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Fifa
2001
EA Sports is well known for quality and excellence,
improving on their various franchises from year to year.
Every October I make a point of scooping up their latest
NHL release (check out my recent review of NHL
2001), but I also have a soft spot in my heart for
their FIFA soccer games. I’ve skipped the last couple
of iterations, but my FIFA: Road to the World Cup
98 game is still on my Hard Drive
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Stats
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Genre:
Sports
Release
Date:
Available
Publisher:
Electronic Arts
Developer:
Electronic Arts
ESRB:
Teen
Requirements:
Win
95/98
166 MHz
32 MB RAM
4x CD-ROM.
40 MB HD Space
2 MB video card
DirectX 7 sound card
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Downloads
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and gets plenty of play - that’s about to change.
FIFA MLS 2001 takes everything that I love about
this series to the next level. The graphics, the sound,
the gameplay of the world’s most popular sport are beautifully
realized, and combined with an AI that is sure to have
you fighting for every goal. Gameplay modes include
both League and Exhibition formats, as well as three
different tournaments you can participate in. The only
disappointment for me here was the reduction in available
national sides; EAS has included about 60 countries
from amongst the top in the current FIFA World Rankings,
as well as a few countries that aren’t so highly ranked,
such as Canada. Having fewer nations to choose from
also has the effect of only allowing you to compete
in the World Cup Finals, rather than playing though
the qualifying rounds - no more taking lowly Tonga through
to France ’98.
The other two tournaments that are included will more
than make up for this lack for footer enthusiasts, however.
Featured are both the UEFA and Champion’s League cups,
which take the top club sides in Europe, and face them
off against one another. National leagues include everything
from the MLS, English Premier League, and Italian Series
‘A’, to leagues as far-flung as Japan’s J-League and
South Korea’s K-League. Due to EAS’ always excellent
licensing, most of the world’s premier soccer players
make appearances. There’s nothing quite like taking
control of striker Michael Owen and scoring a goal for
club side Liverpool, or for the England national team.
As I’ve mentioned, this year’s iteration sports some
of the best computer AI I’ve ever seen in a sports title.
Not only do your own players react logically to game
situations, but opposing players do their best to deke,
pass and shoot where appropriate. No longer will you
see a weaker opponent take numerous mean-nothing shots
from 30 yards out; they’ll look for the pass to the
open man, and try to hammer the ball home. And passing?
The opposing team covers your open men quickly and effectively,
which means you’ll either have to get your passes of
faster, or risk losing the ball every time you touch
it. I’ve played through several tournaments and two
complete leagues, and the game is just as challenging
as when I began playing it.
In soccer, pacing is everything - at least it is in
real life. Unfortunately, most soccer titles for PC
in the past have reflected a more arcade-like approach
to the game, emphasizing action over strategy. Above
and beyond any other single improvement to this year’s
iteration has to be the changed pacing of the game.
Whereas in the past you were constantly needing to run
about, offloading the ball as quickly as possible in
order to avoid being tackled, in FIFA MLS 2001
you can actually take your time, work up the pace, and
set up killer plays, just like in the real game. Strategy
is finally here, and without it you’ll find yourself
losing more than you win. Remember, soccer is a thinking
man’s/woman’s game.
Multiplayer is, as always in sports titles, something
of a mixed bag. If you can get a decent connection,
or you have access to a LAN, MP in FIFA MLS 2001
rocks. If not, it can be an exercise in frustration.
If you can get access to a LAN, I highly recommend it:
up to 20 players can match skills at one time!
Graphics
have always been a highpoint in this series, and FIFA
MLS 2001 is no exception. Players show real emotion
on their faces with facial expressions that are very
nicely implemented. The action is smooth, running without
a hitch on the two systems I tried it on (one an AMD
K6 500 with a Voodoo 3, the other a P-III 500 with a
GeForce Pro). In addition to the finely realized on-the-pitch
action, the details really shine through. Stadiums are
nicely rendered, complete with waving national flags
in the crowd during internationals, and varying weather
conditions coming in through the mostly open roofs (weather
is as much a part of soccer as anything else; it is
not unusual to have games hugely affected by its effects).
With the weather comes degrading field conditions, and
it’s not just eye-candy - ball physics and control mimic
the worsening situation. The overall quality of the
graphics is simply a treat. With higher polygon counts
and improved textures, soccer has never before been
so accurately rendered on the PC monitor; EAS has set
a new high-water mark for others (and themselves next
year) to try to top. One of the coolest effects comes
into play when there aren’t any weather effects whatsoever.
As the sun moves across the sky, shadows dynamically
follow its progress, affecting the lighting on the field
and on your players. And during night games, multiple
shadows reveal multiple lighting sources, completing
the feel of the game. Players move about the field in
a realistic manner, looking where they pass and watching
the ball as it come to them. It’s this attention to
detail that makes the game truly a pleasure to play.
Speaking of on-the-pitch, the sound quality is once
again absolutely top-notch. The excellent voice work
of John Motson is back, and this time he has former
player Mark Lawrenson doing his color commentary. They’re
always right in tune with the action, and they have
yet to get annoying or repetitive, a problem all too
common in sports games. Grunts, groans, the smack of
leather on leather, the sounds of soccer truly come
to life here; it almost made me feel like I was on the
pitch. I have two teams I play for every week, so I
have ready comparisons at hand - they haven’t missed
a thing.
FIFA MLS 2001 is truly the class of the crowd,
and it is one of the top two or three sports titles
released for the PC this year. While EA Sports continues
to make the kinds of improvements to gameplay seen in
this title, and packages it with the best graphics and
sounds out there, there is really no point in buying
any other soccer title. They’ve stayed true to soccer’s
nickname: the beautiful game.
Concept
Soccer has been done before, but never this
well. |
90
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Gameplay
The best I’ve ever played.
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100
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Graphics
Dynamic lighting, smooth textures, high poly
count. |
100
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Sound
Just like being on the pitch.
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100
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Technical
Needs work on the multi-player component. |
95
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Overall
If
soccer is your game, buy this. |
97
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