Its not good thats put it this way (FIFA 2002 (PS2))

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Product:	FIFA 2002 (PS2)
Date:	04/10/02 (11 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Licensed

Disadvantages: Poor , Not as good as Pro Evolution Soccer

Games can be difficult for numerous reasons. They can challenge the player to hone their skills to the point where they will be able to complete certain tasks. Or they can force the player to memorize certain patterns in order to complete a section of the game. And they can also utilize cheap tactics that back the player into a corner with unfair odds of winning. FIFA 2002: Road to the World Cup falls in the latter category. This is unacceptable considering the fact that FIFA is one of the oldest sports series around. Other long-running sports series, such as EA Sports’ Madden and NHL franchises, have improved with age by perfecting the details of simulating the sports they represent. One would think that EA would do the same to the FIFA series. Unfortunately, the developers appear to know little about how football is played in real life.

FIFA 2002’s main draw is its full use of the FIFA license, and in this area the game does not disappoint. Every single club and national team you could think of (with the exception of World Cup underdog Senegal) is represented. Numerous club leagues in locations from England to Israel also make appearances. On paper, this is an unstoppable force that should propel FIFA above other soccer games like Konami’s ISS and Winning Eleven series. But close examination reveals EA’s lack of attention to detail. Many kits are just plain inaccurate. Additionally, many players on lesser known teams are represented by number only. The Netherlands are also without any players, which is confusing considering Dutch stars like Marc Overmaars and Patrick Kluivert are on their club teams. While this is nitpicking, it is representative of the lack of polish that tarnishes nearly every aspect of the game.

There are a fair amount of game options that the player can choose from. Regular modes include friendlies, World Cup qualification, tournaments, and league play. Unfortunately, since EA Sports wanted to milk m
ore money out of the game, you cannot play in the World Cup after qualifying for it – for this you must buy a separate game. Luckily, you can make custom tournaments with identical formats to the World Cup. This makes this drawback less of a disadvantage. There are different tournaments and special magazine covers to unlock as well in the vein of Madden Cards from EA’s other big game. With all the teams, leagues, and modes that are selectable, fans of the game have a good amount of options at their disposal.

There is one major improvement that EA has added to the series, which is the new passing and shooting system. The A button performs a normal pass, B activates a lob, and X shoots. The catch is that the player must control both the direction and power of the pass or shot. For the direction, the player must use the analog stick to direct passes and shots. This is very helpful to pass balls into open space so that teammates can make runs for goal. It also works well for directing shots into the corners of the nets. Additionally, the L and R triggers can be used to add spin to the ball. For strength, a power gauge appears at the bottom of the screen when a pass or shot is attempted. The longer a button is held down, the harder the shot. On the whole, this is far and away the best aspect of FIFA’s gameplay package. It implements a very steep learning curve and will likely have players shouting out in frustration during their first few matches for failing to complete simple passes. With time and effort, though, the system can be mastered.

The problem is whether the player will want to expend their time and effort to master the passing and shooting system once they begin to play the game. At first glance, the gameplay of FIFA is excellent. EA has slowed down the action, improved the goalies, and generally made it more difficult to score since FIFA 2001. It is clear they have wanted to push FIFA towards the direction of a true simul
ation of soccer. This makes it all the more unfortunate that holes are revealed in the game with each match played. In fact, these holes are so large that it destroys a passing and shooting engine that is very intuitive and enjoyable.

One major problem is the lag in controlling your own player. The computer’s favourite tactic is for a defender or midfielder to lob the ball to the strikers. This works too often because of two main problems. Firstly, you cannot control your player immediately while the ball is in the air. By the time you can move your player and get him to stop staring at the lobbed ball, the opposing striker has already gained possession and is making a run on goal. You can try countering this by holding down A or X for a header. Yet this is futile because the computer unfairly wins almost every header on the World Class difficulty level. Your only option becomes forgetting about the ball, letting the opposing striker have a breakaway, trying to sprint to the striker as fast as possible, and checking him by using a soft tackle before he shoots. Suffice to say, this only works about eighty percent of the time and is extremely annoying. Secondly, it is difficult to select the correct player to go to the ball. Often you will be pressing A like a madman only to realize there is no way to select the defender that is closest to the opposing striker. These are major problems with the core of the gameplay.

Another issue is the ludicrously cheap computer AI. Unlike EA’s crown jewel, Madden, which has tough but fair AI, FIFA’s computer controlled opponents try to win by cheating. On World Class, their shots will travel at twice the speed as your shots. This means they can score from outside the eighteen-yard box frequently. They win almost every header, making attempts at headers useless. Their goalie will perform like Fabian Barthez against Brazil in 1998 while yours will perform like David Seaman against Brazil in 2002.
And they score on at least half of their corner kicks. There is very little the player can do to compensate for this. This is all very reminiscent of Midway games where the computer AI cheats whenever it is down. Well, imagine if this cheating took place throughout the course of an entire game regardless of the score. As a rule, you will have to account for the fact that the computer will score at least two cheap goals every game. This means that in order to win on World Class the scores will have to be unreasonably high. You can switch back to the professional difficulty, but you will end up blowing out the computer opponent every time. The game desperately needs a difficulty setting that sets a median between the easy Professional level and the cheap World Class level.

Other major problems plague secondary aspects of the gameplay. Game scores are always too high because money plays exist. If you lob the ball to your star player and sprint towards the goal for a shot, a goal is very likely. Scores approach Sega Soccer Slam proportions rather than real soccer. Fatigue is useless because it is possible to sprint all day long and it will hardly make a dent in the fatigue rating. In fact, player ratings are useless because all players play the same except for a few star players. There is a major bug in player positioning as well. Every time you change your formation, your forwards and midfielders will switch positions. Finally, for a supposed soccer sim, there are very little strategy choices and none that you can call on the fly. Forget about offside traps or counterattacks, because the three selectable offensive and defensive strategies play the same anyway. Separately, these complaints are minor. Combined, they create an extremely frustrating gameplay package that severely hampers the single player experience.

The graphics are further evidence that FIFA: Road to the World Cup was a rushed product to be sold near the Gamecube launch. They are near
ly identical to the Playstation 2 version, meaning that the colours are rather bland and there is evidence of slowdown at parts of the game. There are some good aspects to the graphics. The crowd looks beautiful, with flag waving and fanatical fans galore. The stadiums look excellent despite the fact that there are only five of them. The grass texture is brilliant up close and there is enough variation in the player models to recognize individual players. Emmanuel Petit has his trademark blonde ponytail while Zinedine Zidane has his bald spot. What kills the graphics are the unrealistic player models and lifeless animation. For the models, they all look like bodybuilders. Their faces are bony, their thighs are outlandishly muscular, and they generally look disproportionate. There are only about five different goal scoring animations, and the control lag in the gameplay leaves a lot of players standing around doing nothing. Without a doubt, this looks like a first generation Gamecube game.

It is a shame that so many games today are killed by a lack of attention to detail. This is clearly the case with FIFA: Road to the World Cup. While the foundation of a good game exists with the excellent passing and shooting engine, this is rendered void by poor controls, cheap AI tactics, unrealistic scores, and a lack of strategy. This would all be forgivable if FIFA was designed as an arcade game. Yet it tries to market itself as a soccer sim, and this is why these gameplay faults are inexcusable. It is evident that EA Sports is relying on the FIFA license to sell this game. If the license means a lot to you, and you are using the game primarily as a multiplayer game, then FIFA is a good buy at its current low price. Just get a PS2 and get Pro Evolution Soccer, it is just plain superior.

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