by
Ted Kritsonis
Faze
Video Game Editor
Just five months after releasing UEFA
Euro 2004, EA Sports is back at it again with FIFA Soccer
2005. But like many of their other sports games, EA has had
to contend with an upstart who just keeps getting bolder and
better. Thanks to an average effort last year, EA’s
FIFA 2004 was outplayed by Konami’s Winning Eleven 7,
which means this season should bring a serious battle on the
pitch.
As you’d expect, there is no
shortage of teams and players in FIFA Soccer 2005. There are
18 leagues represented here, along with the newly added Mexican
League. Then, you’ve got 11,000 licensed players spread
out over all those teams. Although there are 38 national teams
to choose from, some notable omissions do stand out. There’s
no Dutch team for one, and it seems like Asia was completely
ignored since good Asian teams like South Korea, Japan and
Iran weren’t included. It was also disappointing to
see that good African teams like Senegal, Morocco and South
Africa were also left out.
During gameplay, there are a few things that are noticeably
different. The graphics are a lot sharper than last year and
though players do look blocky, there are more recognizable
faces this time around. Throw-ins and corner kicks have been
adjusted so that you have more control over the player receiving
the ball, and passing is made a little easier thanks to more
intuitive AI.
A nice touch added this year was the
First Touch Control, which is a great feature to utilize with
star players. Using the right analog stick you can pull off
some nifty moves with the likes of David Beckham and Thierry
Henry. Whether carrying the ball or receiving a pass, you
can show off by lifting the ball over the defender’s
head or do a fast dribble to throw an opponent off balance.
Keep in mind that the option works better for star players,
since average players aren’t able to do as much.
A new Create-a-Player feature has been
added this year, which basically gives you the option of creating
a player and using him in the Career mode. It’s about
time something like it was added, considering that almost
every other EA Sports game has had a feature like that for
years.
The Dynasty mode is standard, and a small improvement from
last year, although that’s not necessarily a bad thing
since many of the elements of last year’s Dynasty mode
worked well. What’s been enhanced here is the ability
to control the front office as well as the team lineup. You
can hire and fire coaches, keep an eye on your medical staff
and even join in on a game being simulated.
Online play is, for the most part,
very efficient and easy to jump in on. Gameplay can be sluggish
and choppy at times, although that may have more to do with
your opponent’s connection. However, issues with EA’s
servers may also be at play here because there were several
occasions where both my opponent and I lost our connections
during a game. Still, games do go by smoothly most of the
time.
The increased competition coming from
Konami may have been the best thing to happen because EA Canada
developed an excellent soccer game here. Many of the little
things that plagued last year’s game have been fixed,
which has lead to a far more respectable soccer simulation
in FIFA Soccer 2005.
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