Do they take us for crackpots?
Let's start with the better things.The graphics are undoubtedly drop dead gorgeous. The tricks are pretty varied and also have depth in them. The mouse control is pretty cool to play too. The sounds are also pretty good with the commentators and their lines too which have undergone a change for the better. And most of the 6.5 score that I have given is thanks to all this.
But for a sports game and especially a footie game, gameplay is the be all and end all. FIFA is a total stinker when it comes to this. Keepers are very easy to beat in world class difficulty(for both the game and the keeper), the physics of the ball is completely messed up(just do clearance of the ball and see the trajectory of the ball when it goes out for the throw in), the way the defenders are so leaden footed is just amazing(I beat Rio with just a change of pace with Yossi and he wasn't even cutting in), the red cards in a league game gets carried over to a CL game and a cup game, the way the players fall off looks more like diving than is the case, the referees are still blind bats who run, the linesman cannot flag and to top it all off, an offside near the opponents area sometimes nets you a freekick with no goalie in the goal :o.
Trash you system off this and download the demo of PES 09. It is way better and once it gets the licensing it so is starved off, then there is no headache for us football fans.
P.S : Gamespot must review its sports panel IMHO.