FIFA Soccer 2004

"Slightly disappointing compared to its predecessors"

Another year, another FIFA game...and if the loyal costumers won´t stop buying the newest installment of the FIFA series each Christmas, we can expect EA Sports to continue delivering sequels for nearly all consoles for years to come. That´s not necessarily a bad thing, though, since the FIFA series definitely ranks among the very best soccer games ever to grace on any console, along with the likes of Pro Evolution Soccer and of course the former International Superstar Soccer series, and beyond popular belief, some of the series´ installments do not just rehash the same old formula over and over again, but try to breathe some fresh air into the franchise with new gameplay twists.

Just like it was the case with FIFA Soccer 2004. This time around, EA Sports presented another new gameplay twist in order to make the flow of the matches seem more realistic: the so called Off the Ball control. It´s an interesting new concept that allows you to control two players at once - the one currently having the ball in his possession and another member of your team - so you´ll be able to plan your attacks even more precisely and in order to add some strategy to the game. However, as good as this concept might sound, it´s far from perfect. In my opinion, it can sometimes get a little too confusing if you have to control two players at once in order to start an attack on your opponent´s goal, and I´d even say that it can be a little too hectic, but nevertheless, it works out perfectly fine after you spend some time getting used to this new system. The flow of the matches themselves, however, are still a mix between some slightly exaggerated arcade gameplay and realistic soccer elements. The physics of the ball, for example, are still not accurate at all, as is the A.I. of your opponents during some situations in a match. Despite all this, the overall difficulty of the game is a little higher than in earlier FIFA titles simply because in the end, the gameplay really is a little more realistic this time around, even though it´s still not on the same level as in Pro Evolution Soccer. In the 2004 edition, EA once again added even more FIFA licensed leagues and players to the package, serving for a sheer unbelievable number of teams and players available now, with practically every important league in Europe being present as well as other important divisions such as the MLS, and there´s also a Rest of the World block containing a selected number of teams from leagues that are absent from the game, like Greece based clubs Olympiacos and Panathinaikos or even Mexican teams such as Club Toluca or U.N.A.M. Pumas - I can assure you that virtually everyone will be able to find a team he or she likes and wants to lead through the very cool career mode. In that mode, you actually take control over a club manager, and after choosing your favorite club, you have to lead it through several seasons, trying to meet the expectations of your employers. Another cool aspect comes into play here as well, which is the inclusion of some European second division teams, which means that for example, you can start playing with a club like the Karlsruher SC from the second German division and can lead your team back into the first division - that´s actually a feature I´ve always been striving for in a FIFA game. All in all, it´s a truly great package for soccer fans.

As expected, the graphics are excellent in this installment just like in any other of the FIFA series. The player animations are very fluid and lifelike thanks to some motion capture work having been done, and the stadiums once again are pretty impressive, resembling their real life counterparts quite a lot. The amount of slowdowns fortunately is rather low in this edition, which makes a "FIFA Soccer 2004" a complete success in the visual department.

Equally impressive is the audio department. As always, EA Sports managed to assemble an impressive amount of famous artists in order to provide the soundtrack for the game, with each country having its own individual songs that help you getting over the statistic menus or pause sequences with ease. As for the commentators during the matches, I can only judge the German ones, and I must say that they´re doing a pretty good job, even though their vocabulary for this game is rather limited, so to speak, repeating themselves very often and sometimes even inappropriately describing a situation. Nevertheless, they manage to add a lot to the atmosphere of the game together with the awesome chants of the fans and supporters being audible in the background during the matches, making this an experience as realistic as possible in the audio department.

Recommending a FIFA game always is a tough choice, except for the parts of the series that introduce something new and manage to be outstanding, like "FIFA 2002", for that matter. And while it´s true that "FIFA Soccer 2004" introduces something new as well with the Off the Ball control scheme, it does not manage to rank among the very best in the series. It´s still a good buy for soccer fans who appreciate realism and an official FIFA license, but it´s debatable whether they would probably be better off with a newer FIFA title or a PES installment.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/13/06