"Someone send this off the field!"

I thought the FIFA series was a good series, untill I tried FIFA '96, and found out that even a good series has it's share of bad parts! And when I say bad parts, you wouldn't believe how many there are.


Graphics: 1/10
The graphics make little use of the Saturn's hardware. The only saving grace are the little animated shorts that will sometimes play after interesting plays like a foul or a goal. Otherwise, the animation is stiff and akward. The players look like they're slipping onto their rear instead of doing a slide tackle! You don't even see the referee handing out the cards, instead you just receive a message telling you who has been booked. Come on, no arguing players? What's wrong with you, EA?


Sounds: 1/10
The shrill, horrendous whistle of the referee is just one of the many downsides audiowise. The British commentator sounds like he'd rather be somewhere else, and even when he does get excited, it sounds like he's constipated! Other than the sound of the crowd, which isn't saying much either, there's really little soundwise. Now you know why mute buttons were made!


Controls: 1/10
Controlling your player is awful! You can move the D-Pad in a certain direction, but it looks like he's jogging instead of giving chase after the player with the ball. You can tell him to slide or steal, but odds are you won't do it much. Even if he does slide, odds are nothing will happen. If you want something to happen, you actually have to attempt to trip the player on purpose! What's up with that?! If I were to intentionally foul someone, I would probably be sent off immediately!


Replay: 1/10
There are custom team options, and custom leagues. Of course, without the ability to edit players, what is the point of a custom team? There is really little team management involved, to tell the truth.


Overall: 1/10
There are better soccer games for Saturn, but this isn't one of them! Anyone who buys this should receive a red card and be sent out of the soccer gaming world!

Reviewer's Score: 1/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/00, Updated 07/16/01