PlayStation 2

FIFA Soccer 2005

FIFA soccer has had a rich history. Starting its 11th year with FIFA 2005, it remains to be the best-selling soccer title in America. And although its solid gameplay has had trouble in the past couple of years living up to the Winning Eleven series, this year puts FIFA back in heated contention from a gameplay standpoint.

The biggest downside for '05 is its focus on professional leagues. China is the only national team offered in Asia, perhaps showing that EA Canada is content with leaving that region (and its sales) to Winning Eleven. The addition of lesser professional leagues in lieu of national teams hints that the game caters specifically toward Europe and Americas, where, not surprisingly, game sales were highest. Other irks include the essentially non-functioning offside traps, ?ber goalies for top teams, goalies occasionally catching pass-backs, and generic A.I. across all teams.

It is often referred to as the beautiful sport, and when it comes to the grace, the sheer athleticism and the strategic elements, few sports can match soccer. Ok, that may be some prejudice creeping in, but you consider the way that teams battle, probe and then use speed, precision passing and deadly velocity on shot, the world’s most popular sport has a lot going for it.

They do very little wrong when it comes to Soccer, and maybe that's the reason Sega opted out for a game yet again year, and we haven't seen much of a rumbling from 989 Sports. With the addition of Xbox online play and another tightening of the gameplay across the board, who's going to really be a challenge this year? FIFA is again where it's at. So I'll see you online for some great footie action.

EA Sports’ series makes a return. While soccer isn’t very popular in the United States, in many other countries like Mexico and Portugal, it is actually much more popular than football, arguably the most popular of American sports. FIFA Soccer 2005 is the latest entry in EA Sports’ long-running series and even to a series newbie like myself, offers gratifying, arcadey gameplay.

FIFA 2005 is a magnificent football game. Electronic arts still isn't quite up there with Pro Evolution Soccer 4 in the gameplay, however this game has better presentation, more teams and options, and the biggest bonus - online gameplay. You can't go wrong with this game.

So, as the final whistle approaches, how do we feel that FIFA Soccer 2005 has performed? Well, there's no doubt that this is EA Sports' best soccer game to date on the pitch, but it's really unfortunate that the career mode isn't more user-friendly. The game boasts the same level of detail as other EA Sports titles for the most part, but you might notice minor bugs and glitches as you spend time with the game. None of these little snags impact the gameplay or are really worthy of a mention here, but make the game seem a little rushed. Despite that, FIFA 2005 is a great game for fans of the sport.

The challenge for every sports game, especially from EA, is to introduce enough newness year after year to make said sports game worth the purchase. There was a time when simply getting the new roster update was enough. The arrival of FIFA Soccer 2005 on PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube ends up being a bit of redemption for the franchise that had slipped a bit last time we saw it. Despite the growing popularity of Konami's Winning Eleven series of soccer titles, FIFA is still one of the powerful trio of games that Electronic Arts relies on year after year to carry the company. But that doesn't mean the developers at EA Canada could've gotten away with another mediocre effort this fall. Because of this, FIFA '05 improves on its predecessor in every way, even if it still isn't quire the intuitive football experience it could be, especially in comparison to its competition.

I was also disappointed at the lack of tutorials to full you in on new controls, since the franchise seems compelled to change what buttons does every year. Even so, FIFA 2005 is a great play, and comes highly recommended from this soccer fan.

La série FIFA Football continue d'évoluer à son rythme. Les améliorations de cette année sont assez minimes, mais le jeu conserve son niveau de qualité, suffisant pour contenter ses nombreux fans.

Back in early 1994, I was one of the many Americans who finally learned how to appreciate soccer, mainly due to the fact that the World Cup Tournament was taking place on our shores for the first time in its history. For weeks I followed the results, watched the games, and was introduced to some of the game's colorful characters. When all was said and done, I was eager to put some of the knowledge I had gained to use, so I ran out and bought FIFA International Soccer for the Sega Genesis, the first soccer game developed by Electronic Arts. While the FIFA series would dominate the market for most of the decade, recent years have seen them battling numerous challengers to stay on top.

Don't get me wrong - this FIFA is as good, if not slightly better than all the other FIFAs before it. And as long as this is all anyone asks for, it looks like FIFA will crawl along from year to year knowing that it never has to fully pull it all together.

If you are familiar with the players, follow MLS, or can point to Benevento on a globe in one try, then FIFA 2005 will suit you well. It’s a good game of soccer and sports a few nice, unique features. However, if you care more about responsive control and a better overall gameplay experience, look next to FIFA on the retail shelf and find your allegiance with Winning Eleven. It's still the king of the pitch.