FIFA Soccer 06

"THE soccer fans game"

After picking up World Soccer Winning Eleven 7 International (i.e. PE7) , I thought great soccer experiences would come my way. But I was unfortunately shocked to see that most teams had incorrect players.
I went over to, ironically enough, Gamefaqs and found the transfer guide, but fixing everything became a pointless, boring, time-consuming task. Honestly, I spent more time renaming then I did playing soccer.

FIFA fixes this, with over 10,000 authentic players, and 21 leagues!

GRAPHICS: Actually, this is split into 3 groups...
Game Graphics- 7/10
The player animation, while running, look glitchy. They dont run as smooth as they could, and this is very apparent right when you get it, but you forget about it soon enough. Headers and shots are good, however

In-Game Cutscene Graphics- 10/10
This is a point where the game shines. Pretty much after any whistle, it shows the detailed players getting ready for the play, or argue with the ref if they are recieving a card. Even if your team gets a throw-in, you see your teammates talking to eachother, getting them in position. Goal celebrations aren't bad either, and you can choose from 22 goal celebrations.

Background Graphics- 9/10
Another very good category.If it's raining, nighttime, or sunny, you can see how it affects the game in the feild, ground, and players. Before the game starts, you see the arena as a whole, including the weather. The only issue here is the crowd, which are very basic in appearance and have few variations. Sometimes the camera gets very close to the crowd, and you notice it is fairly bad.

SOUND: 9/10
There is much to like listening to this game. The announcers really don't say much, but you don't notice it while playing. There are many varieties in what they say, for example if you team scores but its offside, he will acknowledge there was a goal, but in the same sentence will comment it was offside.
Once in the menu, there are many songs to listen to, from all around the world. Also included are many "FIFA flashbacks" which are significant moments in the sport and amazing goals (including the year). One is where David Beckham scored from the half-line, another is Zidanes goal from the 1998 World Cup.
You can unlock Funny SFX, but they aren't really worth getting.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10
Again, very high. Moves are easy to do, and you can switch to both Attacking and Defending strategies quickly, and pressing Select can change your teams mentality. If you are winning by 1 goal late in a game, press select to cycle through the options and you team plays defensively, so they dont get caught by the other team. Change it to attack in the case of a tie game, of if you are losing, and you team will shift forward, with little regard to defence. Biggest problem are some glitches, and dekes rarely work to give you a major advantage.

GAME LENGTH / VARIETY: 10/10
Full Ratings here, as the game rarely gets old. There are TONS of challenges to do to unlock many items, and they usually complement playing the game anyways. Bored of just playing matches? Start a manager mode, going through 15 seasons. Want to watch highlights of Italian Series A? Win challenges, and unlock it. There are many classic player bios for you old-school players. With everything there is to do, its just one type of game you can play anytime, even years from now, just pick up and have great fun, with FIFA 06.

OVERALL: 9/10
Get it if you can, and especially if your a big soccer fan. It doesn't offer much in the World Cup category (missing Ukraine, Netherlands, Japan), but if your a fan of any club or league, its for you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/05/06