ESPN MLS ExtraTime

"Call your cable provider instead..."

While I am a fan of international soccer, I also enjoy the Major League Soccer (MLS) teams within the United States. So when I saw that Konami was putting out a game specifically made for the MLS license, I was rather overjoyed. Then I tried it and realized that it didn't live up to the potential it could have!

Graphics: 10/10
Well at least the graphics were put to the max! You'll see players realistically tackling, running, and just about anything else you'd see in a real MLS soccer game! They'll do things like stop midway through a sliding tackle if they realize it's pointless or too risky, sink to the ground if the referee pulls out the dreaded red card, and even pretend they're flying on the ground while celebrating a goal! You even see the referee blow his whistle and linesmen flag in the appropriate manners!

Sounds: 3/10
While the graphics are good, the sounds aren't! The commentary by Bob Ley sounds isn't the best. Most of the comments are often late, and when he says a player's name, it's either normal voice or excited chosen at random. To top that off, most of the sound bites sound the same over and over, with little or no variety. In my opinion, it sounds like the voices were recorded for an N64 game and placed on a PS2 disc!

Controls: 5/10
OK, so if I press the X button, I'll pass it to my teammate. Wait, that's a pass?! Please, I've seen a six year old pass better than that! If you press the button to shoot, you'll see a power meter pop up, but it goes too fast, and you end up either shooting with too little or too much power!

Most of the game is built around Konami's famous International Superstar Soccer engine, and before you start accusing me of flaming it, let me tell you I'm merely stating the facts, as well as the fact that I like the engine a lot (it was the first soccer game I actually fell in love with back on Nintendo 64!) This means that the crowd boos when the referee's about to brandish a card, players will do things like argue with referees...oh wait, you knew that already.

Replay: 4/10
There's standard match mode, as well as a couple of tournaments, including international mode, meaning you can take the U.S. of A. to the top if you wanted! Unfortunately, the game offers very little in customization, meaning that you can't create your own players and/or teams. Coupled with the poor controls and sound quality, and you have a game that looks and feels like something that was supposed to be on N64 only to be placed on PlayStation 2 without giving it enough transitional updates.

Overall: 4/10
If you're a MLS fan, you can rent this to see if it's worth playing. Otherwise, the original PlayStation has a better MLS game with more options. If you're looking for PS2-exclusives, then there's always FIFA 2001. Otherwise, you're better off just saving some money and subscribing to ESPN instead of playing this game!

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 04/30/01, Updated 07/16/01