Capitalizing on the World Cup '98 craze, EA Sports is hitting the shelves with another soccer title faster than Kiss recorded albums back in the '70s. If you haven't scored a copy of FIFA '98: Road to World Cup, you should snap up this title.

An Even Shinier Cup EA's WC '98 refinements include improving the game's presentation, player graphics, A.I., and control. The menu and interface screens have been revamped with a slick look reminiscent of the N64 version of Road to World Cup. As for graphics, WC '98's are kickin', and the gameplay speed is smokin'. The player models sport a little bit more detail and brighter colors than those in RTWC for the PlayStation, but they haven't been completely overhauled. And yes, all the animations are there, from diving goalies to bicycle kicks.

WC '98's computer A.I. has been tweaked just enough to make the game more competitive than RTWC. When you're on offense, the CPU will apply a bit more pressure; and it definitely does a better job of taking away your angle when you attempt a through-pass close to the goal-it's hard to score with three guys on you. And when the CPU is on the attack, it'll pass more efficiently and perform more cuts to make you miss.

The game's control is solid and has been refined to let you perform more dekes and passes. Plus, you can now change your game strategy on-the-fly and run preset plays with the touch of a button. Sonically, all the right bells and whistles, as well as two-man commentary, are still intact.

Just the Essentials, Baby When you finally hit the field, WC '98 offers play in Friendly, World Cup, Training, and Penalty Shootout modes. Unfortunately, there aren't as many teams to choose from: Because the game is based on the actual tournament, EA included only the 32 teams that qualified (plus 8 bubble teams), and not the whopping 172 teams that were available in RTWC. Nonetheless, WC's rosters are still stacked with all the players, and all ten stadiums are modeled after their real-life French counterparts, including those in Bordeaux, Marseille, and Paris.

Glory the World Over When the final whistle sounds, World Cup '98 is an extremely fun and challenging soccer game, and one of the best on the market. While some excellent improvements have been made over the recently released FIFA '98: Road to World Cup, if you already own that title (and unless you're a total soccer nut), you probably won't need to make another soccer purchase.