FIFA Soccer 06

"The match is over, EA wins in overtime!"

Ask any soccer fan and he will tell you there are only two major soccer franchise, winning eleven and FIFA. Konami's winning eleven series was all about realism, while EA's FIFA focused on making a fully licensed game featuring every known club and league. But this year EA decided to make the perfect soccer game, boasting WE's realism while keeping all licenses .

Like I said, they gave the game a complete overhaul. For instance, you will no more be able to sprint down the field with full speed and keep perfect control of the ball. Doing that will only cause you to turn it over. Also, the AI is much better than before, your team mates will actually make intelligent runs.

The controls are still almost the same but with few changes. the D pad is now used to issue commands to your team, by pressing one of the directionals you trigger one of the new tactics. There are 8 new tactics, four offensives and four defensives. This is much easier than before because you don't have to pause the game to change tactic. Also, players mentality can be changed by pressing the select button, you have three mentalities: neutral, defensive, and all out attack.

The manager mode has been improved too. Now you have much more choices and decisions to make. These range from ticket pricing, staff upgrading, training and scouting. The manager mode is 15 seasons long, so you will be probably switching from one club to another. You will be forced to start with a bad team and work your way up to the major clubs like Chelsea and Real Madrid. You also have the new Lounge mode, where you can play with your friends offline. Its like a tournament mode but with a lot more competition. The tournament and all other basic modes (practice, play now etc) are back.

As usual, EA did a superb job with the graphics. Undoubtly this is the best looking FIFA. The players are extremely detailed and resemble their real life counter part. The frame rate for the most part is constant but I did notice some slowdowns, especially when all players are on one end of the field. The commentary is way better then before, with fewer repeats and more accuracy. once again EA brought us an awesome soundtrack, featuring 38 songs from all over the world.

The game is full with extras and unlockables. From players bios, 3d kits, new stadiums and some awesome bonuses all can be unlocked at the fan shop with your hard earned points. The online play is available too.

FIFA 06 is a major improvement over last year's edition. EA skillfully managed to make the game more realistic while keeping the authentic feel to it. If you are a casual game or die hard, you should not miss FIFA 06. For WE fans, I strongly recommend giving FIFA 06 a chance, it is not the same arcadish game anymore.

10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/14/06