Another useless effort (FIFA 2001 (PS))

Member Name: kmxretro

Product:	FIFA 2001 (PS)
Date:	11/12/00 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Graphically impressive, sounds nice

Disadvantages: Abysmal gameplay, no challenge

I really don’t believe it. I was just working out how many FIFA games have been released and I came to the conclusion that there have been 9 titles released in 5 years on the Playstation alone.

If you don’t believe me, count em! FIFA 96, FIFA 97, FIFA 98, FIFA 98 Road To The World Cup, FIFA World Cup 98, FIFA 99, Euro 2000, FIFA 2000 and now FIFA 2001.

Now don’t get me wrong, I loved the Megadrive original as it was the first football title that was actually fun to play, easy to control and graphically impressive. Unfortunately, the title has slipped downhill since then, with VERY few exceptions.

FIFA 96 was rather good as it was the first fully 3D title in the series and kept the fun element, but that really is where it finishes. The subsequent titles were ALL graphics over gameplay and they were all SO easy to complete against the computer opponents as goals were so easy to come by. The keepers fumble pretty much every ball and the strikers generally bend the ball past them from the halfway line, but for some reason, that bug has been consistently ignored by developer/publisher Electronic Arts.

So, FIFA 2001. After booting up the game, you hear yet more licensed music, generally the kind of tunes that keep the number one spot filled. Skipping through the options, everything is intact from last time and……..wait a minute……..NOTHING has been added.

Into a match and after about 30 seconds I score from one of FIFA’s sweet spots, the edge of the penalty area. After the first half, I am leading Italy with England by 4 goals to 0. One penalty, one free kick, one sweet spot shot and a walk-in where I put the “skill” moves on the keeper and literally went through him.

The match ended 8-1, and I’m already incredibly bored. It’s not the score, as if I was concentrating intensly, I would be pleased with the result. It’s just that I had a lit ciga
rette between my fingers whilst I was holding the pad, which meant that I didn’t really have total control.

Suffice to say, I had won the English league championship with my team, Liverpool, within aout 3 hours.

Don’t get me wrong, FIFA 2001 is a pretty game and it sounds pretty good too (aside from the music), but why-oh-why are those the only two points that EA focus on when it’s quite clear that the gameplay is BADLY flawed? Who knows? We can only suck it up again as we wait to lay out our hard earned money for FIFA 2002, probably to find that the World Cup 2002 edition is out a week later.

ISS Pro Evolution is cheaper and FAR better.

Summary: