While FIFA has gotten into a good groove on the 360 and PS3, the Wii version is in an awkward position. Visually, it's a notch above the PS2 game, although its qualities aren't ideally suited to a big HDTV. Control-wise, it's always been a risky venture, considering that you're using your hands to control a sport that penalizes you for doing so, unless you're a goalie. Also, Nintendo doesn't exactly have hardware that screams "jump online with your friends." With those barriers in place, FIFA 08 manages to do the best it can, which in this case, keeps it away from relegation, but doesn't qualify it for Champions League.

In order to jump into FIFA 08, you'll absolutely need to go through Soccer Academy, the mode that teaches you the basics. It's an invaluable resource for breaking down the game's fundamentals, although at times it also exposes the flaws of the game's motion controls. You'll learn that upward and downward swings make the difference between a normal shot and a finesse shot (here's a hint: when in doubt, always get the ball to your star striker and swing downward).

You'll learn how to make through passes, normal passes and crosses. They're all basic building blocks of any offense. It's certain moves, like chip shots and high through balls, that can prove more aggravating than fun. On more than one occasion, our attempted chip shot was misinterpreted as a fake shot or as some sort of fancy footwork. It all comes into frustrating fruition as you attempt to string together some very loose gameplay mechanics to score a goal. While certain advanced moves feel intuitive in theory, in execution they seem to occur less often from skill and more from luck. The best way to phrase it: if you couldn't do it on the PS2 version, you probably won't be able to do it well here. That goes for free kicks and stopping penalty shots.


Once you take these skills onto the pitch, you'll find that once you've gotten a grasp on the controls, they're fairly fun, though the CPU lets you down from time to time. The defensive AI is dull at times, letting opposition carve holes in it, and the camera perspective doesn't help the situation when you're trying to rally teammates to counter-attack. You're effectively sacrificing your depth of field for waggle, and honestly, it makes setting up plays all the more difficult. If you switch camera modes to what is the default on other consoles, it's even harder to control your players and keep up with what's going on. The camera never gels with the gameplay requirements. On the other hand, it's never been easier to control your goalkeeper in a soccer game. If you hold down the minus button, you can control him with the C-stick and set him up to dive and protect the ball.

On the other hand, EA's Family Play controls might be good for family members who don't play games very often, but they're far too easy for most gamers, even if you're not really a soccer fan. By playing with just the remote, the controls are distilled to passing and shooting on defense and tackling on offense. You'll basically become a backseat player, as the CPU will setup most of the offensive passing for you; odds are, your human errors will impede the computer from setting up a shot for you. Maybe people who aren't into games will enjoy it, but it's not worth unplugging your nunchuk to play.