This is the very 1st time i have purchased a FIFA title, I have always gone the PES route due to it being the superior game for me, but after playing the FIFA06 demo on the PC i found myself liking this game for some unexplainable reason, I thought this was a good sign to go and buy it, so i did, as i couldnt wait for the PC version i got it for the PS2, what follows are my thoughts and feelings on this new title by EA sports, FIFA06.
First impression
Immediatley there is a feeling that this game is all about football, right off the bat you are greeted with the glorious sounds of Martin Tyler, the commentry for some of the best goals in the game scream out, and immediately there is a buzz in the air, its time for football, hell yeah!!
The menus are slick and clean looking and everything is laid out nice and simply, the music has been chosen very well, definately the best ive heard for quite a while, and 100% better than what im used to from the PES series, to sum up my very first impressions before i even touched a football i would have to say very pleasing to the eye and to the ear, overall i was impressed, and happy..........good sofar.
First game
Straight to kick off, i had to see if this was going to be a disapointment or a surprise, no mucking around lets get into it.
Man Utd V Liverpool at Old Trafford night game.
The official EPL music opens the scene, nice, and Old Trafford is there in all its glory, now ive heard a few complaints about the lighting but i was pleased with what i was seeing, the stadium looked good, the lighting effects were good, the pitch looked lush, and the stands were filled with fans that were fairly well detailed considering this was on my PS2, but the biggest thrill for me was the atmosphere, this sounded right, 2 of Englands giants going head to head, and the icing on the cake, the intro by the commentators, talking about the rivalry between these 2 clubs, this really set the game up, this sounded real, I was impressed i have to admit, sofar the game was all that, and i was grinning ear to ear.
Now as the players walked out onto the pitch i got my first look at them and the kits, well there are good points and not so good points here, the good...........players do look like who they are supposed to be, not 100% but you know who is who, the faces are somewhat a little grainy and blurry in places but not bad, the physiques of the players are good, especially the legs, better definition around the knees overall not bad, could be better but this is PS2 remember. The not so good..........Man Utd in white socks??, is this a European game?....no.....ok, the shorts with the black band, hmmmmmm, i think they got this wrong, where is the Man Utd kit, the traditional red/white/black, error here!! ok ill move on...........kits look blurry, the premier league logo on the sleeves are way out of focus and the kits overall are not crisp, the colours are vivid, the reds mostly,but the whites are dirty looking, not vibrant, but again this might be a PS2 issue, limited graphics power, altho these are issues i can live with them, the atmosphere helps that.
Kick off
Now for the important stuff, Gameplay.........I have read so many posts by PES fans that basically FIFA06 gameplay sucks, how much it sucks is another question, but i was going to have an open mind and give this a fair go...........
Player physics i was surprised, this part of the game was much better than what i was fearing, they are quite controllable, not perfect and not PES, but definately not sucking, 1st touch is enjoyable, i really cant see what alot of people were bagging EA for over the 1st touch system, it really is usable and handy, its a plus for sure, as is the on ball control, why you would bag this is beyond me, its practical and it works, players move well, altho there is not the feel of individual player styles as much as PES, it still feels good, and with the pace of the game set to slow, it feels real.............now i found that sprinting with the ball with a striker i was being caught easy by a slower defender but knocking the ball ahead with the right stick enabled me to increase the pace and stay ahead, good, a HUGE plus are the Keepers, they move at a realistic pace, none of this flying left and right at the speed of a bullet, and they are harder to beat, they make good saves, realistic saves..............not bad atall, was pleasantly surprised again.............way to go EA!!
Ball physics good and not so good here again, passing the ball is quite nice, the ball rolls well, at a good pace, sometimes there is that on the string feel but not a great deal, most of the time the ball does feel seperate, an entity all of its own, crosses are good, nice weight to the ball also, some movement, altho i wasnt successfull in swerving it that much, me or the game, i dont know, thru balls feel good, and there is no more of this pinball style passing, many times i passed it into space on purpose and by mistake, thats good, headers are ok, fairly basic, but not sucking again, practical for sure.................now shooting, an important part of the game for me, PES is way ahead in this area, generally the entire ball physics department crown belongs to PES, and the shooting is in one word "free", FIFA on the other hand feels one dimensional, the ball is a little too pacey when struck, most shots feel the same and there is little difference between a hard and soft shot, hence the lob shot i guess, but if youve played FIFA and PES youll know what i mean, actually the shots look better and more realistic in the replay than actual gameplay, in game the shooting still has that arcadey feel to it and you dont feel as tho you can place the ball where you should or would like to, the ball seems to be on tracks with a rocket attatched to it, there is no finness, just boomer shots, this is not real, and part of the game im not happy about, BUT, from what i have experienced in past FIFA games it is an improvement, and i give them that.
PES is still king in this department and FIFA have a ways to go, its the most important part of the game and needs to be right, keep going FIFA youll get there one day
Other points
Referees are good, the game flows, they are not pulling you up for every little tackle and physical battle, happy about that, tackles are good, defenders are much better at the slide tackle, they look better at doing it too, as they should, there is also a good feel of the other team laying on the pressure, giving you little time to think, real for an EPL game, the AI play well, i played on semi pro, and it was a good competition nothing that was blatantly unrealistic or silly happened and the game ended 0 0.
If you are sitting on the fence about this game i would say dont listen to other people, ironic really seeing as im writing this review, what i mean is dont listen to people who just say its crap coz its FIFA, youll miss out on an enjoyable game, that really does improve the more you play it, its got some depth to it especially if you are the type of player that likes to build up to a goal, not just race down the end and fire at goal every chance you get, if you do youll be unhappy, due to the not perfect shooting, that leaves you a little empty most of the time, but if youre the type of player thats passes the ball around, looking for that gap, and taking your time then this game is a winner in my book, it has a realness to it, to a degree, with the commentry, that is a huge plus to this game, the pace, and the pleasure of the passing and variety to the way you can play, this is a game that is fun and will last, did i mention the manager mode, quickly it is good, adds somthing extra to a "master league" style mode, and much better IMO, give it a go.
Well there you have it, a brief review really on FIFA06, I was expecting a game no where near this good, i guess its nice to be surprised, for me this game is a huge improvement and a couple of big steps in the right direction, good job EA, youre catching on..............a much better game, from me i give it a 7.5/10. enjoy
First impression
Immediatley there is a feeling that this game is all about football, right off the bat you are greeted with the glorious sounds of Martin Tyler, the commentry for some of the best goals in the game scream out, and immediately there is a buzz in the air, its time for football, hell yeah!!
The menus are slick and clean looking and everything is laid out nice and simply, the music has been chosen very well, definately the best ive heard for quite a while, and 100% better than what im used to from the PES series, to sum up my very first impressions before i even touched a football i would have to say very pleasing to the eye and to the ear, overall i was impressed, and happy..........good sofar.
First game
Straight to kick off, i had to see if this was going to be a disapointment or a surprise, no mucking around lets get into it.
Man Utd V Liverpool at Old Trafford night game.
The official EPL music opens the scene, nice, and Old Trafford is there in all its glory, now ive heard a few complaints about the lighting but i was pleased with what i was seeing, the stadium looked good, the lighting effects were good, the pitch looked lush, and the stands were filled with fans that were fairly well detailed considering this was on my PS2, but the biggest thrill for me was the atmosphere, this sounded right, 2 of Englands giants going head to head, and the icing on the cake, the intro by the commentators, talking about the rivalry between these 2 clubs, this really set the game up, this sounded real, I was impressed i have to admit, sofar the game was all that, and i was grinning ear to ear.
Now as the players walked out onto the pitch i got my first look at them and the kits, well there are good points and not so good points here, the good...........players do look like who they are supposed to be, not 100% but you know who is who, the faces are somewhat a little grainy and blurry in places but not bad, the physiques of the players are good, especially the legs, better definition around the knees overall not bad, could be better but this is PS2 remember. The not so good..........Man Utd in white socks??, is this a European game?....no.....ok, the shorts with the black band, hmmmmmm, i think they got this wrong, where is the Man Utd kit, the traditional red/white/black, error here!! ok ill move on...........kits look blurry, the premier league logo on the sleeves are way out of focus and the kits overall are not crisp, the colours are vivid, the reds mostly,but the whites are dirty looking, not vibrant, but again this might be a PS2 issue, limited graphics power, altho these are issues i can live with them, the atmosphere helps that.
Kick off
Now for the important stuff, Gameplay.........I have read so many posts by PES fans that basically FIFA06 gameplay sucks, how much it sucks is another question, but i was going to have an open mind and give this a fair go...........
Player physics i was surprised, this part of the game was much better than what i was fearing, they are quite controllable, not perfect and not PES, but definately not sucking, 1st touch is enjoyable, i really cant see what alot of people were bagging EA for over the 1st touch system, it really is usable and handy, its a plus for sure, as is the on ball control, why you would bag this is beyond me, its practical and it works, players move well, altho there is not the feel of individual player styles as much as PES, it still feels good, and with the pace of the game set to slow, it feels real.............now i found that sprinting with the ball with a striker i was being caught easy by a slower defender but knocking the ball ahead with the right stick enabled me to increase the pace and stay ahead, good, a HUGE plus are the Keepers, they move at a realistic pace, none of this flying left and right at the speed of a bullet, and they are harder to beat, they make good saves, realistic saves..............not bad atall, was pleasantly surprised again.............way to go EA!!
Ball physics good and not so good here again, passing the ball is quite nice, the ball rolls well, at a good pace, sometimes there is that on the string feel but not a great deal, most of the time the ball does feel seperate, an entity all of its own, crosses are good, nice weight to the ball also, some movement, altho i wasnt successfull in swerving it that much, me or the game, i dont know, thru balls feel good, and there is no more of this pinball style passing, many times i passed it into space on purpose and by mistake, thats good, headers are ok, fairly basic, but not sucking again, practical for sure.................now shooting, an important part of the game for me, PES is way ahead in this area, generally the entire ball physics department crown belongs to PES, and the shooting is in one word "free", FIFA on the other hand feels one dimensional, the ball is a little too pacey when struck, most shots feel the same and there is little difference between a hard and soft shot, hence the lob shot i guess, but if youve played FIFA and PES youll know what i mean, actually the shots look better and more realistic in the replay than actual gameplay, in game the shooting still has that arcadey feel to it and you dont feel as tho you can place the ball where you should or would like to, the ball seems to be on tracks with a rocket attatched to it, there is no finness, just boomer shots, this is not real, and part of the game im not happy about, BUT, from what i have experienced in past FIFA games it is an improvement, and i give them that.
PES is still king in this department and FIFA have a ways to go, its the most important part of the game and needs to be right, keep going FIFA youll get there one day
Other points
Referees are good, the game flows, they are not pulling you up for every little tackle and physical battle, happy about that, tackles are good, defenders are much better at the slide tackle, they look better at doing it too, as they should, there is also a good feel of the other team laying on the pressure, giving you little time to think, real for an EPL game, the AI play well, i played on semi pro, and it was a good competition nothing that was blatantly unrealistic or silly happened and the game ended 0 0.
If you are sitting on the fence about this game i would say dont listen to other people, ironic really seeing as im writing this review, what i mean is dont listen to people who just say its crap coz its FIFA, youll miss out on an enjoyable game, that really does improve the more you play it, its got some depth to it especially if you are the type of player that likes to build up to a goal, not just race down the end and fire at goal every chance you get, if you do youll be unhappy, due to the not perfect shooting, that leaves you a little empty most of the time, but if youre the type of player thats passes the ball around, looking for that gap, and taking your time then this game is a winner in my book, it has a realness to it, to a degree, with the commentry, that is a huge plus to this game, the pace, and the pleasure of the passing and variety to the way you can play, this is a game that is fun and will last, did i mention the manager mode, quickly it is good, adds somthing extra to a "master league" style mode, and much better IMO, give it a go.
Well there you have it, a brief review really on FIFA06, I was expecting a game no where near this good, i guess its nice to be surprised, for me this game is a huge improvement and a couple of big steps in the right direction, good job EA, youre catching on..............a much better game, from me i give it a 7.5/10. enjoy
now I have the xbox version and I really do like it, but the shots are still