"At least its better than the PSP one..."

I've never been a fan of the FIFA Football Series. I remember, back on the SEGA Mega Drive (or the SEGA Genesis) FIFA Football 94 was brilliant, for its time. Then lately I've really been divulging all of my football gaming time to Football Manager and Pro Evolution Soccer. However, considering none of them are coming out on the DS (except for Pro Evolution Soccer, but I can't imagine it being as good), FIFA 2006 really brings you great entertainment for short bursts or long. Whether you just want to set up a match whilst using the lavatory, or you want a football game to play whilst on a 28 hour flight to the other side of the world (like myself) this really is a great game to have on a handheld console.

Graphics

The graphics are a little sub-par, however they aren't so bad that you'd want to gouge out your eyes. They are 3D indeed, and there are pretty much two different players, white guy with blonde hair, or coloured guy with black hair. Also there are the kit differences. FIFA has always been well known for it's excellent graphics, and despite on being on a console not particularly known for its graphics, but more so for it's innovative gameplay, FIFA 2006 has pretty average graphics.

Score: 5/10

Sound

The menu has real songs on it, but only short snippets of it. Whilst it not long enough to use as a mini MP3 player, they certainly are long enough for you to navigate your way through the menu to your next match enjoying the great sounds of Oasis or Bloc Party. The commentary is rather poor, too. However, to be perfectly honest I was quite surprised to hear commentary in the first place.

Score: 7/10

Gameplay

Surprisingly, the Nintendo DS version of FIFA 2006 has the best gameplay of all of the FIFA 2006 on any console. In my opinion at least. It feels more in-depth and certainly shows that FIFA isn't caring as much about their graphics and are concentrating more on the gameplay. Whilst the majority of the passes are still perfect, including the through balls, there are a lot more times when you can mess up, adding to the realism. Free Kicks are rather difficult, and penalties are saved now and then. It really is the most realistic FIFA I've ever played. The Career mode is a good idea, however if you're trying it on anything less than Professional, it really gets the point where you win 4-0 or higher almost every single match. World Class is a little challenging, however like I said, you could still probably win the league with one of the worst clubs in the division. It's a little easy, but definitely an enjoyable experience.

Score: 7/10

Replayability

The question is to whether this game is replayable. In a manner, yes. You can do careers in many different countries, but it is all essentially the same. It's too easy to constantly pick up and now and then. I've had the game for a whole year and I've had two career modes, one as West Ham United and one as Leyton Orient. It certainly has some replayable value, but not too much.

Score:4/10

Buy or Rent?

This is definitely a must have for a football fan who owns a Nintendo DS. You must agree with me that if you like football, you've definitely got to have one on a handheld, and this one is certainly better than even the PSP version, whilst the graphics may lack, the gameplay is certainly much an improvement, and you can even use wireless download to play a few matches with a friend! So I say buy!

Total Score: 5.5/10
Rounded: 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/13/06