PlayStation 2

FIFA Soccer 2004

Ah the beautiful game, just like the team loyalties themselves, nothing divides gamers as much as their favourite football game. Well the ref has blown the whistle and we head out on the pitch to tackle the latest FIFA game and it seems, some pretty awful puns.

FIFA 2004 is a great soccer game. EA is definitely not letting this series fizzle, and there couldn't be a better time for soccer fans, old and new, to jump on this wagon. Plenty of teams, great control, tons of replay value and all the bells and whistles you could hope for make this game one of the best of its kind.

Once again FIFA reinvents itself, and once again the results are a vast improvement on the previous year. FIFA Soccer 2004 isn't perfect yet, but it's still an awesome effort.

The ambience that EA has created within this version of Fifa is simply amazing and it will be a challenge to both competitors and themselves to improve. The graphics set a standard that all sports games will have to achieve in the near future. The gameplay has vastly improved with the ‘off the ball’ feature and the distinctions the game makes between good, better and the best players. But there is room for improvement as far as dribbling past an adversary is concerned.

We egocentric Americans spend much of our late autumns engrossed with the playoff run in the NFL and the onset of the NBA. On home consoles, many gamers are deep into their franchise modes in Madden 2004 and NBA Live and have just about had their fill with sports games. This, along with the limited popularity of soccer in the States, has always left soccer video games permanently under the radar and limited their shelf space. Elsewhere in the world, sports fans are rejoicing, for this is the season of the latest edition of EA’s FIFA Soccer series.

Electronic Arts has been making some pretty major changes to its long-running FIFA Soccer series in recent years, and its 2004 edition is no exception. The game features the same slick presentation, official licenses, and instantly recognizable players that the series is known for, but it also boasts a number of enhancements, including a goal-driven career mode, online play on the PS2, more realistic ball physics, and the well-publicized off-the-ball control. FIFA Soccer 2004 is undoubtedly EA Sports' most realistic soccer game to date. Though some of the new features will inevitably take you a while to get used to--and there's still plenty of room for improvement--it manages to be both enjoyable and challenging.

While we Americans are neck deep in the midst of a wild, mud-crunching football season (that's American football, with helmets and stuff), the rest of the world is madly tapping buttons to a different beat. They're playing soccer, football, ah heck, futball. Regarded as the best selling soccer franchise in the world, FIFA Soccer might take the popular vote, but yet it never wins the presidency. It still hasn't convinced the Western world of soccer critics (i.e. the gameplaying population of Europe) that its easy-to-play FIFA series has the realistic roots and genuine cajones of its biggest competitor, Winning Eleven 6, aka Pro Evolution Soccer, or whatever Konami has renamed its stellar soccer franchise this year. So what has EA cooked up this year to turn our heads?

I’ve learned to appreciate soccer for the strategy, skill, and tension involved. I’m just not sure I want the same out of a soccer video game. FIFA 2004 is a good game that real soccer fans will appreciate, but it has a steep learning curve and is a little too much of a simulation for average gamers looking to run down the field and score goals.

Comme tous les FIFA, l'édition 2004 se compose d'une belle réalisation associée à un gameplay un peu moins emballant. Malgré les problèmes de connexion rencontrés, l'ajout du online est une option non négligeable qui devrait rallier beaucoup de joueurs à sa cause.

FIFA Football 2004 is a worthy update that owners of previous games should pick up. Online play is good but could have been better, and despite the appealing presentation and the licensed clubs, the overall experience of the game still doesn't match up to that of Pro Evolution Soccer 3, but the series is certainly catching up.

Year after year we hear the familiar cry from friends and colleagues that Konami's Pro Evolution is king, yet Johnny Punter still shells out for FIFA regardless. After a few consecutive years of Konami breathing down EA's neck, last year EA simply turned up the heat, made the best FIFA ever and tripled its marketing spend. Result? Over double the sales and a game that to this day still sits proudly in the top 10.

Ett annat problem är grafiken. Animationerna är visserligen verklighetstrogna, men den långsamma skärmuppdateringen gör spelet ryckigt. Dessutom är laddningstiderna fortfarande alldeles för långa, i synnerhet när det blir dags att spara en pågående spelomgång. Onlinefunktionen, det nya karriärläget och noggrant uppdaterade laguppställningar är vettiga kompensationer, men som helhet betraktat är FIFA 2004 ändå en liten besvikelse. Vi talar ju trots allt om uppföljaren till världens bästa fotbollsspel.

Despite all its faults, FIFA 2004 is still worth buying. If you like to see real teams, leagues, and players, I'd recommend this game. As long as you don't mind the faults listed above. On the other hand, if sheer playability is the overriding factor for you, then maybe Konami's offering might be your best choice.

I honestly can't recommend FIFA Football 2004 to those of you who aren't thinking of using it online. Playing through the management mode is entirely without merit and the latest playmaking addition is a minimal one that does nothing for the overall appeal. That said it has the licences, which Pro Evolution 3 doesn't and it's a far prettier game than Konami's effort. However, FIFA 2004 doesn't capture the excitement of the beautiful game in the way it should and as such is perhaps worth overlooking this time round.

The U.S. release of Konami's Winning Eleven 6 shocked EA like a corner kick to the ear. The makers of FIFA knew of the series, which is iconic in Japan to say the least; however, this year was the first time it challenged EA Sports' domination of the real football. Not one to shy away from a fight, EA has pulled up its knee socks and delivered the best FIFA title to date.