Sound:  
The sound in this game also is top notch. The first time I put the game in and sat through the intro, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the band Gorillaz playing behind the intro. (I like Gorillaz.) The commentary is also very, very good. The sheer number of names that are in this game astound me. Don’t know what the name of the second string center midfielder is for the Peruvian national team? You will if you pass to him. The description involved in the general play is also well done. Another bonus (to me) is the fact that John Madden’s voice is nowhere to be found in this game. (Not that it ever would be, but I really can’t stand the dronings of John Madden at all.) Everything fits together to make the sound package in this game as fine as I have ever heard in a sports game.

Gameplay:  
This is another big time asset to FIFA. There are many, many modes for you to choose from. You can enter the World Cup qualification process, play in one of a dozen or so leagues from various countries, enter various tournaments (such as the English FA Cup), or just play a single match with up to 3 of your friends. Everything you could want from each of these modes is here.

I played a season in the English Premier League using Liverpool. Everything that goes on within the season is captured here. My team was playing in the European Champions Cup and the English FA Cup, in addition to playing the standard league schedule. (For those of you unfamiliar, the European Champions Cup is a side league/tournament made up of the previous season champions of many soccer leagues throughout Europe. It’s quite sweet.) At the end of my season, they even followed through with what I consider the coolest aspect of the English soccer leagues: relegation and promotion. Basically, there are four divisions of English professional soccer: Premier, first division and so on. At the end of the season, the four worst teams from the Premier League get sent down (relegated) to the First Division and the four top teams from the First Division are moved up (promoted) to the Premier League for the next season. I love that process, and this game recaptures it. How sweet it is.

The only thing missing from the game is an actual World Cup mode, but with the actual real life World Cup coming up in 2002, I am positive there will be yet another game to encompass that thoroughly in the coming year. My only major complaint is a lack of decent stat tracking in the game. It really only keeps track of the number of goals and cards throughout the course of the various seasons and tournaments. I would like more records, like assists, longest goal, fastest goal, most goals and assists in a game and so on. This may have been an omission to keep required memory card space down (it uses 29 blocks, just under half a card), but I would have gladly sacrificed some memory card space to get big time coverage of the stats. Despite my objection to the stat tracking, or lack thereof, there is enough soccer for anyone who likes the sport here, and then some.

Control:
EA has done a fine job with the new scheme they have implemented in the latest FIFA. First and foremost, the new passing scheme, which involves passing to areas, not specific players, definitely makes it feel more like genuine soccer, and not quite so video game-ish. The computer players will make runs to the goal, which you can see due to dotted lines that show where they are going, and you then can attempt to put the ball where they can run on to it to hopefully score a goal. It really is an asset to the game. The rest of the controls work together well to assimilate a very comprehensive control scheme. However, I also have one tiny complaint here, too.

This has to do with putting spin on the ball. I love bending shots and long sailing passes to score or reach the appropriate teammate. The game that has best done this is International Superstar Soccer 64 for the N64, which used the Z button and control stick after you kicked it to spin the ball in whatever direction you wanted. Topspin, bottom spin, sidespin, you could do whatever you wanted using the control stick and the Z button. In FIFA, you use the L and R triggers to put spin on it, which leaves you with only left and right spin. Add to that, the fact that to put spin on, you have to hold the button while you are kicking the ball. Not only is it a bit awkward, (like that time you found out after the fact that girl from the party was your third cousin. You guys know what I’m talking about, huh? Anyone? Anyone?) but it doesn’t really give you freedom to do whatever you want with the ball after you kick it. It’s a minor gripe, as most of mine are, but as a soccer player and a soccer game connoisseur, it is a facet of the game that I look for.

I don’t know if this qualifies as a control issue, but the ability level of different players is also well represented in this game as well. If you have a star striker on your team, like my team’s (Liverpool’s) Michael Owen, (who, in a shocking twist of fate is younger than me and somehow makes millions of dollars/pounds a year. I wonder how he sleeps at night.) he will generally put away a vast majority of the scoring opportunities he gets. On the other hand, if you have some average Jonny Jurkoff there, he will definitely shank and miss many more opportunities than the big time forwards. It’s a definite tribute to real soccer, and gives you benefits for paying for a super scorer instead of a normal schmuck.

All around, this game implements a realistic approach to soccer. The passing scheme is great, the controls are well done, and you can really get immersed in the controls. After a short learning period, you aren’t even really thinking about the controller in your hand, which is what a great game should do, and this one does just that.

Multiplayer:
This game is just as great and perhaps even better when you throw more players into the mix. I played a few games with my brother, another grizzled veteran of the La Crescent Lancers Soccer program, and we definitely got very intensely into it. Due to a very friendly learning curve, we were matched quite evenly after about 2 games, and we split a series of 6 games, despite the fact that I had about 50 more games under my belt prior to him even touching a controller in this game. (A bit embarrassing, but I attribute it to the fact that my brother is that good, not that I suck that bad. I hope.) After that, a cousin of mine and one of his friends picked it up and played it. Despite no soccer experience for either of them, they got very into it, and were begging me to stay a little longer so that they could play a few more games, because to quote my cousin: “This game @#&*%$^ rocks!!!” OK, so perhaps he doesn’t have a flair for words, like, say, Jesse Jackson or The Rock, but it is a quote nonetheless. Multiplayer is yet another aspect that FIFA shines in, and more players = more competition, which is never a bad thing.

OVERALL:
Well, if you like soccer, you HAVE to get this game. There is no debate about it, if you love soccer, you MUST get this game. Go now, buy it, play it, love it. It is one of the most complete packages of creamy soccer goodness I have ever laid eyes and hands upon, and it astounds me yet how great the passing scheme is. As a first installment for a brand new system, EA has packed tons and tons of rich wonderful football (this IS football, despite what Americans say) into a small disc, which fits conveniently into that Indigo or Jet Black cubish type thing sitting on your floor. As a soccer nut, I can say that this is as close as you will come to actually attending a World Cup Qualifier match, and without the added possibility that you will be stabbed, robbed, and/or violated in places you dread during post-game rioting. Simply put, any fan of any level will love this game, which is a huge tribute to a well put together game. Now it is your sworn duty to go buy this, start your own team of Were-Nomars, and get playing, because you never know when I’ll show up at your house, demanding a match. (And I show no mercy, so you better be ready.)

 

The Lowdown on  FIFA 2002 Major League Soccer Aesthetics: Very Good Control: Awesome Gameplay: Multiplayer: Awesome Sound: Very Good Innovation: 5/6 Lasting Appeal: 5/6 Overall: Awesome! "Top of the Genre"