The Touch of God! (FIFA Football 2005 (PC))

Member Name: timus

Product:	FIFA Football 2005 (PC)
Date:	09/06/05 (79 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Details, Good AI, Good Graphics

Disadvantages: Crashes to the desktop sometimes., Not many new features

It’s time of the year again. Mothers will their kids, “Do your homework kiddo, or you won’t get FIFA”. Your friendly neighborhood show-off will tell you how he has already pre-ordered it. And you’ll start sweeping the streets to earn the bucks to buy it. Ok, maybe you won’t sweep the street, but you get the drift. It’ that time when Electronic Arts releases its sports catalogue for this year. And first out is FIFA 2005. Be excited. Be very excited.

FIFA 2005 comes with 350 licenses, including 20 leagues, 40 national teams, and over 15,000 players. So you can safely assume that your favorite teams will be available in full. Hopefully, EA has added Holland to the game, because it’s a crime to keep what is arguably the best attacking team out of any football game (how come no one has sued them yet? Reminder: sue EA; stop writing corny jokes in parentheses). Other features include brand new camera angles, realistic weather, and improved lighting effects. Considering that EA has the best graphics for this genre, 2K5 should be a visual treat. You’ll probably need a top-end accelerator to play it with all the eye candy turned on, though. Also, even though most famous players faces will stay the same, those of lesser known stars have been improved, which means someone like Didier Drogba or Cristiano Ronaldo won’t look like some 2 – bit horror movie freak.

By far, the most significant addition to the game is its First Touch model. This has probably been added in response to the pressure from Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer series, which has always had more realistic gameplay. Anyone who has played the previous FIFAs will know how frustrating it can be to have a player react in one set way every time he receives the ball, no matter where he is. With First Touch, player’s first touch depends on his position, his body orientation, the ball’s speed, and so on. If it works well as EA claims, then it’ll open up huge opportunities for measuring your build up and scoring goals. Don’t get too excite though, because EA does have a proven history of messing up otherwise perfectly good games (Rugby 2004, anyone?).

Other major features are improved online gameplay, and the addition of a Creation Zone. This is a really nifty feature that will let you edit players\tournaments and create your own. I never really understood why they removed it after FIFA 2002 in the first place. There is also a new career mode which allows you to play for fifteen sessions! Yes, not just five but for fifteen full sessions!

In the end, it’s the little details that’ll make this game better than ever, such as authentic player numbers and logos, so all English Premier League players will have the lion on their numbers. There is also the realistic placement of lights, types of pitches, and authentic chants that were recorded live. Hardcore football fans will be really glad to know that the stadiums and pitches have been changed to match the real ones. So, I hope you don’t have to wait too long to get your hands on some top-class football action. Start saving, and here’s wishing you a very happy goal-scoring!


Timus

Summary: