FIFA 09 has two interesting features, and while they don’t always live up to their full potential, are exciting and intriguing enough to warrant giving the game a shot. First off is the Live Season – similar to NBA Live’s dynamic DNA this changes a player’s abilities from week to week based on their season’s performance. Unfortunately, this Live Season mode only applies to five leagues in Europe – MLS fans do not have this option, probably because while Europe’s season just got underway, the US League season is wrapping up.

The game does allow you to pick one league for Live Season free of charge; you can buy every league for one special price or purchase each league individually. For our review purposes, we picked the Premiership, and the mode is just as up to date as you would expect, monitoring injuries and players that have improved week to week. It’s really a nice feature, although it’s tough to say whether or not the full cost of all the leagues is worth it.

The other new mode is one that many soccer gamers have been anticipating – the Be A Pro mode. This is the first time that a career mode like this has made it into the EA Sports Soccer game (sure – it’s been in indie games like New Star Soccer, but this is the first time in a top tier game). In this mode, you take control of an individual player – either one you’ve created or one that’s already established and have him play through the games with certain goals to achieve.

The Be-A-Pro mode has a lot of potential; it’s just not fleshed out enough this year. For example, before every game you are given a series of tasks to accomplish – most of which are truly insane – get seven shots in one game, score three goals, etc. Every achievement you pick up increases your experience points which you can then use to enhance your skills. You can also let the game auto-manage your skills for you, which is nice.

Be A Pro gets it wrong because if you’re playing default settings, getting three shots on goal is difficult enough, much less seven. Increasing your abilities takes a very long period of time—over the course of the season unless you hit every goal and therefore have a bank of experience points, you won’t improve your skills very much.