I just made an post about how dissapoitning fifa is, i will now do an unbiased review of the game.
GRAPHICS, SOUND AND MENUS: The facial graphics of the players are in my opinion slightly dissapointing. From front on many of them are spot on, but from the side on the sizes of many players noses are wrong in my opinion, but overall pretty good from EA in that respect, but they normally dont go wrong there. The stadiums are exellent, very realistic, no complaints there. Sound wise the chants can create atmosphere, but i think EA have put the wrong chants with certain teams, for example during an arsenal v blackburn game i could hear a spurs chant in the background and that sort of takes away the atmosphere for me. Commentary is pretty decent as it usually is, although mccoist and motson do make some silly comments they would surely not make during a real game, would be nice if those comments were stamped out for 06. Menus have improved, they look ok and are quicker than last year which can only be good.
GAMEPLAY: CPU AI - once again i think EA have let the Fifa fans down. The AI is as basic as 04, they have only changed where the cpu attacks from, always down the flanks. They never shoot from range either, which was the same problem in the past 2 fifas, which is a shame as this is clearly an old problem that should have been sorted for this time around. GOALKEEPERS - well they were woeful in 04 and could not get any worse, and they havent, but they havent got much better either. They can now save long shots, thank god, but i fell they do not come off their lines enough, or when they do it is not early enough. Just a small thing also, why do all the keepers throw with the left hand? Bit odd that really and a sloppy school boy error by EA. SET PIECES - this in my opinion is the majoy flaw of Fifa 05. All the dead ball situations from goal kicks to corners are seriously unrealistic. The goalkeepers all kick the ball way, way too hard and fast and this is the same for free kick, which are also too easy to score from. I think the free kick system needs serious reviewing ahead of 06, it is too rigid and there is a lack of options. The corners are the same but worse. They are awful. 3 options, 2 of which will normally end up in the keepers hands, and no short corners. Dear dear. GENERAL - it is simply too easy to pass through the CPU defence as in my opinion they leave too many spaces. Perhaps this is down to how big the pitches are in Fifa? Passing can be fluent and look nice at times, but through balls are rather too easy to pull off, overall thought not bad. Crossing is decent, i like how you can deliver low crosses as well as loopy ones and you can create some easy on the eye moves ending with flying diving headers that are pleasing to watch. I think taclking is odd in 05. A very weird system and i have to say it just felt wrong and is hard to explain. Overall i would say the gameplay is a slight improvement on 04, but again it is just not realistic enough, but it could have been had EA not made so many errors.
FIRST TOUCH: Billed as the selling point of Fifa 05, it is a nice addition, but an addition that should be in any game really, it is nothing spectacular. You can create some nice movements, and the skills that can be made are great to see, but that is it. It is nothing special, and if EA had spent more time stamping ou the many errors they made rather than implementing first touch, 05 could have been so much better. It was the same story last with off the ball, which was poor. I think EA should stop strying to be so inventive and get the basics right first, like Konami do. I think if EA asked any fifa fan whetehr they wanted a another 'inventive' piece of gameplay like OTB anf FT or for EA to finally get rid of the many, many silly errors in the game, they would choose to get rid of the errors, as then FIifa could compete with PES.
Conclusion: I would say 05 is betetr than 04, but not by the margin it should be. EA can create a very good game if they focus on the right things. 05 is not that far off, but for some basiuc gameplay errors. It should not take much work for EA to make Fifa as good as PES, and if they show as much care towards fifa as they do their other sports games, then PES could soon be the 2nd best football game behind Fifa. But as it is, Fifa can only boost the licenses Konami must crave and very little otherwise. I would give it 6 or 7 out of 10.
GRAPHICS, SOUND AND MENUS: The facial graphics of the players are in my opinion slightly dissapointing. From front on many of them are spot on, but from the side on the sizes of many players noses are wrong in my opinion, but overall pretty good from EA in that respect, but they normally dont go wrong there. The stadiums are exellent, very realistic, no complaints there. Sound wise the chants can create atmosphere, but i think EA have put the wrong chants with certain teams, for example during an arsenal v blackburn game i could hear a spurs chant in the background and that sort of takes away the atmosphere for me. Commentary is pretty decent as it usually is, although mccoist and motson do make some silly comments they would surely not make during a real game, would be nice if those comments were stamped out for 06. Menus have improved, they look ok and are quicker than last year which can only be good.
GAMEPLAY: CPU AI - once again i think EA have let the Fifa fans down. The AI is as basic as 04, they have only changed where the cpu attacks from, always down the flanks. They never shoot from range either, which was the same problem in the past 2 fifas, which is a shame as this is clearly an old problem that should have been sorted for this time around. GOALKEEPERS - well they were woeful in 04 and could not get any worse, and they havent, but they havent got much better either. They can now save long shots, thank god, but i fell they do not come off their lines enough, or when they do it is not early enough. Just a small thing also, why do all the keepers throw with the left hand? Bit odd that really and a sloppy school boy error by EA. SET PIECES - this in my opinion is the majoy flaw of Fifa 05. All the dead ball situations from goal kicks to corners are seriously unrealistic. The goalkeepers all kick the ball way, way too hard and fast and this is the same for free kick, which are also too easy to score from. I think the free kick system needs serious reviewing ahead of 06, it is too rigid and there is a lack of options. The corners are the same but worse. They are awful. 3 options, 2 of which will normally end up in the keepers hands, and no short corners. Dear dear. GENERAL - it is simply too easy to pass through the CPU defence as in my opinion they leave too many spaces. Perhaps this is down to how big the pitches are in Fifa? Passing can be fluent and look nice at times, but through balls are rather too easy to pull off, overall thought not bad. Crossing is decent, i like how you can deliver low crosses as well as loopy ones and you can create some easy on the eye moves ending with flying diving headers that are pleasing to watch. I think taclking is odd in 05. A very weird system and i have to say it just felt wrong and is hard to explain. Overall i would say the gameplay is a slight improvement on 04, but again it is just not realistic enough, but it could have been had EA not made so many errors.
FIRST TOUCH: Billed as the selling point of Fifa 05, it is a nice addition, but an addition that should be in any game really, it is nothing spectacular. You can create some nice movements, and the skills that can be made are great to see, but that is it. It is nothing special, and if EA had spent more time stamping ou the many errors they made rather than implementing first touch, 05 could have been so much better. It was the same story last with off the ball, which was poor. I think EA should stop strying to be so inventive and get the basics right first, like Konami do. I think if EA asked any fifa fan whetehr they wanted a another 'inventive' piece of gameplay like OTB anf FT or for EA to finally get rid of the many, many silly errors in the game, they would choose to get rid of the errors, as then FIifa could compete with PES.
Conclusion: I would say 05 is betetr than 04, but not by the margin it should be. EA can create a very good game if they focus on the right things. 05 is not that far off, but for some basiuc gameplay errors. It should not take much work for EA to make Fifa as good as PES, and if they show as much care towards fifa as they do their other sports games, then PES could soon be the 2nd best football game behind Fifa. But as it is, Fifa can only boost the licenses Konami must crave and very little otherwise. I would give it 6 or 7 out of 10.