The alpha version of Fifa 2009 we've received yesterday doesn't have the 10on10 yet (which EA Sports' boss Peter Moore mentioned). Also, the documentation says that "two other major features" will be announced at Games Convention in August. But one of the new features that are already in (apart from better graphics) and that we immediately liked in is the new keyboard/mouse interface on PC.

You can either use the mouse for movement (which doesn't seem to be a good idea to us) or for aiming / shooting: Round crosshairs show where you will pass the ball to or shoot at (relative to your active player); if the circle is empty, you'll pass into open space (but a close-by player of your own side will nearly always take the ball), or if you hover the crosshairs directly over a player, the circle will have a dot, showing that this player will be specifically targeted. The longer you press the mouse button, the more power the pass or shot gets. The left mouse button usually means passing or short, precise shots, the right mouse button is for flailing the ball out of danger zones or shooting in general. Running and some tricks are done with the keyboard (WASD are the movement keys, SPACE is for sprinting).

One example: If you want to do a one-two play, just point in the direction of the second player, press the left mouse button shortly, and while the ball is on its (short) way, move the crosshairs to where your first player will be in a second, then when the second player receives the pass, immediately press the left mouse button again. The only thing you have to learn is that the crosshairs is not centered on the active player, it's really acting like the mouse cursor on your desktop.

The new system works surprisingly well, it's clearly superior to just using the keyboard, and PC gamers might even like it better than using a gamepad. The same system is used for free kicks and corners, only the penalty kicks differ. And yes, of course you can also have the old keyboard interface, if you prefer (but why should you?).