I had mixed impressions upon playing FIFA09: It has good pick-up-and-play gameplay yet it lacks real depth and smart AI.
The game features all the teams from the console versions. Arsenal, Man Utd, Barcelona--the gang's all here. You have three basic modes to choose from. There is Manager Mode, Tournament Mode, and Be a Pro Mode. One flaw is that you can only have one account in each of those modes at a time, but that is not one of the game's most criminal flaws.
Manager Mode gives you the chance to control your team over five seasons and improve the team through training and the transfer system. The transfer system has a good search engine and is easy to use. However, you cannot sell players unless you include them in a swapping deal with another club or you release them. Not having the option to sell them for money creates some confusion. The training mini-games are repetitious and a few have tasks too tough for the ordinary player. The rewards quite flashily transform your players' overall ratings and skill ratings to a higher mark out of 100, yet none of them make a significant different on the team and the way you play. In other words: You might as well not bother. One extra criticism: A few of the game transfers are not up-to-date as of the game's release date (ex: Dimitar Berbatov/Robbie Keane still at Spurs) and the developers should have fixed that up before the game's release. Especially the Robbie Keane transfer I mentioned because that happened 2-3 months before this game's release.
Tournament Mode lets you compete in the cups, including the Champions League and World Cup, with no option to transfer players during the tournament. If you want a quick mix of all the good things you can get in manager mode, do tournament mode.
Be a Pro Mode lets you take over a single player from a team over the course of a season. You get in-game feedback on your play. I have never been a fan of this mode but I am not able to give my usual constructive criticism here. Why? I can't access this mode of the game anymore! Whenever I attempt to go into this game mode, the game freezes and makes me reboot my DS!!!! Good thing I was never a fan of this mode anyway.
But you're probably wondering how the game actually plays. The controls are spot on for the DS, yet the AI is not. More often than not, the AI will stupidly pass to you and then run around like a bunch of robotic hooligans. Defending you say? I call it more like just putting blobs there to create textures--the AI does not do well in defense or create many attacks, but they still do chip in the occasional unlikely goal.
The multiplayer mode gives two people the chance to face each other in a match or in a penalty shootout. It is nothing special but it thankfully gives you the option of playing with only one gaming cartridge.
So, in conclusion, FIFA 09 for the Nintendo DS has quite a few features translated from the console version, yet the poor AI lets it down. And the lack of a Be a Pro Mode in my copy was very annoying. Talk about bang for your buck. But nevertheless, this is a good pick-up-and-play game if you are playing in short bursts, want a small challenge, and/or you are on a trip with a partner willing to challenge you in the game's multiplayer mode. Unless you are one of those people or a diehard soccer fan, this game is not for you.
Graphics--7.0
Controls--8.0
Replay Value--7.0
Sound--4.5
Overall--6.5
One last criticism: Where was the record-a-chant feature from the 08 edition? That was awesome!!!