IMO, my Level-Headed, Constructive Critique of FIFA 2004's GAMEPLAY
I have had the XBox version for 2 weeks now and have played enough to get the feel of it. I have also played PES on the PS2 and Both obviously have their pros and cons. Hopefully if our comments are put forth in a constructive way that does not favour one game over another, and without filling them with insults and jibes, EA might be able to put them to good use.
FIFA GAMEPLAY pros:
1) Good passing action: you really feel as though you're passing the ball rather than executing a mini shot that heads in the direction of your player. All they need to do now is put in an algorithm that makes your player aware of where he is on the field so he doesn't "TAP" through balls into the 8th row when just outside the Box. Verdict: Slight improvements can be made but on the whole very good; EA should improve but not drastically change for 2005.
2) Off the Ball is a good idea and you must take the time to get familiar with it or you will not be maximizing the game's potential; Verdict: nice new addition; EA should make improvements to allow for more players to be selectable.
3) walk/run/sprint: this makes a huge difference when dribbling and you should play around with it in order to notice how much of a difference it makes Verdict: great new addition that could use some improvements; seeing as though the XBox triggers are analogue, it would be nifty to vary a player's speed on the basis of how much or little I press the trigger.
4) superb finishing: apart from the celebrations, when you score you really feel like you have scored. Verdict: very good implementation; the celebrations, however, need a lot of work. I have scored the winning goal in a 3-2 nail-biter only to have Christian Vieri, one of the game's more emotional celebrators, do a two-handed "salute" to the crowd. Very strange indeed. Verdict: correct the celebrations.
5) ball spin: EA's attention to ball physics is astounding, especially when you watch the ball close-up in the replays. It shows they know their physics. Verdict: top marks here; seems to be one of the few areas where Madden's developers may have helped out.
FIFA GAMEPLAY cons
1) pre-determined player selection: perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the game is when a ball goes flying down the pitch and you can't switch to the player closest to the ball, and you're left controlling the guy the computer thinks you should be controlling instead of the hapless teammate who jogs past the ball, just looking around as if there's nothing wrong, while you're sprinting like a madman 30 metres just to recover the ball. The same goes for headers on goalkicks...you win a header only to watch the ball roll slowly towards a teammate who you can't move. He just waits for the ball to arrive, you can't change him or make him run and that's it. Doesn't happen all the time, but when it does...argh! Funny how the defender always arrives first in that situation. And yes, the same goes for those missed longballs the AI lobs at you and unfortunately you cannot stop your player from running after them. Yes, he must collect an errant longball that is destined to go out of play. Amazingly "dumb" pre-scripted play that destroys much of the fun you've had up until that point. EA need to incorporate John Madden Football's 100% free player movement: if you want your Cornerback to hump the goalpost for the entire play, you can just takeoff and do that if you want to; you are not forced by the AI to participate in the play in a predetermined, prescripted way. EA should introduce their FIFA team to their Madden team and swap programmers for a few weeks to get this right.
2) related to pre-determined player selection: the AI passes a ball that bounces off a player and rolls towards the sideline. Ideally you would move your defender over and protect the ball so it rolls out of play and you get the throw in, but instead your defender cruises after the ball. What should happen here is that the defender should be able to slow down and use his body to shield the ball as it rolls out of play. The animation is already in the game when the striker stops the ball outside the box and shields it from the defender. Frustratingly you watch your defender touch the ball as it goes out of play and you concede a throw-in to the other team. Utterly needless. Again, FIFA could benefit from the type of programming found in other top EA titles. I doubt in NBA 2004 Alan Iverson chases the opposing point guard's bad pass when he a) knows that the ensuing inbound pass will belong to his own team and b) there are no opponents who can retrieve the ball before it goes out.
3) "Stupid" goalkeepers: while I have found the keepers to be generally more intelligent than in FIFA2003, they still do amazingly "stupid" things like watch the ball go off the post and then animate a frustrated reaction as if the ball went into the net. (It doesn't help that the commentary thinks it's a goal but the ref lets everyone play on). Last night an AI shot hit the woodwork, my keeper threw his arms up in frustration, then the AI slammed the rebound in off his stomach while he walked dejectedly towards the net. I laughed heartily, but also reset the game as I couldn't lose to Leicester city, especially on a cheesy goal by someone named "Dickov". I also think the keepers are surprisingly poor on long range shots and too good on close-range shots. I have put piddly lobs past Buffon from 25 metres yet fired missiles to the top corner against Seaman from 6 feet only to watch the keeper leave the ground before I actually make contact with the ball and save the shot, only to miraculously recover and throw his (ageing) body in front of another close-range blast. OK if it happens once or twice, but 5 or six times in one half is too much. I had to bring down the difficulty level just to stop this from happening. EA should work with the guys who programme the "Free Safety" position in American Football, Madden 2004. This is like a goalkeeper and has to make split-second reactions on the basis of the ball's speed, direction and distance. It would be totally unacceptable to have Free Safety AI who slaps down all short passes but is a cinch to beat on long passes. If anything, it's the opposite that should happen in real life.
4) Difficulty levels: there doesn't seem to be a clear distinction here: on semi-pro, the AI still beats my defenders with Houdini passing and no offsides, but their shots just bounce off the goalposts way, way, way more often, as if there were a counter that decided how many times they could shoot before scoring. Not very good at all. EA should revisit this item.
5) Dubious officiating: offsides that should have been called, Yellow Cards handed out for minor-ish tackles while major bone-crunching collisions aimed only at the player go unpunished and, apparently, unnoticed. This really needs to be improved, even though there is an element of tolerance for bad officiating in today's game.
Overall verdict:
FIFA 2004 is definitely an improvement on 2003 and IMO warrants purchasing (at $39 for the PC!). EA need to be hard at work, through, implementing the type of finishing touches that are the hallmarks of its top tier games: Madden, NBA and NHL. FIFA is undoutbedly a second rate game.
Perhaps it's the fact that the team is based in Canada that gives it this slightly "second rate" feel...perhaps if the team were made up of and based in a market with Football / Soccer / Futbol / Calcio in its blood would they have produced a game that clearly shows its DNA.
I get the feeling that EA rushed the game to meet a production deadline and didn't have time to finish up some of the coding where it would have been obvious as heck in Beta testing. No futbolista would have given a thumbs up some of the obvious issues. However, at least for most console gamers, it's time to speak with wallets and not voices. I am 66% content with the game...not worth the 65 Euro (clarify: X-Box price) I paid for it, as I am having much more fun with games like Splinter Cell...totally different genre, but man, look at the finishing.
Edit: calrification on prices.
I have had the XBox version for 2 weeks now and have played enough to get the feel of it. I have also played PES on the PS2 and Both obviously have their pros and cons. Hopefully if our comments are put forth in a constructive way that does not favour one game over another, and without filling them with insults and jibes, EA might be able to put them to good use.
FIFA GAMEPLAY pros:
1) Good passing action: you really feel as though you're passing the ball rather than executing a mini shot that heads in the direction of your player. All they need to do now is put in an algorithm that makes your player aware of where he is on the field so he doesn't "TAP" through balls into the 8th row when just outside the Box. Verdict: Slight improvements can be made but on the whole very good; EA should improve but not drastically change for 2005.
2) Off the Ball is a good idea and you must take the time to get familiar with it or you will not be maximizing the game's potential; Verdict: nice new addition; EA should make improvements to allow for more players to be selectable.
3) walk/run/sprint: this makes a huge difference when dribbling and you should play around with it in order to notice how much of a difference it makes Verdict: great new addition that could use some improvements; seeing as though the XBox triggers are analogue, it would be nifty to vary a player's speed on the basis of how much or little I press the trigger.
4) superb finishing: apart from the celebrations, when you score you really feel like you have scored. Verdict: very good implementation; the celebrations, however, need a lot of work. I have scored the winning goal in a 3-2 nail-biter only to have Christian Vieri, one of the game's more emotional celebrators, do a two-handed "salute" to the crowd. Very strange indeed. Verdict: correct the celebrations.
5) ball spin: EA's attention to ball physics is astounding, especially when you watch the ball close-up in the replays. It shows they know their physics. Verdict: top marks here; seems to be one of the few areas where Madden's developers may have helped out.
FIFA GAMEPLAY cons
1) pre-determined player selection: perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the game is when a ball goes flying down the pitch and you can't switch to the player closest to the ball, and you're left controlling the guy the computer thinks you should be controlling instead of the hapless teammate who jogs past the ball, just looking around as if there's nothing wrong, while you're sprinting like a madman 30 metres just to recover the ball. The same goes for headers on goalkicks...you win a header only to watch the ball roll slowly towards a teammate who you can't move. He just waits for the ball to arrive, you can't change him or make him run and that's it. Doesn't happen all the time, but when it does...argh! Funny how the defender always arrives first in that situation. And yes, the same goes for those missed longballs the AI lobs at you and unfortunately you cannot stop your player from running after them. Yes, he must collect an errant longball that is destined to go out of play. Amazingly "dumb" pre-scripted play that destroys much of the fun you've had up until that point. EA need to incorporate John Madden Football's 100% free player movement: if you want your Cornerback to hump the goalpost for the entire play, you can just takeoff and do that if you want to; you are not forced by the AI to participate in the play in a predetermined, prescripted way. EA should introduce their FIFA team to their Madden team and swap programmers for a few weeks to get this right.
2) related to pre-determined player selection: the AI passes a ball that bounces off a player and rolls towards the sideline. Ideally you would move your defender over and protect the ball so it rolls out of play and you get the throw in, but instead your defender cruises after the ball. What should happen here is that the defender should be able to slow down and use his body to shield the ball as it rolls out of play. The animation is already in the game when the striker stops the ball outside the box and shields it from the defender. Frustratingly you watch your defender touch the ball as it goes out of play and you concede a throw-in to the other team. Utterly needless. Again, FIFA could benefit from the type of programming found in other top EA titles. I doubt in NBA 2004 Alan Iverson chases the opposing point guard's bad pass when he a) knows that the ensuing inbound pass will belong to his own team and b) there are no opponents who can retrieve the ball before it goes out.
3) "Stupid" goalkeepers: while I have found the keepers to be generally more intelligent than in FIFA2003, they still do amazingly "stupid" things like watch the ball go off the post and then animate a frustrated reaction as if the ball went into the net. (It doesn't help that the commentary thinks it's a goal but the ref lets everyone play on). Last night an AI shot hit the woodwork, my keeper threw his arms up in frustration, then the AI slammed the rebound in off his stomach while he walked dejectedly towards the net. I laughed heartily, but also reset the game as I couldn't lose to Leicester city, especially on a cheesy goal by someone named "Dickov". I also think the keepers are surprisingly poor on long range shots and too good on close-range shots. I have put piddly lobs past Buffon from 25 metres yet fired missiles to the top corner against Seaman from 6 feet only to watch the keeper leave the ground before I actually make contact with the ball and save the shot, only to miraculously recover and throw his (ageing) body in front of another close-range blast. OK if it happens once or twice, but 5 or six times in one half is too much. I had to bring down the difficulty level just to stop this from happening. EA should work with the guys who programme the "Free Safety" position in American Football, Madden 2004. This is like a goalkeeper and has to make split-second reactions on the basis of the ball's speed, direction and distance. It would be totally unacceptable to have Free Safety AI who slaps down all short passes but is a cinch to beat on long passes. If anything, it's the opposite that should happen in real life.
4) Difficulty levels: there doesn't seem to be a clear distinction here: on semi-pro, the AI still beats my defenders with Houdini passing and no offsides, but their shots just bounce off the goalposts way, way, way more often, as if there were a counter that decided how many times they could shoot before scoring. Not very good at all. EA should revisit this item.
5) Dubious officiating: offsides that should have been called, Yellow Cards handed out for minor-ish tackles while major bone-crunching collisions aimed only at the player go unpunished and, apparently, unnoticed. This really needs to be improved, even though there is an element of tolerance for bad officiating in today's game.
Overall verdict:
FIFA 2004 is definitely an improvement on 2003 and IMO warrants purchasing (at $39 for the PC!). EA need to be hard at work, through, implementing the type of finishing touches that are the hallmarks of its top tier games: Madden, NBA and NHL. FIFA is undoutbedly a second rate game.
Perhaps it's the fact that the team is based in Canada that gives it this slightly "second rate" feel...perhaps if the team were made up of and based in a market with Football / Soccer / Futbol / Calcio in its blood would they have produced a game that clearly shows its DNA.
I get the feeling that EA rushed the game to meet a production deadline and didn't have time to finish up some of the coding where it would have been obvious as heck in Beta testing. No futbolista would have given a thumbs up some of the obvious issues. However, at least for most console gamers, it's time to speak with wallets and not voices. I am 66% content with the game...not worth the 65 Euro (clarify: X-Box price) I paid for it, as I am having much more fun with games like Splinter Cell...totally different genre, but man, look at the finishing.
Edit: calrification on prices.
