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Originally posted by Aaron Boulding from IGN.com
FIFA Soccer 2004: Hands-On
We kick back and take in even more details of EA's vision of the beautiful game.
August 04, 2003 - Of all the high profile franchises and license under the EA umbrella, the company's series of FIFA soccer games might be the most underestimated. It's obviously a sports title, but it also carried as much weight as The Sims and Madden football in terms of worldwide sales last year. Any game that big gets plenty of development attention from one version to the next and FIFA Soccer 2004 might be one of the most ambitious sports titles yet. The numbers associated with this game are mind-boggling, but the innovative soccer-specific controls and franchise mode are impressive as well.
The hundreds of licenses, teams and uniforms, not to mention the thousands of soccer players featured in FIFA would mean nothing if the gameplay engine doesn't evolve as well. Players need to be able to feel the difference between playing with all of Real Madrid's talent and struggling with a doormat club from a Brazilian league. And it can't just be a case of one team having more or less speed than another. EA has already done this with the Madden series where speed is still a weapon but only in the hands of somebody who knows how to use it.
In FIFA 2004, you'll be able to notice the subtle differences in the passing abilities of an entire team's roster from the best to the worst. The best players won't necessarily have greater foot speed but they'll be quicker to receive the ball and put it on their foot to make the next play, whether it's another pass, a shot or a dribble. The overhauled animation system allows you to appreciate this more than anything. The soccer ball has its own physics and isn't magnetically drawn to a players feet and stuck on the end of his toe. If you're on the dribble and you want to change direction, you still get the slightly delayed reaction while your player prepares his steps to move with the ball in another direction, it just looks a lot smoother. Even when you incorporate Freestyle moves and quick changes of direction on the analog stick, the animation system will keep up with your moves even if the timing is a little delayed.
The off-the-ball control system is still evolving at this point in the game's development cycle. However it comes about OTB control is going to allow you to create your own runs and control players without the ball, while still maintaining some control over the ball handler to deliver the pass. As it stands now toggling a button that pulls the camera back to show three potential strikers, each with an icon over his head, activates OTB. Holding the button that corresponds to the icon of the player you want will give you control over that player, while releasing the button will cause the ball handler to launch a pass. While the camera is pulled back and you're controlling the off-the-ball player, you're not in control of the ball handler, who goes into a sort of autopilot.
The obvious danger here is that your ball handler is in danger of losing the rock, and you can't take control to stop it, unless you abandon the OTB play all together. Perhaps this is why the developers at EA Canada are considering a dual analog solution that will also eliminate the multiplayer complications that would come with such a dramatic camera move. In this alternate version of OTB control, the camera doesn't pull back and you merely get the icons on the edge of your screen if the three potential runners are off screen. You maintain control over your ball handler on the left analog stick and you tap the button of the player you want and take control of him on the right analog stick.
This system is slightly more complicated because it temporarily gives you control of two players at once and you still have to tap a button to make the pass you want. It's not as tough as you think, and you're already going to have to adjust to the idea of off-the-ball control to begin with, so there's a chance we may see some kind of dual analog control elements in the game somewhere. In fact both OTB control schemes could make into the game --one as the basic system, the other for experts-- or perhaps we'll see one system that combines the benefits of both.
Madden Football pioneered the idea of franchise mode for EA back in the late 1990s, and pretty much every team sports game under the EA Sports umbrella will have incorporated a franchise mode of some kind before 2003 is over. In FIFA the idea is to capture the essence of what it means to be a player-manager. You're calling most of the shots for your team as it pertains to gameplay and you're actually making passes and scoring goals yourself, of course.
Your prestige as a player-manager will follow you throughout your career and will determine how players, teams, leagues and executives regard you. If Real Madrid is your favorite team, and you're determined to take the reins of the talented Spanish team, your lack of prestige will mean nobody, not the players, board of directors nor fans, will be impressed with your appointment as player-manager. This means your players will take a slight ratings hit because they don't respect you and the team's governors will put unrealistic expectations on your undeserving ass. Unlike job requirements in other EA Sports franchise modes, in FIFA 2004 your bosses will expect you to win every game by two goals or win a championship your first season and won't hesitate to can you if you come up short.
The idea is that you'd better really love playing as your favorite team and let that love lead you to some tremendous success early on or, most likely, work your way up from lower tier teams in whatever league you happen to playing in. In franchise mode all 500+ teams in the game are aware of each other and so you may start off in the Bundesliga 2, hop over to Serie A and eventually realize your dream of guiding Arsenal to the top of the Premier League. All of the rules of relegation, player transfers and other hallmarks of FIFA soccer will be in effect in career mode for the rich soccer experience that fans want.
The evolution of freestyle control continues this year in FIFA. The main function of the left analog stick during gameplay will be for jostling and throwing elbows during close quarters play. Last year's freestyle system where you built up speed by keeping the ball out in front of a sprinting player proved to be unnecessarily complicated even if the action on the controller did mimic real life action. You also have special dribble moves while your player is running with the ball. The offensive momentum system is still a blessing and a curse as it has been for the last decade of FIFA games from EA. In the middle of the field, it can be the force that lets you slice through a defense with ease. But near the sidelines, especially with a defender marking you close, the momentum system gets in the way of the delicate ball handling you need in the corners.
For years now a stationary ball sitting near the sideline has been a tricky situation because you'll be tapping furiously on the turbo button to get there before your opponent knowing damn well as soon as you gain possession of the ball you're going to sprint right out of bounds with it. Not even curving your sprint path to "scoop" the ball away from the sidelines works and for FIFA 2004 it seems it still won't work. Perhaps this is an unexplored area where freestyle control could allow you to pull off some intricate ball maneuvers but only when you're within a few feet of a sideline or endline. Soccer fans can only wait and hope.
FIFA 2004 looks to be making a huge leap over the 2003 edition with a much more global focus this time around. The package will have three star players specifically tailored for the European and North American territories, for example. In Europe, the game will have interconnectivity with Total Club Manager 2004 as well so the most dedicated wannabe managers can get the whole experience of building and playing with their favorite teams. We'll have much more on FIFA Soccer 2004 in the coming months because the game isn't due out until October or November of this year.
, it looks nice though. well, i am shocked... after playin we7 maybe i was just expecting too much... 