FIFA 2000

"EA Sports' latest addition to the Fifa series is great"

GOAL!!! Was the roar when France slotted their third goal in the '98
World Cup final. And that's when I really tuned into soccer. I bought
World Cup '98, and that satisfied me until I decided, hey, I need league
action. And Fifa 2000 came into the picture.

EA Sports have once again created a soccer (okay, FOOTBALL) game which
is virtually flawless. From the very cool intro, the blazing Robbie
Williams rock tune in the background, to the slick graphics and the
enormous amount of options, I knew that this was going to keep me
playing for a while.

While the graphics aren't much an improvement over Fifa '99, they are
still very good, as you can't improve perfection. Another neat graphical
enhancement 2000 has gone under is the huge amount of things you can
do with a player's face, and the huge amount of looks a player can have.
Don't like that long hair? Shave his head. Want a goatee? Bring it on.
Want to dye Beckham's hair red? Want to give Kewell a beard? Almost
anything can be done to a player's appearance and facial expressions.

The sound is top notch. As usual, the commentary gets a little repetitive,
but the kickass music makes up for it. While it may not be to everyone's
taste, I reckon the rock/dance/techno score is an effective one. Robbie
Williams pops in with the catchy It's Only Us, a great rock tune,
while other artists such as Apollo Four Forty and Gay Dad popping in
to help. Sometimes you'll purposely stay in the menu screens to listen
to the tracks.

The interface isn't ground-breaking, but it's nice and does the job. The
game's real selling point though is the sheer amount of teams and the
vast array of options you can use to customize your team. Pick from any
international side, league, or classic teams. Leagues include the FA
Premier League (GO LEEDS!), Serie A (Juventus...), and even the MLS, in
a ploy to open up the USA's eyes to soccer/football. The classic teams
are those old, but very cool teams from the past, and the best part is
that you can play as Pele (I think), Maradonna, and much, much more.

The options that you can use to your advantage are great too. Click a
button, you've changed your 5-4-1 formation into a more practical
4-4-2. Don't like your team passing short? Make them go long. Don't want
to play zonal? Go man-to-man. Also included are three handy IGMs, or
In Game Management. This allows to to switch to one of three formations
whilst in the middle of play, so if you've got the ball in your half
you can quickly go to a 3-4-3 attack, or switch to a 5-4-1 defense.

Gone are the days of those stupid skill buttons, and everything can
be pulled off with the use of only one button! Well, almost. EA have also
included a handy passing indicator when you have the ball, so that you
actually know where the pass is going.

Any complaints? Well, the Amateur skill level is just too damn easy. But
take it up to World Class, even Professional, you'll get your butt whipped
in no time at all. And the commentary is just a bit boring. You'll get
sick of hearing ''Great Stop!'' everytime your keeper saves the ball.

Put the cons against the pros though, and you'll find out that the pros
come on top...and Fifa 2000 is a worthy addition to that soccer/football
game collection of yours.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/21/00, Updated 03/21/00