Electronic Arts is getting ready to launch the most anticipated soccer related game of the year, FIFA 2009, and they are preparing gamers for the shock by releasing a demo. If you want to see what's new in this iteration of the franchise, you can download the demo from Xbox Live, get it on the PlayStation Network and even play it on the PC.

The demo features no less than six playable teams, which are Marseille, Schalke, Real Madrid, Chelsea, AC Milan and Toronto FC, that will face off against each other on one pitch. You can also perform a bit of training before the match or take care of the setup of the team by accessing the team options. All the downloads are about 1 GB big and matches are limited to the length of four real time minutes. It's a big download for such limited gameplay, but at least it should show us what FIFA 2009 is all about.

One of the most interesting things in the new game, apart from new players and better graphics, is the wealth of tactical options that you can play around with to make the team you manage take on your style of play. There are also more options for passing and for shooting, while the development team says that it's easier to control the players on consoles and that moves like dribbling and tackling are now more intuitive.

Electronic Arts will also include a new subscription based service, called Adidas Live Season, which is designed to track the real time states of players and modify them accordingly in the game. The stats will be provided by the same experts that created the initial player database.

FIFA 09 is set to launch on October 3 for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, the Nintendo Wii, the PC, the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable.