As has been the pattern for three years running, EA has packed it sports games with killer new features, and this year's FIFA is, without a doubt, a sardine tin stuffed with footy goodness. Taking Off-The-Ball game control from its brethren NBA Live, implementing an objective-based career mode, smoothing out the graphics, and, for the first time in any soccer game, adding the first online features (for the PS2 version), EA has crossed its T's and dotted its I's in every regard. Additionally, there is little doubt in our minds that the game offers a near-perfect presentation in every aspect. But does the game play better and more realistically than before?
Gameplay
Unfortunately, the answer is both yes and no. For those worried EA has abandoned its traditional arcade-friendly game, don't. But be prepared for some changes. EA hasn't changed its generally intuitive play system, but it has again tweaked it enough for long-time fans to take notice.
There are lots of little changes. One of the biggest we see that the defensive AI is far more aggressive at the goalie box. Against the game's AI, charging up the field in a wild sprint and blasting a shot from the center of the goalie box is not likely to happen. The AI is lighter at mid-field, but harder to penetrate at the goalie box. The result is that much of the scoring is done at the edges of the goalie box, not inside it. Get any further inside it and the defensive line steals it almost every time.
Players who loved the ability to curve and arc their free kicks are given a different system this year, and pretty good. Now there are new meters to indicate power for goalie and free kicks. The power meter for free kicks needs a wee bit of explaining. It's unintuitive at first, but think Peter Jacobson's Golden Tee Golf, and you're there. The three-step process is shown by a rather ugly bar, but the system provides a better-than-decent level of precision for kicking over walls and setting the ball in the corner of the net. The meter for determining the spin on the ball is better too, thanks to the use of an additional analog stick.
Numerous tactical additions are now made on the fly. Players can switch team formations during the game and players can instantly call plays using the Dpad. There are more visible attributes, tactics playing styles, and even individual player personalities than in previous FIFA games. These changes all work well, if you decide to use them.
The fine controls such as dribbling and juking appear more difficult to pull off this year than last, but at the same time there are more tweaks and modifications for them. Which means that (at least for me), in addition to the defense closing in heavily near the edge of the goalie box, fine passes and controlled dribbling are made more troublesome. To be fair, I rarely use the super fine moves unless I'm just bragging or showing off, so it didn't affect my game all that much.
Which brings up a positive point -- while FIFA Soccer 2004 still doesn't come close to mirroring real soccer the way that Winning Eleven does, the game appears to be better designed, smarter, and more realistic passing game. When I played soccer in high school and college, I was a scruffy, ragtag player. Our teams weren't finesse passers like the excellent Mexican teams we played in Venice and Hollywood. We were scrappy, opportunistic players that punched holes in the defense with quick explosive plays. So, while I didn't think the modified tweaks the dribbling were so hot, FIFA Soccer 2004 plays more toward finesse-style passing than ever before. It's not entirely there yet, and it's still very different in feel, rhythm, and style than Winning Eleven, but by working the field, the offense AI does find open lanes and it does create plays. They might not always be as fast as one would like, but they do find holes. This makes for more strategy and sharper, more critical thinking on both sides of the ball. It makes FIFA Soccer 2004 a passing ball better game which is definitely a change for the better.
There are loads of additional minor tweaks that EA has made to the overall gameplay, including improving the ball physics and giving players exceptional goalie AI. In fact, I experienced a marked difference in AI when I switched from the MLS to the English leagues (I agree, that's the way it should be). The difference in AI, rhythm and speed was like night and day.
Feature Set
While the laundry list of additions in this year's FIFA is a like a phone book of features, the biggest and most important aspect is the Off-The-Ball play. Using the idea that players want more control over their 11-player team, EA's off-the-ball control gives soccer fans the ability to select three players and give total control over their routes. By tapping a button to initiate the moves, players see icons appear over a trio of players' heads. You can select the kind of pass, lob or ground pass, and then once you select the player, you are given control of his movements. Press the button again and the ball is kicked to that streaking player (which is now you), and if done correctly you've opened up a lane that the normally neutral AI wouldn't have.
Off-the-ball control works OK, but just OK. The idea is excellent. The implementation is mixed. There are dozens of instances I can show you, but here are the most poignant ones. Much like the off-the-skateboard moves in Tony Hawk's Underground, of-the-ball control has a moderately steep learning curve, but even more significant, the game is entirely playable without ever using it. It's there for control freaks who want another level of gameplay. But it's not necessary, and it doesn't always give that necessary edge.
To make the point even clearer: The computer AI in this year's FIFA tends to play well off the ball, giving players lots of space to move down the field. Even in the hard mode, this is true to a certain extent. It's designed to let players experiment with this new ability. What it does in reality is to slow down the game. It gives players the necessary time to tap into Off-The-Ball control, select a player to find a lane, and then pass it. But after two seasons of single-player action, I tried off-the-ball passes against a human opponent and it was like night and day. Human players are like flies on sh*t. They swarm, the chase, they're constantly running you down, and so there is almost no time to use this feature. More importantly, they can tell when you're running it. They see the play in its development. It only takes a few times for the defense to realize to attack the guy with the ball when those icons appear.
Off-the-ball control works better in corner kick situations. Here, the camera is set so that players are looking at the goalie box, with all players in view. The corner kicker can select a location to kick to (near post, far post, etc.) and then he's given team mates with icons above their heads. The difference in corner kick situations is that defensive players can actually see the destination of the ball (indicated by a circular marker), and their job is to physically prevent the forward from getting there. This works because the emphasis isn't so much on the subtly or power of the corner kick, it's on positioning, just like in real soccer.
Off-the-ball play works in mid-field and on offense, but it doesn't work in your own backfield. Unless your team setup is heavily lined up with defensive players, it just doesn't make sense. Pass-to players are off screen and it's less effective. Lastly, it seems like EA just skipped implementing off-the-ball usage for throw-ins, which sorely need something to liven it up. Definitely a missed opportunity. Overall, I'm sold on the idea, but not the implementation, and implementation is what really matters in the end.
The Career mode, however, is excellent. EA has always given players an excellent smattering of worldwide teams to choose from, and this year's effort is no different. Players can select from a huge array of leagues (18), national teams (35 MLS teams), and they can fiddle with up to 10,000 players. Shaped more like a Madden season, players can now manage a team. They can train individual players or the whole team; they can trade players, manage a budget, and they have goals to meet (like achieving 35 goals for the season or winning six home games in a row). In all, these goals all wind up affecting one thing: Prestige. With more prestige (earned through winning games), managers attract better players and what's more, they might even be given offers to coach higher prestige teams. The decision making process here can be heart wrenching for first time managers. After having built up a team from scratch, getting an offer to coach another team means ditching all that you've built. But it also means inheriting a better team and the promise of even more prestige.
Lastly, the next biggest addition to the PS2 and PC versions of FIFA Soccer 2004 are their online components. While the GameCube and Xbox versions sport four-person multiplayer offerings (along with linked, unlockable content between the GameCube and Game Boy Advance systems), the PS2 and PC versions enable players to get online and vie against another person. Yes, it's mano-a-mano gameplay, but it works and it's damn fun.
Like other EA online games, FIFA Soccer 2004 enables players to quick message using EA's messaging system, and they can select from several different accounts. There are password protected game rooms, the ability to block users, and there's even the ability to play one off games or ladder tournaments against ranked or unranked opponent via a Leaderboard system. Basically, any league that's in the game can be created here online.
The 30-plus FPS that seem to chug down during throw-ins and the slight ticks in framerate that occur in the offline game are amplified here, and there are some times when it's hard to know what's going on, given the worldwide online service. But for the most part, playing online is just an awesome new ability that's just as good as playing against someone right next to you, only you'll always be able to find someone to play with. PS2 owners can play online using the USB headset for chat during gameplay.
Last but not least, FIFA offers players the killer new My FIFA, replete with EA Bios and Hall of kits features found in other EA sports titles.
Graphics
While the framerate for FIFA Soccer 2004 appears to stay at a minimum of 30 FPS (not the 60 we were promised), there is a certain amount of chug that occurs most often during throw-ins. Otherwise, all versions are relatively equal in smoothness. For crisper cleaner prettier graphics, the GameCube, PC and especially the Xbox versions are the very best, respectively. For the good old PS2, the visuals are solid, entirely workmanlike, but they're simply not as sharp or as clean as the others.
EA has done an excellent job of adding more detail and realism to their character models. The referees, players and even the fans look better than last year. There is slightly more detail, definition and texture work, for instance in their forearms and legs. Players' heads look less boxy and robotic. Their eyes are more lifelike and they generally give the impression of being closer to human beings in look and movement than ever. What helps here, too, is EA's excellent mo-cap work. The players walk, run and sprint with human rhythms. They move their arms, whether it's jockeying for position or while balancing for a long kick more realistically than before and it helps give players a better, more complete feeling of being a real experience.
There is also a huge variety of stadiums and field types, and if you're on a muddy, wet field, you'll see your players clothes getting dirtied. The stadiums are always impressive, and each year new details are added, be it more flags with the team colors, or better looking architecture in the stadiums themselves.
Sound
Ah, the music, my favorite section. FIFA Soccer 2004 offers one of the most diverse and impressive soundtracks of any game in 2004. What started out in the late 1990s with Blur as an experiment has turned out to be a hugely attractive feature set for the FIFA series. The soundtrack offers more than 35 songs that appeal to a range of demographics. Kings of Leon's Red Morning Light and the Dandy Warhols' We Used to be Friends site side by side with the latest from Radiohead's Hail to the Thief album (with Myxomatosis). I never thought I'd hear Radiohead in a soccer game, but I'm even more blown away that the Stone Roses' Fools Gold is in here. Frickin' cool. And so is The Jam's Town Called Malice. Wow. The game lightens up with the likes of Caesars' Jerk It Out, and it's filled with cool Latino vibes to appeal to one of the series biggest demographics.
Using a different technique to capture sound in this year's version, EA drew in rabid soccer fans who knew their team's theme song perfectly. Using a small group of maybe four or five people, they duplicated these chants to make them sound as if hundreds of fans were singing them. You won't believe how many are in here. (All right, there are more than 300 new crowd chants.)
The announcers John Motson and Ally McCoist give the game a level of authenticity, and they're comments follow the line of play better than most games do. As with all commentary, they're not so good when it comes to quick play-by-plays and they do end up repeating themselves a few times in the game, but overall I have no major qualms with the commentary.
Technically, the Xbox version supports Dolby 5.1, while the Cube and PS2 versions support Dolby Pro Logic II. And for those folks with a USB headset and a PS2, you can jump online and chat away with your fellow soccer players.