FIFA Soccer 2005 – GC – Review

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.

#Review Scoring Details for FIFA SOCCER 2005

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 (