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FIFA Football 2005 Review
Chris Leyton
08/10/2004
Can FIFA continue its recent trend of improvement and mount a serious challenge to Pro Evo's throne...
With the release of Konamiās Pro Evolution Soccer 4, various assortments of Club Football 2005 from Codemasterās and the latest title in EAās FIFA series all released in October, it could certainly be said that football fans have got a hard choice when deciding which one to pick up.
Having sacrificed hours upon hours for the last week on Konamiās superlative Pro Evolution Soccer 4, FIFA 2005 found its way to the TVG Office and after some protest was eventually allowed to suck our attention away from the delights that are PES4.
Despite once epitomising everything that is wrong with football games, only an idiot could argue that EA have made broad steps towards improvement with the FIFA franchise since FIFA 2004; certainly this summerās release of EURO 2004 marked something of a highlight for the series, and combined with the gloss that weāve come to expect from EA, there certainly was some intrigue to find out whether or not FIFA 2005 can hold its own against PES4.
Thankfully EA certainly looks to have learnt its lessons from previous mistakes, and as such FIFA 2005 presents a game of football that is fast and fluid; now that the game uses its own engine and not a modification of the NHL one, itās fair to say that issues such as stifled player controls and jerky animation transitions are well and truly a thing of the past. Also itās nice to see EA not trying to overcomplicate the experience and adorn the screen with funny icons and dashed lines like theyāve disastrously attempted in the past; as with PES itās just a ball and 22 men on a pitch ā“ itās all you need.
The major introduction for FIFA 2005 comes in the shape of āFirst Touch Controlā, which allows players to gain complete control over the direction of their first touch after receiving a pass with the right thumbstick. In addition FIFA 2005 features a wide assortment of tricks and skills that are also mapped to the thumbstick and combinations of the right and left shoulder button when in possession of the ball. This is certainly one of the highlights of the game, and has been implemented well; skilful players such as Ronaldo (Christiano not Goofy) and Pires can literally turn defences inside out, with little feints and step-overs. Skill isnāt usually a criterion when talking about the FIFA series, however this control setup certainly lends the game a much-needed sense of depth that has been sorely missing in previous versions.
There is certainly more work to be done in other areas on the pitch if FIFA wishes to topple the mighty PES from its throne. In particular the AI of your computer controlled team-mates is shallow compared to the genius of PES4; quite often we found ourselves screaming at the TV as our wingers failed to make runs, or our defensive line stood off impending attacks without making a challenge.
Also just the general behaviour of the ball doesnāt feel as authentic as that of PES4, with it virtually always being in control of the player and never bouncing around erratically as youād expect in real life and PES4. Passes often feel too controlled, too direct and as though the player doesnāt have much influence; itās this pinball like effect that ensures the FIFA series is easily accessible, however football fanatics will certainly notice the difference between this and PES4.
One particularly strange touch is that the game feels too sluggish on the default game speed, making it all but impossible to notice when youāre running or not. We highly recommend ramping up the game speed and difficulty from the start, as the overall experience is heightened immeasurably as a result.
Away from the pitch, FIFA 2005 introduces an extended Career Mode, whereby players take on the role of a manager starting in the lowly leagues with teams such as Bury or Yeovil Town, and have 15 seasons to make their mark. As you win matches, leagues and tournaments youāll attract the attention of larger clubs to manage, whilst losing will quickly see you falling back into the lower leagues. Thereās a nice amount of depth to this mode with the inclusion of various coaches, and backroom staff to help your progress in addition to training and transfers.
However itās the option to take FIFA online with Xbox Live! or the PS2 Network Adaptor that is likely to cause the most attraction. Our experiences so far have suffered from the occasional lag issues that you get with EA titles, along with some of the stranger aspects of EAās online service such as signing you out and in again whenever youāve completed a match.
Players can jump straight into the usual selection of quick matches or those optimized to their preference, whilst you can also set up tournaments for up to 32 players to compete in. The actual game is disappointingly restricted to 1-Vs-1, which is a little surprising given that 4-Vs-4 would likely have become a firm favourite online. However there can be no doubt that in both this and the November release of PES4, footie loving Xbox owners finally have something to shout about.
Visually the game is the masterpiece that youāve come to expect from the FIFA series. Itās certainly one area when FIFA excels over the PES series all the time; it just makes such a difference to have club strips that are identical to those in real-life and stadiums to match. Player models bear a striking resemblance to their real-life counterparts, whilst the crowd effect is quite simply the best weāve seen in a videogame to date and really creates that big matchday atmosphere when youāre playing in such stadiums as Old Trafford or the Bernebau. If we had to criticise weād have to say that the animation, although impressive, is still not up to the standards of PES4 let alone the sheer variety offered by that title and the number of moves available as a result.
On the sound front itās quite an awesome experience to hear authentic crowd chants form the stands, whilst Motty and McCoist once again do an excellent job of providing the commentary. Naturally the game features a wide selection of licensed tracks to compliment the experience, with tunes ranging from the Scissor Sisters to The Streets.
