2002 FIFA World Cup

"So realistic! Best soccer game made."

I'd like to say first that I have played all the FIFA games starting from FIFA Soccer '97. So I have much experience with the games and can say that this game is a major improvement from the other ones.
Graphics - 9/10
When you first play a game you will see why this game got a nine. Everything is done almost perfect. Shadows, player movements, the crowd, it's all great. Though one point taken off because the ball sometimes looks like a square and takes away some of the games realism. For the rest, I have no other complaint about the graphics.
Sound - 10/10
The commentators must have a hundred or more things to say! After playing this game for two hours, I finally started to remember and notice things he'd already said. A major improvement from FIFA 2001. You can hear the players screaming at each other to pass the ball. Everything else like players kicking the ball or the ball hitting the post in great. The music is just great, I love the soundtrack and the songs seem to get stuck in my head sometimes.
Gameplay - 9/10
Well, it's soccer. You know the gameplay. You kick the ball into the other persons goal which gives you a point. But this game is more than that. Unlike other FIFA games, you can control how hard you kick or pass the ball. Scoring is also more realistic than in other FIFA games, but it is still to easy. You will still find yourself beating the computer twelve to nothing. It is one reason, that makes the single player gameplay, not a very good part of the gameplay. But what made me give this gameplay a great rating, was the multi player. Playing against friends is very fun. I literally screamed ''GOAL!'' repetitively in celebration after scoring the golden goal. You can definitely say that the multi player alone, let the game have such a high score for multi player.
Control - 10/10
The games control is very easy to get used to. You'll have it mastered within 10 minutes. The control will have you thinking that if you changed it, you wouldn't be able to play this game. Now that shows how great the control truly is.
Difficulty
This game's difficulty can be adjusted. Amateur is extremely easy while World Class is very hard. So this game could be played by anyone, even if they're not used to soccer games.
Overall Value
This is a buy. This is the kind of game that you look at and say ''Maybe I'll play FIFA 2002 today.'' If you love soccer, there is no doubt you should get this game. I don't normally give such high ratings in my reviews, but this game definitely deserved it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/28/02, Updated 07/28/02