sorry man, even before I knew an alternative extisted, I despised FIFA (bought every one though), I watch a lot of football, I played for 3 teams in my teens and loved the sport. I could never get any sort of enjoyment out of FIFA (only FIFA 96 when I was a kid)...I knew it wasn't football. I went through an entire season and of my 70 goals scored, only 2 players scored them (FIFA99), I couldn't score with a midfielder playing normally, I'd have to adjust and play unrealistic footy, resist the 100% sweetspot and try to pass off so my midfield could score...hardly happened. The game was fundamentally flawed, and I played every release for 2 weeks, won everything, beat the computer 6-2 every game and despised EA for their idiotic programming (Viduka with long blond hair, statistics WAY off, no research done, exactly the same player heights, no passing game, many sweetspots, unrealistic gameplay, zombie player models, dark and demonic faces, Huge HEADS, narrow shoulders,huge thighs etc. etc. etc.)
I hated this game....then I hired out something called ISS pro 98, didn't like it at first, but at least Croatia's checkered jersey was in there (FIFA didn't have this until 2001 !), played it and as an avid football fan old enough to appreciate the intricacies of football and the beauty of our game, I noticed that this was what I was aching for for 3 years. The more I played, the more amazed I was. None of my friends had even heard of it, now I have at least 10 good mates that laugh at every fifa that comes out (all football fans too)
It's unplayable man, if you're serious about your football, and you love the game enough to respect it's beauty, frustration and jubilation, PES3 is the closest thing tp recreating it. The fun, the joy, the despair, the realism, the football ! FIFA is years behind, many many years...it's really unfair to compare one of the best sports games ever made to a below mediocre game like FIFA204...PES3 wins hands down in nearly every category, and when you combine them the differences are immense.
It's unplayable for me, and many a level headed, mature, football fan who has actually played both (99% of PES3 fans have, 10% of FIFA have) agrees with me...fully !