G
Gregory
Guest
The following is my wish list:
1. Have overall field size increased to realistic dimensions based upon scaled measurements. We’ve been asking for this for years.
2. Introduce automatic orange or yellow ball changes whenever the weather turns to rain, sleet or snow. (Although rain or sleet may not prompt a change in real life, it becomes very difficult to follow a "white" ball on the screen when bad weather begins.) Why not allow us to select from several balls, which we prefer to use in various situations or for various leagues. Why should we be limited to only one ball?
3. In injury situations, a few (actual) seconds after the injury, the team possessing the ball should automatically clear the ball into touch. Then, the team management screen should appear (if the injury occurred to a player on the human controlled team) allowing a substitution. Finally, the team that kicked the ball into touch should have the ball automatically returned to them by a throw in from the other team. In other words, injury situations should be handled exactly as in real life. The sequence showing the injured player leaving the field might on occasion show him going off on a stretcher.
4. Have an OPTION for long term or season ending injuries. Let US decide whether or not we like them.
5. The defenders around their own goal should REACT automatically (even for human controlled team) in dangerous situations. The defenders should not be chesting the ball down in heavy traffic near their own goal when the opposing team will very likely tackle the ball away and score an easy goal. This occurs too frequently. Depending upon the situation, the ball should be cleared into touch, headed or kicked for a corner or kicked down field. Currently, the keeper might have the ball at his feet while the defender, who does not attempt to steal the ball, is right at his feet. Apparently, this is to avoid a situation in which the attacker has unrealistically easy goals by dispossessing the keeper. Instead, the keeper ought to be using any available means to clear the ball. This looks ridiculous.
6. Introduce the ability for goalkeepers to get yellow or even red cards. At rare times the goalkeeper should be careless and commit a foul.
7. Add linesmen.
8. At times the kits of both teams are too close in appearance despite "kit clashing". An in-game option to change uniforms would be helpful (in other words, allow us to override the computer-selected uniform when it is visually necessary).
9. Allow teams to have at least three uniforms. Maybe have a box to be checked when a third uniform exists. This would really help the visual problems. NOTE: the visual problems don’t occur often in course of a season (maybe 2 times), but when they do, it is extremely frustrating. In FIFA 2001, make certain that more than two colors are depicted in the game for each uniform. It is incredible that this was allowed to slip through in FIFA 2000. How many beautiful kits were created in vain?
10. Expand fatigue to include reduced performance of players if not given periodic rest. Rest requirements would vary from player to player. Days between games would also be a factor. A player who has recently recovered from an injury might not be fit to play an entire game.
11. Increased ability to lob the ball into open space (as opposed to directly at a teammate). How would a double-click on the lob button do?
12. Make certain that deflected and tipped passes and shots continue with the FIFA 2001 version.
13. This has been lacking for a couple of years. FIFA 98 got out of hand with long range shots. FIFA 99 eliminated them. FIFA 2000 continued to ignore them as well. PLEASE… there must be more long range shots which result in goals.
NOTE: Part of the problem of not scoring long range goals is in the goalkeeping portion of the game. On a recent David Beckham free kick (25 yards or so) I watched the keeper, who was positioned at the left third of the goal take four or five steps to his left to punch a well driven shot away (which happened to wide of the goal to begin with!!!) The reality is that no keeper in the world is going to move that far that fast. This is totally unrealistic. In reality, the keeper would stand there from that position, and pray that Beckham misses the shot. KEEPER REACTIONS: The keeper is moving immediately upon a shot being struck/headed. In many instances, there is no possible way the keeper can even know if or where to jump. Watching tape of various long range shots would show that the keeper MIGHT get two steps if he’s lucky; but he wouldn’t be able to react (begin a noticeable move towards the ball until the ball’s traveled a good distance. HUMAN CONTROLLED SHOTS: The inaccuracy of shots by computer controlled players has been made much more realistic; however, human controlled players still continue to shoot with godlike accuracy. I’d gladly trade more bungled shot attempts for some realistic long goals (in free play and on free kicks.) (I assume that EA’s response would be: “but that’s not fun to have your player shoot so wildly”. My retort to the EA response would be “if its in the game its in the game”. (At least have an option: realistic misses or arcade shooting)
13. It should continue to be difficult to score sharp angled goals. Goalkeeping against such shots improved with FIFA 2000.
14. In the English version, add the complete first division. This would allow a player to take a first division team and work them up into the Premiership after a good season.
15. In training, allow the user to practice without any defenders on the pitch. This would permit a person to learn the controls more easily.
16. You added a “poll” section to www.fifa2000.com. (Good job!) This needs to be updated every couple of days.
17. At your website you should add a DETAILED poll which questions gamers about every facet of the game and what they would like to see in the future (as well as how happy they are with the current version). It would be interesting to see how many prefer “realism” versus arcade play.
18. For players not appearing in the game, e.g., Ronaldo, could you at least have the announcers mention their names, so that when “we” add them, the announcer will recognize them? Also, please fix the common absence of players' names in the commentary during the game. I rarely hear a name; only a few are ever called.
Furthermore, routine changes via the editing function result in the names of the team NOT being mentioned in the commentary. EA needs to add a box which one can check if the team name should not be mentioned... otherwise it should always be mentionable despite the changes made in the editing process. This problem existing in previous game versions as well.
19. EA’s image would be enhanced in the mind of the gamer’s if someone would regularly participate in an official capacity in the forums. The www.soccergaming.com forum for FIFA 2000 would be the best choice.
20. Give us plenty of advance warning about what the hardware requirements for FIFA 2001 will be.
21. Stoppage time: I have not seen many games with more than 5 minutes of stoppage time. In FIFA 2000, I’ve seen nearly 8 minutes rather frequently; it seems to be to my detriment almost always.
22. Goalkeeper kicking strength: How is it that computer keeper can kick the ball about a third farther than the human controlled keeper??? This comment applies to the other players on a team as well. I’ve watched my defending struggle to clear the ball out to my end of the pitch, while the computer defender kick the ball the length of the pitch.
23. STUPID COMPUTER GOALS: I am sick to death of watching the computer score unrealistic goals against me: (1) Extremely long free kick passes to a player in the box who easily heads the ball past my keeper; (2) Balls which lazily bounce towards my apparently hypnotized keeper; he is glued to his line; the attacker speeds past my helpless defender; the attacker gets to the ball just before the ball reaches the keeper (who has made no effort to move towards the ball) and chests the ball through my keeper and then easily scores; (3) Losing the ball on a keeper throw or kick to a defender who then has an easy chance on goal. The keeper behaves irrationally; he throws slowly and poorly; frankly, he acts like he is mentally retarded. Why doesn’t a defender come back towards the keeper??? NOTE: How many keepers actually are left-handed??? If you wish to include left-handed keepers, please include right-handed as well. FINALLY, the computer rarely scores a realistic goal against me. The above three situations cover at least 75% of the goals scored by the computer team. The other 25% are on corner kicks which at times seem nearly impossible to defend. Crosses are just too accurate. How often do you see a computer cross miss all heads and bounce? (Hint: NEVER)
24. Please fix the tendency for the keeper to permit the ball to go beyond/behind him (along the ground) before diving backwards to make a save. This is very tiresome to watch. (Its been going on at least since FIFA 99.
25. CHIPS: Please return to the more realistic chip shots of FIFA 99. The ones in FIFA 2000 are reminiscent of FIFA 98.
26. Fix the bug, which prohibits one from viewing a replay if a sub is coming into the game (or has just come into the game.
27. Fix the bug which occurs when you push the replay hot key during a goal replay. The problem is that the window appears to be a replay window, but the game continues… even into restart… and you can’t control your own team. The only way out of it is to hit the hotkey again.
28. Fix the bug which frequently occurs when you try to volley a moving ball. The would be volleyer ends up moving away from the ball and misses it badly. This is another bug which has resulted in computer goals.
29. Fix the defending: when I’ve broken through on goal, I’ve watched the defenders, who could assist the man marking my player, ignore me.
30. Limit the use of some skill moves. The spin is fun to watch, but rarely seen. On the other hand, the step over moves, which are more readily seen, were eliminated.
31. Improve the ability of the computer offense to score goals in realistic manners. FIFA 99 was far superior in this regard.
32. Slow down the game a bit. FIFA 99 was closer to what is reasonable.
33. Slow down keeper reactions. I dealt with this in much more detail above.
34. DON’T BE SO ANXIOUS TO RUSH FIFA 2001 TO MARKET. Make sure that you give us a GOOD product. FIFA 99 was such a product. FIFA 2000 should never have been released. I read all the negative input in the forums, but still wanted to try it for myself. Frankly, the only reason I’ve been playing it is to put together a list of shortcomings so that you will fix it in the next version. Do me a favor, give me a year off from this next year (like you did after FIFA 99 was released).
35. NEVER, EVER, AGAIN put in a female commentator in a male game. That was the most ludicrous, unrealistic decision you’ve ever made. I trust that the party responsible for approving and/or implementing that portion of the game was either dismissed or demoted. That was entirely and unequivocally the most unrealistic inclusion in the game. Don’t push off any politically correct philosophies on us… just realism. Also, please omit the American announcers as well. English announcers add more credibility to the game. (I’m American by the way) Who would want English announcers for the NFL, NHL, NBA, or MLB titles???
36. EA did a good job showing double substitutions in 2000: how about triple substitutions in FIFA 2001?
37. Whatever you do, at least make the game good enough so that a patch will fix it. FIFA 2001 is unpatchable; a plain and simple dud, clunker, stinker, etc.
38. It is apparent that the league cups do not mirror the real cups, e.g., the England Cup format does not accurately match the FA Cup. If possible, please fix this. At least make the format selectable so that is can be matched.
39. Please fix the statistics so that they break out goals for league and the various cups. Track cards separately, too. This will provide you with the data to avoid suspending players in European Cup play, for suspensions incurred in league play. (I've not encountered it, but read that the problem exists.)
40. Many times I've noticed that suspended (maybe injured also) players reduce the available substitutions from five to four in the next game. It is not possible to move the suspended player out the substitution slot. This problem plagued FIFA 99, too. Please fix. (at times a second suspended player will find his way into or below the reserve section.
41. A SERIOUS CHALLENGE TO EA: I would like to see EA offer the annual investor in FIFA products the following offer: If you aren't happy with FIFA 2001, then we will give you a full refund, plus a certicate entitling you to purchase FIFA 2002 for US$15 postage paid. EA, many of us have gotten stuck with an extremely unsatisfactory product this year. Where is your confidence in product quality? Why not give us reason to risk our money and at the same time give your staff some additional incentive to produce a worthwhile FIFA game? (I'm sure the support staff will "86" this one
)
42. The program does not treat rough tackling by the computer team the same as by the human controlled team. It is outrageous to see the computer defense degenerate into vicious tackles which at the very least should result in yellow cards; and more likely red cards in real life. It is incredibly frustrating to be carded for much lesser infractions... such as 'C' button tackles. I have not once witnessed the computer having been given a card for a 'C' button tackle. Make fouls and cards the same for both the human player and the computer. If you can't program a better defense, then don't bother to produce the game. FIFA 2000's computer defense is pathetic.
42. Keepers too easily catch hard shots; there are too few loose balls following a save. The goalkeepers are 'superhuman' in FIFA 2000.
43. While the computer definitely deserves them, there are definitely too many penalty kicks awarded. The problem is that the defense is so weak, that the programmers had to result to butchery to stop the human players... just another example of "what's in the game, not being what's in the game". Give us an honest effort at a realistic game.
44. Another BUG: Often when a bicycle kicks is completing whiffed, all players freeze until the "whiffing" player can regain his bearings and get to his feet; meanwhile the ball just lays on the ground with no one moving; this seems to happen usually near or inside the penalty area of the computer defended goal.
45. It is so disheartening to watch so few passes in the attacking half of the field. The computer attack is so weak that it generally resorts to crosses which result in long range headers, which are either easily handled by the keeper; or, result in aggravating goals when the keeper gets glued to his line and refuses to make easy work of collecting the ball... an instance in which the attacker chests the ball past the keeper. FIFA 99 had far superior build up.
This applies to human controlled offense as well. The passes used in FIFA 99 are no longer used because it is nearly impossible to safely pass the ball. Its much easier to run by the defender. On numerous occasions, I've had Giggs get the ball just over midfield, spin past his marker and then move unchallenged(!!!) through the heart of the field to the penalty spot! What a joke!!!
SUMMARY: TRASH THE OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE PORTIONS OF THE PROGRAM. Exception: The keeper is not all bad by any means... just too quick, reacts too fast, and has too much range.
(Sorry for all the amendments I've been making today... I keep going back to the game, to remember all of its deficiencies. I wish that I could put the game in a more positive light, but I feel that its better to "say it like it is". No offense is intended towards EA; rather, I just want them to understand the extreme frustration that this edition of the game has given all of us. Make FIFA 2001 much better... PLEASE!)
46. The green/yellow/red passing arrow is pathetically inaccurate. The computer controlled players moved lightening quick to intercept "green" passes. The colored arrows are not a bad idea, just unreliable.
47. The computer defense expends unrealistic and repeated defensive efforts in its attacking end of the field, particularly during goal kicks. Trying to clear the ball is at times impossible.
48. The offsides calls are unrealistic and ridiculously inaccurate. How many times have I seen the ball headed nearly straight up in the air, quickly followed with an offsides call? Many other offsides calls should never be made as the ball never even closely approaches the area which would prompt an offside.
49. It is at times impossible to use IGM during free kick situations. The computer just ignores the command to switch.
The more that I play this "game" the more I am amazed that it ever was released to the public. I would rank it slightly above FIFA 97. One would think that no playtesting was done on this game.
1. Have overall field size increased to realistic dimensions based upon scaled measurements. We’ve been asking for this for years.
2. Introduce automatic orange or yellow ball changes whenever the weather turns to rain, sleet or snow. (Although rain or sleet may not prompt a change in real life, it becomes very difficult to follow a "white" ball on the screen when bad weather begins.) Why not allow us to select from several balls, which we prefer to use in various situations or for various leagues. Why should we be limited to only one ball?
3. In injury situations, a few (actual) seconds after the injury, the team possessing the ball should automatically clear the ball into touch. Then, the team management screen should appear (if the injury occurred to a player on the human controlled team) allowing a substitution. Finally, the team that kicked the ball into touch should have the ball automatically returned to them by a throw in from the other team. In other words, injury situations should be handled exactly as in real life. The sequence showing the injured player leaving the field might on occasion show him going off on a stretcher.
4. Have an OPTION for long term or season ending injuries. Let US decide whether or not we like them.
5. The defenders around their own goal should REACT automatically (even for human controlled team) in dangerous situations. The defenders should not be chesting the ball down in heavy traffic near their own goal when the opposing team will very likely tackle the ball away and score an easy goal. This occurs too frequently. Depending upon the situation, the ball should be cleared into touch, headed or kicked for a corner or kicked down field. Currently, the keeper might have the ball at his feet while the defender, who does not attempt to steal the ball, is right at his feet. Apparently, this is to avoid a situation in which the attacker has unrealistically easy goals by dispossessing the keeper. Instead, the keeper ought to be using any available means to clear the ball. This looks ridiculous.
6. Introduce the ability for goalkeepers to get yellow or even red cards. At rare times the goalkeeper should be careless and commit a foul.
7. Add linesmen.
8. At times the kits of both teams are too close in appearance despite "kit clashing". An in-game option to change uniforms would be helpful (in other words, allow us to override the computer-selected uniform when it is visually necessary).
9. Allow teams to have at least three uniforms. Maybe have a box to be checked when a third uniform exists. This would really help the visual problems. NOTE: the visual problems don’t occur often in course of a season (maybe 2 times), but when they do, it is extremely frustrating. In FIFA 2001, make certain that more than two colors are depicted in the game for each uniform. It is incredible that this was allowed to slip through in FIFA 2000. How many beautiful kits were created in vain?
10. Expand fatigue to include reduced performance of players if not given periodic rest. Rest requirements would vary from player to player. Days between games would also be a factor. A player who has recently recovered from an injury might not be fit to play an entire game.
11. Increased ability to lob the ball into open space (as opposed to directly at a teammate). How would a double-click on the lob button do?
12. Make certain that deflected and tipped passes and shots continue with the FIFA 2001 version.
13. This has been lacking for a couple of years. FIFA 98 got out of hand with long range shots. FIFA 99 eliminated them. FIFA 2000 continued to ignore them as well. PLEASE… there must be more long range shots which result in goals.
NOTE: Part of the problem of not scoring long range goals is in the goalkeeping portion of the game. On a recent David Beckham free kick (25 yards or so) I watched the keeper, who was positioned at the left third of the goal take four or five steps to his left to punch a well driven shot away (which happened to wide of the goal to begin with!!!) The reality is that no keeper in the world is going to move that far that fast. This is totally unrealistic. In reality, the keeper would stand there from that position, and pray that Beckham misses the shot. KEEPER REACTIONS: The keeper is moving immediately upon a shot being struck/headed. In many instances, there is no possible way the keeper can even know if or where to jump. Watching tape of various long range shots would show that the keeper MIGHT get two steps if he’s lucky; but he wouldn’t be able to react (begin a noticeable move towards the ball until the ball’s traveled a good distance. HUMAN CONTROLLED SHOTS: The inaccuracy of shots by computer controlled players has been made much more realistic; however, human controlled players still continue to shoot with godlike accuracy. I’d gladly trade more bungled shot attempts for some realistic long goals (in free play and on free kicks.) (I assume that EA’s response would be: “but that’s not fun to have your player shoot so wildly”. My retort to the EA response would be “if its in the game its in the game”. (At least have an option: realistic misses or arcade shooting)
13. It should continue to be difficult to score sharp angled goals. Goalkeeping against such shots improved with FIFA 2000.
14. In the English version, add the complete first division. This would allow a player to take a first division team and work them up into the Premiership after a good season.
15. In training, allow the user to practice without any defenders on the pitch. This would permit a person to learn the controls more easily.
16. You added a “poll” section to www.fifa2000.com. (Good job!) This needs to be updated every couple of days.
17. At your website you should add a DETAILED poll which questions gamers about every facet of the game and what they would like to see in the future (as well as how happy they are with the current version). It would be interesting to see how many prefer “realism” versus arcade play.
18. For players not appearing in the game, e.g., Ronaldo, could you at least have the announcers mention their names, so that when “we” add them, the announcer will recognize them? Also, please fix the common absence of players' names in the commentary during the game. I rarely hear a name; only a few are ever called.
Furthermore, routine changes via the editing function result in the names of the team NOT being mentioned in the commentary. EA needs to add a box which one can check if the team name should not be mentioned... otherwise it should always be mentionable despite the changes made in the editing process. This problem existing in previous game versions as well.
19. EA’s image would be enhanced in the mind of the gamer’s if someone would regularly participate in an official capacity in the forums. The www.soccergaming.com forum for FIFA 2000 would be the best choice.
20. Give us plenty of advance warning about what the hardware requirements for FIFA 2001 will be.
21. Stoppage time: I have not seen many games with more than 5 minutes of stoppage time. In FIFA 2000, I’ve seen nearly 8 minutes rather frequently; it seems to be to my detriment almost always.
22. Goalkeeper kicking strength: How is it that computer keeper can kick the ball about a third farther than the human controlled keeper??? This comment applies to the other players on a team as well. I’ve watched my defending struggle to clear the ball out to my end of the pitch, while the computer defender kick the ball the length of the pitch.
23. STUPID COMPUTER GOALS: I am sick to death of watching the computer score unrealistic goals against me: (1) Extremely long free kick passes to a player in the box who easily heads the ball past my keeper; (2) Balls which lazily bounce towards my apparently hypnotized keeper; he is glued to his line; the attacker speeds past my helpless defender; the attacker gets to the ball just before the ball reaches the keeper (who has made no effort to move towards the ball) and chests the ball through my keeper and then easily scores; (3) Losing the ball on a keeper throw or kick to a defender who then has an easy chance on goal. The keeper behaves irrationally; he throws slowly and poorly; frankly, he acts like he is mentally retarded. Why doesn’t a defender come back towards the keeper??? NOTE: How many keepers actually are left-handed??? If you wish to include left-handed keepers, please include right-handed as well. FINALLY, the computer rarely scores a realistic goal against me. The above three situations cover at least 75% of the goals scored by the computer team. The other 25% are on corner kicks which at times seem nearly impossible to defend. Crosses are just too accurate. How often do you see a computer cross miss all heads and bounce? (Hint: NEVER)
24. Please fix the tendency for the keeper to permit the ball to go beyond/behind him (along the ground) before diving backwards to make a save. This is very tiresome to watch. (Its been going on at least since FIFA 99.
25. CHIPS: Please return to the more realistic chip shots of FIFA 99. The ones in FIFA 2000 are reminiscent of FIFA 98.
26. Fix the bug, which prohibits one from viewing a replay if a sub is coming into the game (or has just come into the game.
27. Fix the bug which occurs when you push the replay hot key during a goal replay. The problem is that the window appears to be a replay window, but the game continues… even into restart… and you can’t control your own team. The only way out of it is to hit the hotkey again.
28. Fix the bug which frequently occurs when you try to volley a moving ball. The would be volleyer ends up moving away from the ball and misses it badly. This is another bug which has resulted in computer goals.
29. Fix the defending: when I’ve broken through on goal, I’ve watched the defenders, who could assist the man marking my player, ignore me.
30. Limit the use of some skill moves. The spin is fun to watch, but rarely seen. On the other hand, the step over moves, which are more readily seen, were eliminated.
31. Improve the ability of the computer offense to score goals in realistic manners. FIFA 99 was far superior in this regard.
32. Slow down the game a bit. FIFA 99 was closer to what is reasonable.
33. Slow down keeper reactions. I dealt with this in much more detail above.
34. DON’T BE SO ANXIOUS TO RUSH FIFA 2001 TO MARKET. Make sure that you give us a GOOD product. FIFA 99 was such a product. FIFA 2000 should never have been released. I read all the negative input in the forums, but still wanted to try it for myself. Frankly, the only reason I’ve been playing it is to put together a list of shortcomings so that you will fix it in the next version. Do me a favor, give me a year off from this next year (like you did after FIFA 99 was released).
35. NEVER, EVER, AGAIN put in a female commentator in a male game. That was the most ludicrous, unrealistic decision you’ve ever made. I trust that the party responsible for approving and/or implementing that portion of the game was either dismissed or demoted. That was entirely and unequivocally the most unrealistic inclusion in the game. Don’t push off any politically correct philosophies on us… just realism. Also, please omit the American announcers as well. English announcers add more credibility to the game. (I’m American by the way) Who would want English announcers for the NFL, NHL, NBA, or MLB titles???
36. EA did a good job showing double substitutions in 2000: how about triple substitutions in FIFA 2001?
37. Whatever you do, at least make the game good enough so that a patch will fix it. FIFA 2001 is unpatchable; a plain and simple dud, clunker, stinker, etc.
38. It is apparent that the league cups do not mirror the real cups, e.g., the England Cup format does not accurately match the FA Cup. If possible, please fix this. At least make the format selectable so that is can be matched.
39. Please fix the statistics so that they break out goals for league and the various cups. Track cards separately, too. This will provide you with the data to avoid suspending players in European Cup play, for suspensions incurred in league play. (I've not encountered it, but read that the problem exists.)
40. Many times I've noticed that suspended (maybe injured also) players reduce the available substitutions from five to four in the next game. It is not possible to move the suspended player out the substitution slot. This problem plagued FIFA 99, too. Please fix. (at times a second suspended player will find his way into or below the reserve section.
41. A SERIOUS CHALLENGE TO EA: I would like to see EA offer the annual investor in FIFA products the following offer: If you aren't happy with FIFA 2001, then we will give you a full refund, plus a certicate entitling you to purchase FIFA 2002 for US$15 postage paid. EA, many of us have gotten stuck with an extremely unsatisfactory product this year. Where is your confidence in product quality? Why not give us reason to risk our money and at the same time give your staff some additional incentive to produce a worthwhile FIFA game? (I'm sure the support staff will "86" this one
42. The program does not treat rough tackling by the computer team the same as by the human controlled team. It is outrageous to see the computer defense degenerate into vicious tackles which at the very least should result in yellow cards; and more likely red cards in real life. It is incredibly frustrating to be carded for much lesser infractions... such as 'C' button tackles. I have not once witnessed the computer having been given a card for a 'C' button tackle. Make fouls and cards the same for both the human player and the computer. If you can't program a better defense, then don't bother to produce the game. FIFA 2000's computer defense is pathetic.
42. Keepers too easily catch hard shots; there are too few loose balls following a save. The goalkeepers are 'superhuman' in FIFA 2000.
43. While the computer definitely deserves them, there are definitely too many penalty kicks awarded. The problem is that the defense is so weak, that the programmers had to result to butchery to stop the human players... just another example of "what's in the game, not being what's in the game". Give us an honest effort at a realistic game.
44. Another BUG: Often when a bicycle kicks is completing whiffed, all players freeze until the "whiffing" player can regain his bearings and get to his feet; meanwhile the ball just lays on the ground with no one moving; this seems to happen usually near or inside the penalty area of the computer defended goal.
45. It is so disheartening to watch so few passes in the attacking half of the field. The computer attack is so weak that it generally resorts to crosses which result in long range headers, which are either easily handled by the keeper; or, result in aggravating goals when the keeper gets glued to his line and refuses to make easy work of collecting the ball... an instance in which the attacker chests the ball past the keeper. FIFA 99 had far superior build up.
This applies to human controlled offense as well. The passes used in FIFA 99 are no longer used because it is nearly impossible to safely pass the ball. Its much easier to run by the defender. On numerous occasions, I've had Giggs get the ball just over midfield, spin past his marker and then move unchallenged(!!!) through the heart of the field to the penalty spot! What a joke!!!
SUMMARY: TRASH THE OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE PORTIONS OF THE PROGRAM. Exception: The keeper is not all bad by any means... just too quick, reacts too fast, and has too much range.
(Sorry for all the amendments I've been making today... I keep going back to the game, to remember all of its deficiencies. I wish that I could put the game in a more positive light, but I feel that its better to "say it like it is". No offense is intended towards EA; rather, I just want them to understand the extreme frustration that this edition of the game has given all of us. Make FIFA 2001 much better... PLEASE!)
46. The green/yellow/red passing arrow is pathetically inaccurate. The computer controlled players moved lightening quick to intercept "green" passes. The colored arrows are not a bad idea, just unreliable.
47. The computer defense expends unrealistic and repeated defensive efforts in its attacking end of the field, particularly during goal kicks. Trying to clear the ball is at times impossible.
48. The offsides calls are unrealistic and ridiculously inaccurate. How many times have I seen the ball headed nearly straight up in the air, quickly followed with an offsides call? Many other offsides calls should never be made as the ball never even closely approaches the area which would prompt an offside.
49. It is at times impossible to use IGM during free kick situations. The computer just ignores the command to switch.
The more that I play this "game" the more I am amazed that it ever was released to the public. I would rank it slightly above FIFA 97. One would think that no playtesting was done on this game.