FIFA 2004
Platform(s): Sony Playstation 2, Sony Playstation, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Xbox, PC
Developer: EA Canada
Publisher: EA Sports
Soccer is the world's most popular sport. It make's America's love for football seem like the following for the WNBA by comparison.
People from all over the world travel thousands of miles to cheer their favorite team when they play.
Maybe one of these fans could stop by my desk and tell me who the three guys on the cover of FIFA 2004 are. Seriously, if you know who they are and whom they play for, let me know.
FIFA 2004 is really geared to a non-American audience. The game features two languages, Spanish and English. The back of the box is written in Spanish first, so I'm assuming EA Sports is banking on a majority of their sales in Latin countries.
The English announcers are two British guys with a bad habit of repetition. Apparently, our friends across the Atlantic never get tired of saying the same thing. Every play is highlighted with a "that's a good challenge there," or a "that shot's from way out there." It got to the point where I changed the language to Spanish. It can't get annoying if you can't understand what's being said.
The gameplay is smoother than the commentary after you get into it. Each player moves very realistically. Play control is sharp, and you can't get a good scoring chance unless you get control of the ball first. You can set up plays and run different formations to confuse the opponent.
One thing that attracts so many customers to college games is the abundance of different teams and the skills levels of each team. FIFA 2004 captures the variety of teams out there while featuring accurate pro rosters for those in the know. As a non-viewer or follower of soccer, I don't know any of these players. I follow sports, but if you showed me a picture of David Beckham without a soccer ball or Posh Spice, not necessarily in that order, I couldn't tell you who he is.
One thing EA Sports is notorious for is a limited selection of grating music in their games. Not so with FIFA 2004. These guys did a great job of putting together a soundtrack that flows well and doesn't get on your nerves. The songs don't seem to repeat as much as in other EA Sports titles.
While playing, one puzzling omission was the lack of a tournament tree in the game. If you play in a tournament, you have no idea how far you have advanced or what future opponent you might face.
Career mode can also be a bit puzzling for anyone who doesn't know how the soccer season works. I don't know what happens in soccer, and I'll be the first one to admit it. This game doesn't have a calendar, so you just play whatever opponent the computer gives you. You get training points, but they don't seem to help anything. I couldn't muster up the strength to actually go through a couple of years in the career mode. This is one of those games that are much more fun to play your friends than by yourself.
FIFA 2004 is an enjoyable game that will last a long time in your collection. It has enough teams and different skill levels to keep you entertained for a long time. While I don't recommend that you trade in your copies of Madden or NBA Live for it, the game is above average.
Soccer nuts may swear by this game, but they haven't converted me yet. I give it a C+.
Reach the reporter at nicholas.kramer@asu.edu.
