Man takes tentative first steps in new relationship with FIFA ‘09

FRIENDS AND family of retail worker James Brooke, 29, have expressed relief that he has begun to put his difficult past with Pro Evolution Soccer behind him and cautiously embarked on a new relationship with FIFA 09.

Brooke had been in a long-term relationship with Pro Evo since 2001, which friends described as ‘intense and loving, but ultimately destructive’, but finished with the game at the turn of this year, citing complacency and the game’s refusal to change.

“Of course it was very sad and difficult, but the magic had gone,” Brooke said. “At the start I used to be able to stay up all night doing a Master League. Towards the end it would just be the occasional quick PK Match before bed, and Evo seemed to be making less and less effort with every passing year.

While Brooke has admitted that it will be difficult to see his friends try their luck with Pro Evo, signs suggest that he is putting all his efforts into committing to his new relationship with FIFA.

He was spotted buying the official strategy guide to FIFA this week, after a frustrating first evening with the game in which he nervously fumbled his way around an unfamiliar control system and kept pressing the button for cross when he wanted to shoot.

Brooke’s first dalliance with a football game was childhood sweetheart Kick Off II in 1989, before a tumultuous next decade in which he moved from game to game, including affairs with Sensible, Ultimate and Worldwide Soccers.

His lowest ebb came in 2001 when he impulsively spent a night playing Chris Kamara’s Street Soccer, a game he later called “just absolutely minging. I don’t know what I was thinking”.

But although the immediate future looks bright for Brooke and FIFA, some friends feel the game may only be a short-term fix. One friend said: “There’s no doubt FIFA 09 is a very beautiful game, but I think its obsession with fancy tricks and special goal celebrations show that underneath it’s actually quite a shallow game.

“James needs a challenge, and all of us think it’s time for him to stop experimenting with these sorts of game and settle down properly with a management sim.”

Published December 24, 2008

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