Sorry, guys for it being a little later than promised but I just got off the phone with Michael and scribbling down notes as fast as he could talk. But it's worth the wait. First, they switched Next-Gen to today. He was able to talk to David Rutter for 15 minutes and was able to cover a lot of our questions. So here's some good info that we haven't seen elsewhere.

Red Cards are fixed. They totally re-wrote the AI for the refs and now tackles from behind can result in direct reds. This is all being driven by the new trapping system. Michael was told that you will definitely see more cards in general. Next, let's talk cameras. All cameras are available in all modes and are adjustable. Stadiums look better than ever and now have away fans and also there were supporters with scarves. But I must bring up the 15 new stadiums. They are all generic. They have a style similar to regional stadia, but aren't real. There is a knockoff of White Hart Lane. There are generic Italian, Mexican, African and Spanish. Can't remember the rest. Sorry.....

Next some more gameplay stuff.Ball physics are vastly improved and skill moves are responsive and easy to pull off. The new team tactics have given the teams a very realistic feel and they play in a realistic style to their counterparts. Michael played as Arsenal v Tottenham and said that the Spurs were real aggresive. He then played a Serie A match and it was very laid back in the Italian style. He asked how often the teams change tactics and was told continually in response to your style and game situation. Now, in case you haven't read it yet, there are three gameplay speeds. Normal which is Euro, slow which is 08 and fast which is slightly faster than Euro. Michael also brought up how the free kicks have been changed where you can do two-man kicks with layoffs. Now you can also charge from the wall this year. But there are no quick-kicks. David Rutter said they wanted to do it but couldn't this year. So the game will still halt and reset postions.

Okay, big stuff here. The whole backline D AI was re-written. Last year only one man at a time could approach in the box. Now up to five can. So no more cutbacks and running across the box for chippies. But it will vary based on tactics. He said he talked to a guy from EA for 20 minutes just about this alone. Now switching has been improved so we shouldn't have that helpless feeling where the CPU won't let you have control of a guy who can break up a play. Dummy passes are in. Michael defined that and was told yes, it's in. The fatigue system has been totally redone. You'll see a major difference near half. You'll get some energy back at halftime, but not all. And late in the match it'll show. Goalies can't get hurt. But they can come up late in matches in support based on their attributes. You don't control it.

Now before this sounds too good to be true, he's the bad stuff. Manager Mode got next to no love. This year was all about gameplay. They said they know things need work and it's on the agenda for 10. And one of the big problems they haven't been able to figure out is how to manage fatigue over the season. So the CPU is probably gonna be exausted by match 5 again. But here's a good note. There is now a premium in how you substitute, The game will let injuries occur if you subs all three guys out. So you really have to have some strategy for subbing. Now here's a good counter balance: injured players will now go off the pitch and be able to re-enter the match. Michael said you see them oon the sidelines laying around in pain, and then when ready the ref waves them back on. Cool little touch.

Sliders make a very visible effect on matches. They actually had these in mind way back last November but had to wait for this title to get them in. Michael gonna list all the sliders for Team Tactics later. Bu they are in some of the interviews out there. He likes them and say they work well. Now he hasnt' gotten to "Be a Pro" stuff yet. There are going to be playing all night so there will be some more questions asked and more things explored. But I've gotta drop a few loose nuggets I still have on my notes. Headers are totally ripped out and redone. They went back and looked at older games and captured all new animations to bring the feel of those games back. Back to cards: there are delayed cards. You can play the advantage and go score and then the ref will show the card.

Now this was a 6 week-old build. There have been many improvements since. But they couldn't show the newest build because it had the super-secret online stuff. If my stuff sounds all over the place and not very concise, it's because Michael was so excited about the game it was just one "man this game is great" moment after another. I just wanted you guys to have info as quick as possible, as he'll be playing the game tuntil late in the night their time. He'll fill in anty blanks I left and answer more direct questions probaly weither late tonight or tomorrow. But all in all, the game sounds really, really good form Michael. That's it for now. Brian