The football season is on and "Super Sundays" make working throughout the week a breeze. The most popular sport in the world really comes alive when a perfect wing-2-center strategy leads to a goal and you see your favorite striker bask in glory. This sport yields millions and millions of dollars as a commodity and one of its most famous and profitable avatars is the FIFA series by EA.

Dating back to the mid-ninties, the games have had their share of ups and downs. Their biggest competitor, aka Winning Eleven, was the cult favorite for many years, but with last year's iteration EA gained some of its respect amongst the purist. FIFA was considered an arcade game due to its various flaws. Although it sold pretty well every year, the purist considered Winning Eleven a better option. EA caught everyone by surprise when it produced a stunner in the form of FIFA 08 last year. The game was the most polished FIFA game ever, giving a tough time to the competition. This year FIFA is back with 09, the game that is supposed to have a stunning 250-feature changes and although I can't define all the changes I can assure you this - FIFA 09 is Football simulation at its very best.

FIFA 09 had a great platform to start with, as 08 had an impressive year with a string of good reviews. FIFA 09 has capitalized on the fame by delivering a game that enhances last year's experience by adding in many small and big improvements. The most noticeable feature in the game is the player animation; you have never seen such polish and refinement in any game, on any platform. The players run and react very realistically; even small nudges to the left analog will make the controlled player react. The improved ball physics and realistic player animation makes playing and watching FIFA 09 a treat.

Like any other eager fan I started with a quick match, which is one of the various available options. The passes felt a little quicker and accurate, even at default settings. Ball physics have been vastly improved; hence don't expect to see scores like 10-5 in FIFA any more. The most innovative concept this time round is something called Custom Tactics. Every player has a different style pf playing, some are aggressive while some are defensive. Earlier, you could change minimum settings and make changes to the game-style. Custom Tactics allows you to create various combinations and styles and map them all to the D-pad. The tactics can then be introduced on the go while playing, no need to pause the game. Custom Tactics have a mild learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it completely changes your game.

The multiplayer mode also gets an overhaul. There is now a new 10 vs10 option, something I dreamt about for years. The 10 vs 10 will have you play as one of the players, in the "Be a Pro" mode. It gets a little chaotic, but is good fun, if you play with your friends. Generally, you will find people who are keen on disturbing the game rather than enjoying it. There is also a Lounge Mode in which you can add friends and start with a handicap each. Though very arcade-ish, handicaps like 50% stamina make the game interesting.

The Manager Mode is good fun, the presentation has received a few minor updates, but it's the very detailed team management that makes the mode addictive. As mentioned earlier the game now uses Custom Tactics, so using those you can formulate a winning strategy. Most players love to simulate games while in Manager Mode, if you don't use the Tactics to perfection, simulating may not yield good results.

If online isn't your thing, you can always stick to the traditional single-player campaign. There is a "Be a Pro" mode season, which allows you to play throughout a custom character or a legendary footballer through many seasons. There are minimum changes to this mode and the most obvious is the camera angel which has been moved back a bit, giving you more room and vision to dribble. There are many new tricks that can be pulled by pressing the shoulder buttons and moving the analog stick, but let's face it, you won't really get time to perform them. Useful moves like fakes and 1-to-1 passes are executed very well and add more depth to the game.

Playing FIFA 09 feels very real, but there are times when a small bug might creep through. Usually happens when there is a loose ball, but it is negligible. The AI has been vastly improved, making good allies as well as enemies. The AI is very smart, calling out to ref, during an offside or waving like crazy when they spot an open space for a through pass. The goalkeeper is really hard to get through at higher difficulty, thus making you work for your victory. The visuals and presentations have been improved vastly, especially the player details. Even replays and transitions have a new look. The game is a visual delight.

The game still has the same old boring commentary. I don't understand why EA can't put in a little more effort in it, and may be a few more lines for Andy Gray. Another irritating feature from last year is the obligatory replay upload. You can't simply save your replays, you need to upload them after registering online. The much-talked-about Adidas Live Season is a nice add-on. By subscribing to it you can track your favorite team in the real world, and their performance will have an actual effect in-game. So, if you choose Liverpool and your team was to win over the weekend, with Torres scoring a hat-trick, your team morale and his particular performance will be better. You can subscribe to one team free of cost with the game purchase, but for additional purchases you need an active PSN account and money in your PSN wallet, so the same doesn't apply to India.

The game is amazing, it's realistic, it's detailed and it's a 'must have' for your PS3.