"It's a bloody good game mate!"

Introduction - You are probably wondering, why am I reviewing a game that came out three years ago? Well even if you were not I will tell you. I was playing Fifa 2004 and I said to my friend, this game is boring man. so he popped in a game of the past Fifa 2002 and I was blown away.

Gameplay - 9/10
This has to be the best EA soccer game to date, and it was also Gamecubes first. You play using an odd interface, but like an old pair of blue jeans, it grows on you. The A button is to pass, the B button lobs, and X button shoots, and the Y button sprints. On defense the A button switches characters, the X button is to tryt o steal the ball, the B button is for a slide tackle, and the Y button also sprints. You can also do headers in this game, making the gameplay balanced so there is no drawback to playing on offense or defense. Also you can use the L and R buttons to curve the ball which if you think about it separates a average player from an elite. Add in a create a player and team options and you have three options in this game that are not in teh 2004 version, making this a much better game depth wise. That was the positive side, now on the negative side is depth in setting up plays. It is hard to set traps and double team players, you have to do that yourself, it is also difficult to switch ot the last player, but other than these few flaws the game shines bright.

Story - It is a soccer game, the story for it as in all sport games is to have fun and win a few games!

Graphics- 8/10 I have seen better crowds in wrestling games, where they have signs for teams I wonder why they were not implemented into this game, and also you can not see your goal tender change. But the create a player lets you get a general face and modify it a bit, though you can not go as deep as wrestling games let you go, at least you have create a player unlike Fifa 2004.
The player models are nice and proportioned, the ball is good, there are different types of fields to play on. My only complaint is that a few jerseys are wrong, but after a while you won't care.

Sound- 8/10 The sound is great, the crowd cheers and boos, everything you would expect from a soccer crowd. No they do not try to destroy the arena if you lose, but the sounds and grunts and sound effects are all here and sound great. The announcer even has an annoying accent, great job EA.

Replayability - 10/10 Here is where the game truly shines, in its replayability. If you have ever played WWF No Mercy and compared its create a player to WWE Wrestlemania 19 you would know that creating players can be a lot of fun if it is done right. You will spend countless hours making up people, or even using your high school team mates like I did. And since it is a sports game, it is meant to be played again and again. So get a few friends and take it to them. This game is deep, yet it is an easy game to pick up and play, much easier to understand than Fifa 2004. And since it is soccer and not wrestling, teams do not really change their jerseys so you can just make a new player up, and add him to a team if he is just coming in.

Final Recommendation - Is a game worth buying? Yes it is, I do not like paying much for games, but i found this at my local Gamestop for 10 dollars, and now I own all the fun. Since this game is old, it should be cheap in your area go pick it up, and actually it was only five dollars less than Fifa 2004. I am sorry for comparing it to Fifa 2004 so much, but I thought gaming series should get better as they go on, not start out awesome and deteriorate. This is a great buy, or even an awesome gift to give to someone, it is out for the Gamecube, Xbox, and Playstation Two. Go get it now!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/21/04