2002 FIFA World Cup

"Soccer's greatest prize awaits you..."

Introduction- Since this is the only official licensed video game of the 2002 Fifa World Cup, naturally you can play with one of the teams that qualified and play in their official group stage games. Unfortunately if your country didn’t qualify and you’re one of those people who refuse to play as any other country this game is not for you. They did include some countries that didn’t qualify such as Australia though. Now on with the review…

Gameplay-2002 Fifa World Cup is Soccer/Football Gameplay at it’s finest, many options/things to do during the game. The Gameplay is clean and almost flawless. In terms of on the field Gameplay, it’s the best soccer game I’ve ever played. Off the field or when the game is paused you can organize your formations, make substitutions, change many settings and check standings in World Cup mode. There is one problem though, you only have friendly and 2002 Fifa World Cup mode. No season, no qualifying (if you’re not satisfied with the current qualified teams), you can’t play as many countries that didn’t qualify, no practice mode and no special penalty mode. The Gameplay is great but the lack of modes hurts it.

Graphics- The players and fields look great and very well detailed. The stands have people in them waving their flags and such (no more blurred color in the stands). The menu screens look excellent and the special goal cinema looks very good. Amazing attention to detail is done everywhere. Now to go on to the problems, first of all when your team scores, all the fans cheer like crazy including the opposing teams fans (that’s not right). Second the replay sometimes has some flaws especially during fouls. A leg may go strait through someone just like in other games your arm might go into a wall (the usual graphic flaw). Besides that everything is great.

Sound-First of all, I’ll say the opening theme lacks good music but the rest of the game has excellent sound. Excellent music in all places of the game except the opening theme. Realistic sounds from the field and the crowd really add to the game and lets not forget about John Watson and Andy Gray. Great commentary comes from them during the game and Andy never runs out of facts to share with you about the teams. Annoying or enjoyable, the commentary is great. The sound is excellent.

Control-2002 Fifa World Cup handles very well and you’ll get used to the basics very quickly. On offence A is pass, X is shoot, B is lob/high pass and Y is sprint. On defense A is switch player, X is used to attempt to steal the ball, B is a slide tackle and Y is sprint. There are some other controls to learn but as you can see above the basics are simple. The menu screens allow you to replay, make substitutions, change formations and more. There are also different camera angles to suit your tastes. Overall the control is great but some small things may cause you problems.

Difficulty-There are four modes and you can win the world cup on your first try on beginner easily. Amateur isn’t much harder and professional will likely require a couple of tries but it won’t take you long to master that. World Class can pose a challenge and will require some time to master but after even a rental of this sports game; you’ll have it mastered. Also once you get one of the secrets you’ll know how to get the others without a problem.

Lasting Appeal-Unlocking all the secrets and stuff won’t take you long unless you set the matches to 90min but anytime you feel bored; you can pop this game into the system and play a match. Also playing with friends is a lot of fun and creates an enjoyable experience. It’s a sports game so naturally it has a long lasting appeal.

Overall-A really great soccer game with great control and Gameplay but the lack of modes really hurts it. If you’re a world cup fanatic you’ll want this just as a collectable but if your concerned about the lack of modes try a different soccer game.

Gameplay-8
Graphics-9
Sound-9.5
Control-9
Difficulty-6
Lasting Appeal-8.5
Overall-8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/16/02, Updated 04/18/03