Let me introduce myself. I work for one of the gaming magazines here in Australia (finance department) so reviewing the game is not my specialty but I’ll give it a go hopefully people can have a read about my thoughts on new FIFA.
FIFA 06 has been released in Australia on the 23rd of September on Xbox and PS2. Since then, we spent some quality time with it and here are the impressions of the final Xbox version.
This review will be compared to FIFA 2005, and WE9/PES5 and demo of FIFA 06 on PC.
I am a big fan of PES/WE but do not consider myself sole PES fan as I play both FIFA and PES and enjoy them in their own respect.
Where to begin?
Well, after the well known IT’S IN THE GAME logo and jingle you are prompted to the screen with all the licenses. On the bottom of the screen it says that transfers are inclusive of 24th of August 2005 and that additional transfers (and any future transfers) are done via team management option in the main menu. This is very easy to do, let’s you pick the number for the player etc...
The intro movie is simply a story about the “beautiful game”, Ronaldinho and Rooney mixed with some of the memorable moments in football.
After you are prompted to the menu you have the option to play against World XI and experience the game play straight away.
The menu has changed, which is excellent. There is no delay between menu screens or any slowdowns like in 2005. I won’t spend much time on the menu screen and will just briefly say what has changed and then spend lot more time on the actual game play. Cycling through the menu is coupled with the FIFA trax and really cool commentaries of some of the most memorable moments in football.
Classic options are there, kick off, tournament, manager mode etc… and new FIFA lounge as well as Live option. In My FIFA 06 you’ll find challenges which will give you points to unlock new footballs, kits, stadia, and something very cool which I won’t spoil you now. Challenges are basically, beat any 4 star team with 1 star team on semi-pro difficulty, and similar. There are total of 104 challenges and all are divided within regions.
GAMEPLAY:
On the pitch there are good and bad news. Probably the best news is that Demo is not really good representation of how deep the game play is this year.
Game play seems a bit too fast on normal speed but on the slow speed things are much more realistic. Ball physics have changed dramatically. Ball definitely bounces and rebounds very realistic, but at the first sight there is a bit of a feeling that the ball SLIDES too much along the pitch like it is on ice and not grass. However, this is something VERY tricky. This feeling is there because WE/PES and FIFA2005 have something I believe is very unrealistic in their respective ball physics engines and that’s what people are used to. In both games ball is RARELY on the ground. No matter how soft or hard you pass, the ball always bounces and never rolls on the ground. This is what happens in FIFA 06 a lot and as a matter of fact in real football too. If you compare FIFA 06 to real football match, you’ll find (and won’t) a lot of similarities with the ball physics.
After we got used to these new ball physics it’s actually quite realistic. There are some questionable ball bounces and movements from time to time, but heck it’s a computer game, it’s not perfect. Players control the ball much better than before, thankfully to the black button which allows you to slow down and perform sidesteps, pulling of the ball, stopping on the ball, step-overs while standing, guarding of the ball, rolling it at the side, fake shots, fake moves and many more. However, there is a bit of a glitch with this feature. If you zoom in, or have a look at the replay, you will see that the ball doesn’t spin at all. Not that it makes big deal but it’s just a bit annoying seeing this these days.
Pleasant surprise is the amount of animations and moves each player is able to do. It surely cannot compare to PES5, but it is absolutely amazing what you can do in FIFA too. I could spend a lot of time to write about all those but I think it’s not worth it, you just have to see it in action.
Players still run a bit funny with the ball, but much better than in FIFA 06.
As mentioned above ball control is much improved. Passing, crossing, and shooting is now a lot more unpredictable and certainly less scripted.
Passing: Pressing the A button normally will pass the ball to the nearest player and the ball will glide on the ground. Keeping the A pressed will pass it to the player which is not nearest to the ball just like in PES4. If you receiving player is not close to you, the ball will bounce of the ground and the pass will look similar to those in FIFA 2005. You can also pass the ball to the empty space by simply not targeting any players when passing.
Long balls are great, as well as chipped and normal through balls. It seems that everything is sensitive to how hard you press it.
Much of the game engine is based on player attributes and it is VERY noticeable when you play it. If the players get tired, they REALLY slow down and kind of struggle for example. In most cases new icon will be shown next to the player name suggesting to substitute him.
Attributes affect shooting A LOT, and I mean A LOT. Weaker and unknown players will shoot poorly; the shot will be slow and easy for the keeper to defend it. Better players have much more shot power and really bend it. Ball swerve is excellent this year. It is also good to point out that when shooting you try to fill up the bar up to the blue section (similar to last years free kick system and green section of the power bar) in order to give enough power and precision in a shot. Anything below or above this blue section will be either too weak or will blast above the goal. Famous players have pretty wide blue section while those that are not have tiny one.
Headers are much improved too, and I find too much bias on scoring with the header when compared to normal shots. But maybe I just need more getting used to this bar system.
Keepers are absolutely awesome, sometimes just TOO GOOD. It is much harder to score and there are no two hands dives like in PES5. Scoring long shots takes precision and shot power so scoring long shots with weaker players is very hard. This is both good and bad, as there are no sweet and easy goals like in 2004, and 2005, but sometimes it is just annoying that every shot is saved.
First touch is improved a lot. Not every player can do all the moves and not every player will push the ball too far. Some will keep it close to their feet, like Zidane, and some will push it further. It will be very dependant on the weight of the body, as well as where your player is heading, whether he’s moving or standing etc…
Sound is awesome too. Commentary is one of the best in any sport game that I have heard, and certainly best commentary in a soccer game. It is done by great Clive Tyldseley and Andy Gray. Songs are great also, it really covers such a variety to satisfy every taste.
Atmosphere is better than ever. New stadium angles, players running to the pitch, flares, chants, everything is unbelievable. This year, music is played while players are running to the pitch which really adds to the atmosphere. WE/PES simply CANNOT compare to this. It is really outstanding.
Although, it disappoints a bit when it comes to chants against the away team. There is no whistling or “whoo’s” etc…
The WORST thing about this year’s FIFA is something completely unnecessary and unexplainable to me. Graphics… Game suffers from frame rate issues and choppy graphics. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it happens it’s really annoying. For the most part it’s very fluid, and sharp, but then whenever there are many players on the pitch, game slows downs, skips frames for a second and then continues on. It does not affect the controls or other aspects of the game play but it’s just ugly. It looks more like unpolished game engine, rather than struggling of the Xbox. It is great shame that the game suffers from these issues. It definitely spoils the fun and for some it might be serious problem. I’m not sure about PS2 version as I haven’t tested it yet.
There also seems to be too much green colour. Take a look at this screenshot for example and you’ll know what I mean:
http://media.xbox.gamespy.com/media/764/764719/img_3085712.html
Notice how there is like a green filter over white colour on the ad-boards and kits. Lighting is also bit funny and some of the players (especially white kits) literally glow on the screen.
Online game plays fairly good. It’s really fun and responsive, no compromise whatsoever on graphics or game play. It’s spot on.
One of the greatest things about FIFA is this years FIFA interactive World Cup, which now people can play over LIVE. EXCELLENT!!!
PESLeague is great thing, but it does not come even close to the FIWC and if you miss it this year, you must be crazy.
Management mode is absolutely great. Mix of Total Club Manager and FIFA. There’s a lot to be done. Team chemistry and momentum really affect your game play. It is noticeable that players take smarter runs, shoot better, pass more intelligently, make less mistakes, control the ball better and same is true but opposite for the opponent team when the team chemistry is high or low. It is very good and innovative feature in a football game which works really well. There is also, FAN support which is important if you want to make money. You can determine ticket prices this year if you are playing at home, etc… In FIFA 06 you can now loan players out and loan them in, transfers are extremely easy to do, there is search engine now for players so you can find what you want (as opposed to ridiculous type in FIFA 2005). There’s so much about manager’s mode but I can’t write everything. Ask me questions about specifics if you want to.
All in all, FIFA is really pleasant surprise. It is great game, and yes you heard me, IT IS A GREAT GAME. While PES is pure simulator, which year after year changes very little besides game play, FIFA is caching up and it is introducing some really cool features. PES in my opinion is still the best simulation of the football, but it definitely is not for everyone. And it certainly is not better game than FIFA. It is not easy to pick up and play as FIFA is and it is becoming in some way too repetitive and boring. FIFA features (not counting licences) offer very little to complain about. Some new and innovative stuff, cool unlockables, deep management mode, excellent online play, Interactive World Cup, updatable transfers etc… just to name a few.
FIFA 06 is great package which any serious football lover should not miss.
I did not cover everything that is to be said about FIFA so whoever has any questions, please do not hesitate to ask them!!!
I WARN EVERYONE, I WILL NOT TAKE ANY REQUESTS ABOUT POSTING SCREENSHOTS AND VIDEOS!!!
FIFA 06 has been released in Australia on the 23rd of September on Xbox and PS2. Since then, we spent some quality time with it and here are the impressions of the final Xbox version.
This review will be compared to FIFA 2005, and WE9/PES5 and demo of FIFA 06 on PC.
I am a big fan of PES/WE but do not consider myself sole PES fan as I play both FIFA and PES and enjoy them in their own respect.
Where to begin?
Well, after the well known IT’S IN THE GAME logo and jingle you are prompted to the screen with all the licenses. On the bottom of the screen it says that transfers are inclusive of 24th of August 2005 and that additional transfers (and any future transfers) are done via team management option in the main menu. This is very easy to do, let’s you pick the number for the player etc...
The intro movie is simply a story about the “beautiful game”, Ronaldinho and Rooney mixed with some of the memorable moments in football.
After you are prompted to the menu you have the option to play against World XI and experience the game play straight away.
The menu has changed, which is excellent. There is no delay between menu screens or any slowdowns like in 2005. I won’t spend much time on the menu screen and will just briefly say what has changed and then spend lot more time on the actual game play. Cycling through the menu is coupled with the FIFA trax and really cool commentaries of some of the most memorable moments in football.
Classic options are there, kick off, tournament, manager mode etc… and new FIFA lounge as well as Live option. In My FIFA 06 you’ll find challenges which will give you points to unlock new footballs, kits, stadia, and something very cool which I won’t spoil you now. Challenges are basically, beat any 4 star team with 1 star team on semi-pro difficulty, and similar. There are total of 104 challenges and all are divided within regions.
GAMEPLAY:
On the pitch there are good and bad news. Probably the best news is that Demo is not really good representation of how deep the game play is this year.
Game play seems a bit too fast on normal speed but on the slow speed things are much more realistic. Ball physics have changed dramatically. Ball definitely bounces and rebounds very realistic, but at the first sight there is a bit of a feeling that the ball SLIDES too much along the pitch like it is on ice and not grass. However, this is something VERY tricky. This feeling is there because WE/PES and FIFA2005 have something I believe is very unrealistic in their respective ball physics engines and that’s what people are used to. In both games ball is RARELY on the ground. No matter how soft or hard you pass, the ball always bounces and never rolls on the ground. This is what happens in FIFA 06 a lot and as a matter of fact in real football too. If you compare FIFA 06 to real football match, you’ll find (and won’t) a lot of similarities with the ball physics.
After we got used to these new ball physics it’s actually quite realistic. There are some questionable ball bounces and movements from time to time, but heck it’s a computer game, it’s not perfect. Players control the ball much better than before, thankfully to the black button which allows you to slow down and perform sidesteps, pulling of the ball, stopping on the ball, step-overs while standing, guarding of the ball, rolling it at the side, fake shots, fake moves and many more. However, there is a bit of a glitch with this feature. If you zoom in, or have a look at the replay, you will see that the ball doesn’t spin at all. Not that it makes big deal but it’s just a bit annoying seeing this these days.
Pleasant surprise is the amount of animations and moves each player is able to do. It surely cannot compare to PES5, but it is absolutely amazing what you can do in FIFA too. I could spend a lot of time to write about all those but I think it’s not worth it, you just have to see it in action.
Players still run a bit funny with the ball, but much better than in FIFA 06.
As mentioned above ball control is much improved. Passing, crossing, and shooting is now a lot more unpredictable and certainly less scripted.
Passing: Pressing the A button normally will pass the ball to the nearest player and the ball will glide on the ground. Keeping the A pressed will pass it to the player which is not nearest to the ball just like in PES4. If you receiving player is not close to you, the ball will bounce of the ground and the pass will look similar to those in FIFA 2005. You can also pass the ball to the empty space by simply not targeting any players when passing.
Long balls are great, as well as chipped and normal through balls. It seems that everything is sensitive to how hard you press it.
Much of the game engine is based on player attributes and it is VERY noticeable when you play it. If the players get tired, they REALLY slow down and kind of struggle for example. In most cases new icon will be shown next to the player name suggesting to substitute him.
Attributes affect shooting A LOT, and I mean A LOT. Weaker and unknown players will shoot poorly; the shot will be slow and easy for the keeper to defend it. Better players have much more shot power and really bend it. Ball swerve is excellent this year. It is also good to point out that when shooting you try to fill up the bar up to the blue section (similar to last years free kick system and green section of the power bar) in order to give enough power and precision in a shot. Anything below or above this blue section will be either too weak or will blast above the goal. Famous players have pretty wide blue section while those that are not have tiny one.
Headers are much improved too, and I find too much bias on scoring with the header when compared to normal shots. But maybe I just need more getting used to this bar system.
Keepers are absolutely awesome, sometimes just TOO GOOD. It is much harder to score and there are no two hands dives like in PES5. Scoring long shots takes precision and shot power so scoring long shots with weaker players is very hard. This is both good and bad, as there are no sweet and easy goals like in 2004, and 2005, but sometimes it is just annoying that every shot is saved.
First touch is improved a lot. Not every player can do all the moves and not every player will push the ball too far. Some will keep it close to their feet, like Zidane, and some will push it further. It will be very dependant on the weight of the body, as well as where your player is heading, whether he’s moving or standing etc…
Sound is awesome too. Commentary is one of the best in any sport game that I have heard, and certainly best commentary in a soccer game. It is done by great Clive Tyldseley and Andy Gray. Songs are great also, it really covers such a variety to satisfy every taste.
Atmosphere is better than ever. New stadium angles, players running to the pitch, flares, chants, everything is unbelievable. This year, music is played while players are running to the pitch which really adds to the atmosphere. WE/PES simply CANNOT compare to this. It is really outstanding.
Although, it disappoints a bit when it comes to chants against the away team. There is no whistling or “whoo’s” etc…
The WORST thing about this year’s FIFA is something completely unnecessary and unexplainable to me. Graphics… Game suffers from frame rate issues and choppy graphics. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it happens it’s really annoying. For the most part it’s very fluid, and sharp, but then whenever there are many players on the pitch, game slows downs, skips frames for a second and then continues on. It does not affect the controls or other aspects of the game play but it’s just ugly. It looks more like unpolished game engine, rather than struggling of the Xbox. It is great shame that the game suffers from these issues. It definitely spoils the fun and for some it might be serious problem. I’m not sure about PS2 version as I haven’t tested it yet.
There also seems to be too much green colour. Take a look at this screenshot for example and you’ll know what I mean:
http://media.xbox.gamespy.com/media/764/764719/img_3085712.html
Notice how there is like a green filter over white colour on the ad-boards and kits. Lighting is also bit funny and some of the players (especially white kits) literally glow on the screen.
Online game plays fairly good. It’s really fun and responsive, no compromise whatsoever on graphics or game play. It’s spot on.
One of the greatest things about FIFA is this years FIFA interactive World Cup, which now people can play over LIVE. EXCELLENT!!!
PESLeague is great thing, but it does not come even close to the FIWC and if you miss it this year, you must be crazy.
Management mode is absolutely great. Mix of Total Club Manager and FIFA. There’s a lot to be done. Team chemistry and momentum really affect your game play. It is noticeable that players take smarter runs, shoot better, pass more intelligently, make less mistakes, control the ball better and same is true but opposite for the opponent team when the team chemistry is high or low. It is very good and innovative feature in a football game which works really well. There is also, FAN support which is important if you want to make money. You can determine ticket prices this year if you are playing at home, etc… In FIFA 06 you can now loan players out and loan them in, transfers are extremely easy to do, there is search engine now for players so you can find what you want (as opposed to ridiculous type in FIFA 2005). There’s so much about manager’s mode but I can’t write everything. Ask me questions about specifics if you want to.
All in all, FIFA is really pleasant surprise. It is great game, and yes you heard me, IT IS A GREAT GAME. While PES is pure simulator, which year after year changes very little besides game play, FIFA is caching up and it is introducing some really cool features. PES in my opinion is still the best simulation of the football, but it definitely is not for everyone. And it certainly is not better game than FIFA. It is not easy to pick up and play as FIFA is and it is becoming in some way too repetitive and boring. FIFA features (not counting licences) offer very little to complain about. Some new and innovative stuff, cool unlockables, deep management mode, excellent online play, Interactive World Cup, updatable transfers etc… just to name a few.
FIFA 06 is great package which any serious football lover should not miss.
I did not cover everything that is to be said about FIFA so whoever has any questions, please do not hesitate to ask them!!!
I WARN EVERYONE, I WILL NOT TAKE ANY REQUESTS ABOUT POSTING SCREENSHOTS AND VIDEOS!!!
, I can tell you got sick of PES too like myself 