or John Terry's crunching tackling ability. The option forces the gamer to adopt a more complete approach to the game, make intelligent runs off the ball and play with a level of patience impossible in previous editions.

Options aplenty

You have the option of playing with 600 teams, 30 official national leagues (from Mexico to Korea) and over 15,000 individual players from Adu to Zokora. And with the online option, you can face off against fellow gamers anywhere on the globe.

Booth, one of the big brains behind the innovations, talked about the changes necessary at the backend to make such innovations possible. "To deliver the new 'Be a Pro' option where you play as an individual and also the team-based online option we knew we would have to rewrite our engine from scratch, this started 3 years ago and FIFA 08 is the conclusion of the first phase of this rewrite. It was the biggest single engineering investment in the history of EA Sports!"

The amount of work and labour that goes into such alterations in the fabric of the well-known game series is nearly too much to quantify. Still though, the multi-national army of designers and experts at EA Sports headquarters in Vancouver, Canada can hardly hide their enthusiasm about the gem of a game they've created.

The Online Team Play option is one of the most exciting innovations, according to Booth as it approaches the designers' dream of making the game 'as real' as the real thing. "We had to create a network of servers to help synchronize all the player (up to five can play on each side) it's a very exciting mode because it takes us towards the dream of 11 v 11 online with every player on the pitch being controlled by a real human!"

The 2008 FIFA Interactive World Cup will crown the best FIFA 08 gamer on the planet. And with all the new additions to the game, you better get out to the training pitch soon if you want to have a chance to be ranked among the FIFA gaming elite.