FIFA Soccer 2005

With the Euro Cup and Americas Cup having finished up a long while ago, soccer fans everywhere can still get their soccer fix in video game form thanks to EA Sport’s popular FIFA Soccer franchise.  Last year’s game just proved that there’s always room for improvement and improving an already good thing just gives us a reason to be excited again.  Case in point, FIFA Soccer 2005, the franchise’s latest offering complete with a deeper Career mode, new gameplay features and a Create-A-Player option.  Ah, it looks like this is going to be another good year for soccer fans. 

The FIFA Soccer games blend both a simulator and arcade style that basically make for a fast-paced and addictive game with much to offer in terms of playing style.  While it doesn’t come anywhere near the fancy footwork of the PS2’s recent Winning Eleven game, Electronic Arts’ game showcases moves soccer fans have been dying to recreate in a game (e.g. bicycle kicks, headers to the goal or dancing around the defense).  FIFA Soccer 2005 added the chip shot, which is great for spur of the moment shots.  Who knows, you might just catch the goalkeeper off guard.  The more notable addition, though, comes in the form of the First Touch Control.  With the push of the C Stick during a pass, the receiving player can now control the direction of ball it was passed (hence the words first touch).  The other new feature is the Off the Ball Control option that allows better jostling.  Just push the C Stick in the opposing player’s direction.

Introduced in this year’s UEFA Euro 2004, the direct Free Kick controls make free kicks just a tad more precise due to the targeting cursor and a kick meter that sets up the power of the kick.  It’s not as easy as it sounds but with a little practice gamers can get the hang of it.  For those who like to come up with strategic changes and come up with better attacking or defensive strategies the IGM (or In-Game Management) option allows you to make quick tactical adjustments during the game.  The best new addition, though, happens to be the Create-A-Player feature.  You can create a very detailed player adding various different facial features as well as unlock new jerseys for the created player to use.

Career Mode has been changed enough that now you start as a hungry manager climbing his way up the ladder to soccer fame.  You start by selecting a club that’s still in its infancy and take it to the top as a rising prospect.  You’ll be able to follow your club’s rise via newspaper and when you’ve gained enough recognition as a promising manager, you can find yourself managing teams from the more prominent leagues.  You’ll be in charge of all aspects of your team’s development for fifteen whole seasons.  It’s by far one of the most addictive franchise modes I’ve seen in quite awhile and you’ll happily be caught up in the drama that befalls your team.

The good news is that all the international and national leagues are all present and accounted for in this year’s game and this time they’ve even included the Mexican leagues (everything from Cruz Azul to Pachuca).  The long list of leagues range from the Scottish Leagues (go Aberdeen!) to the Swiss Axpo and even the Brazilian leagues (like Internacional).  All of these teams add up to some pretty interesting match-ups in the game’s Tournament Mode.  The bad news is that while the opposing team plays some great defense and offense, the referee is quick to pull out yellow or red cards for the littlest fouls.

The FIFA Soccer franchise just keeps getting prettier and prettier and this year we’re looking at one gorgeous-looking GameCube game.  The player models look amazing during the match and they look even better during the brief cut scenes (mainly cut scenes where the ref is passing out cards like it was Valentine’s Day in a kindergarten class).  You won’t have trouble spotting the familiar star players like England’s Owen and Beckham or Brazil’s Ronaldo, but when it comes to other players they tend to look very much alike.  Thankfully some of this can be fixed thanks to the Create-A-Player feature.  The stadiums look great and the fans wave flags and fire up some colorful flares in true soccer match fashion.

If you’re a fan of Franz Ferdinand (like me) and like Morrissey’s latest song (like me) you’ll be okay with half of the game’s soundtrack.  The other half is composed of thumping dance music brought to you by international artists like Mala Rodriguez or Emma Warren and it’s not bad only if you like that kind of music.  What does sound amazing is the sound effects that reverberate throughout the stadium, something you’ll notice if you have a great sound system hooked up.  Fans cheer and clap their hands and darn if they don’t sing songs appropriate to the nationality or team.  What certainly needs work is the commentary, though.  John Motson and Ally McCoist return to the mic but this time their commentary is repetitive, completely negative (“What a wondrous blunder that was . . . I bet he’ll be dreaming of that play for weeks to come!”) and unhelpful.  Here’s hoping they find a pair of commentators that are more lively, on-the-spot and able to dish out some helpful play-by-play next year.

FIFA Soccer 2005 is a killer soccer game for the GameCube.  It’s not a completely renovated game but there’s enough changes in the game modes and tweaking of the gameplay that make this year’s game worth buying even if you’ve invested your hard-earned cash in the 2004 edition.  Really, the only real major flaws are the weak commentary and the constant fouls called by the referee, otherwise you’ll have plenty of fun with this one.  This is a Must-Have for any soccer fan. 

Gameplay: 9.0
While not entirely arcade-styled, the solid controls give the game’s action a nice flow.  Dribbling, passing and headers are handled beautifully enough and the First Touch Control is a welcome addition that we’d like to see again next year.  As for the game’s Career Mode, not only is it comprehensive but it’s also downright addictive.

Graphics: 8.0
About as good as the Xbox version, FIFA Soccer 2005 is a gorgeous-looking game.  You’ll be astonished how the stadiums and the thousands of fans look as they cheer and light up colored flares.  You’ll gasp at how detailed star players like the very dreamy Beckham looks during close-ups.  You’ll cheer at how smooth the framerate is and how natural the player models move.  You’ll jeer at how many look-alikes there are in each team that it almost seems as FIFA rolled players out of some assembly line.

Sound: 8.0
The commentary captures the British televised presentation of a match excellently but both McCoist and Motson just don’t offer much in terms of true insight.  You’ll find a sizeable collection of licensed tunes from both national and international artists (everything from Sarah McLachlan to Paul Oakenfold) and they’re okay tunes if you’re into the mix of rock tunes and trance beats.  The sound effect of the stadium coming to life, though, is the real treat.

Difficulty: Medium
The opposing team really makes you work for the goal and with a tightened defense you’ll be pleasantly challenged.  It’s also accurate in portraying the level of skill certain teams possess (e.g. Oxford United has to tighten their defense if they want to survive a match against the more aggressive Manchester United).  As for the distribution of yellow and red cards by the referee . . . it’s just not right.

Concept: 9.0
The new Create-A-Player option is an excellent addition and so is the new little touches that improve the gameplay.  New leagues, like the Mexican leagues, offer even more league choices.  Had the player creation tool offered even more options (à la Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005) gamers could recreate past favorites like Argentina’s Maradona or Brazil’s Pele, yet this isn’t bad at all.

Multiplayer: 8.5
Even without online support, this game is still fun to play against a friend or two.  There are enough teams to choose from so go ahead and play a fantasy match between any worldwide league.  Even play tournaments against a group of friends.  Ooh, did somebody say party game?

Overall: 9.0
How does EA Sports do it?  Not only have they taken a great soccer franchise and keep making it even more better, but they make it so darn hard to put down.  FIFA Soccer 2005 is a solid soccer game that will certainly keep fans of the sport more than happy.  Buy it if you missed out on last year’s stellar game and want an excellent soccer game for your GameCube.