GENRE
	Sports
	DEVELOPER
	Electronic Arts
	PUBLISHER
	Electronic Arts
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-4
	CONNECTIVITY
	no
	BUY NOW AT

After laying down some hard hours on this year's updates to Madden, NHL and NASCAR, it was apparent that Electronic Arts was on a roll. Once NBA Live and Tiger Woods passed by, it was only a matter of time before FIFA Soccer 2005 reared its beautiful head. The sport is growing to popularity gradually, year by year, and with other titles like Winning Eleven coming stateside, it was only a matter of time before FIFA would show more improvements rather than updated rosters and prettier graphics. With hundreds upon hundreds of teams to cover, the FIFA series still looks amazingly accurate to the real world sport. However, this year it seems as if they've actually captured the spirit and overall feeling of the game itself. FIFA Soccer 2005 is easily the most comfortable soccer title on the GameCube, or anywhere else in that matter.

visuals

FIFA 2005 is easily the best looking game in the series. Normally you'll notice only slight improvements over each year's installments in other series such as NASCAR or NHL. In this title, it's all about how the players move and react. After all, what would an amazing artificial intelligence system be without some fantastic visual reactions? Each character model is beautifully rendered, even those who aren't officially licensed. You'll see others such as David Beckham who looks almost exactly like the real thing. So much so that it can be exceedingly eerie, much like the new facial animations in NHL 2005. If you want, there's a very cool create-a-player mode that allows you to create and customize a whole new player down to his hair, skin color, size, and even accessories. You'll also notice some very cool environmental effects on the uniforms such as grass stains. The effect has carried on from the past games, but it still looks amazing with the models.

audio

The soundtrack is easily one of the best within the history of EA Trax. That being said, a great soundtrack consists of generally one of two things: a collection of very good songs or songs that fit into the genre perfectly. The collection in FIFA 2005 is amazing, ranging from the latest tracks by Flogging Molly, Franz Ferdinand, and even a little bit of Scissor Sisters and Air. Of course, Paul Oakenfold composes the official FIFA theme, so the overall quality of the soundtrack is surprising. The collection of international super hits definitely feels right at home within FIFA 2005. So far as everything else goes, the sound effects are very well produced. This isn't very surprising, considering Electronic Arts' technology. The commentary is very nicely put together thanks to the amazingly charismatic team of Ally McCoist and John Motson. Sometimes their lines are repeated to the point of exhaustion, but that's a common problem with many sports games. At least it sounds good and it's still entertaining to hear them talk with their funny accents. Kidding.

gameplay

There are only a few different modes to select from in this installment of FIFA. The meat of the game is centered on Career Mode. They'll advertise this mode within the game even if you're still playing in Career Mode. The amount of customization is simply crazy when compared to other games. You'll start out as a manager for one of the hundreds of teams available and continue your career from there. This is more like a soccer RPG. You'll gain "experience points" and divvy them between certain administrators and coaches who help increase your team's defense, goalkeeping, fitness, or medical needs, including a handful more. Meanwhile, you'll need to keep your job security level as high as possible, or your reputation will deplete faster than your team's standings.

You'll also be able to play around with Tournament mode, which you can customize to your liking. This is an easier mode to play around with if you don't feel like getting too deep into the logistics of the team manager career. Of course, you'll also be able to use the Play Now option, which is good for just a quick game of soccer between two teams of your choosing. In order to make your experience that much more enjoyable, there's a FIFA Store that you can visit from time to time in order to spend the points you've been earning by completing skill level-specific goals. You can purchase anything at this store to meet your heart's fancy including uniforms, environmental conditions, and even a couple of songs for your EA Sports Jukebox.

FIFA Soccer 2005 controls just as well as you'd think it should. However, it goes beyond anything that's ever been implemented within the series. You see, the soccer ball actually has its own physics, which it has never had in the franchise. The ball would simply be passed from player to player without any conflict with any sort of "obstacle". In fact, this adjustment, however little it may seem, is key in making this game what it is. Once you begin to get a feel for dribbling around a "real" soccer ball, you'll begin to notice how realistic this game really is. Speaking of physics, EA has also implemented the First Touch feature. This system is completely new and will definitely change the way you play the FIFA franchise. When you pass the ball to one of your teammates, you can touch the right analog stick in the direction you want him to play the ball. This helps you gain an edge on the defense rather than chance an interception, or worse, a yellow card.

One of the most important features in any sports title has got to be the artificial intelligence. It's all about competition and if you don't have any, the game just falls flat. In FIFA Soccer 2005, the opposition knows exactly when they're pinned down, when they're open for a goal and when they're in really big trouble. In the latter, your opponent will go to any lengths to get the ball back in their possession. When you're on the defense and you begin to rush the ball carrier, they'll get it to an open man, even if they're further away from the goal. They also perform some amazing maneuvers in order to get the ball into the net. Some of these moves, you would have never dreamed of before in your life. It's rare when you want to go back to an instant replay when your opponent makes a goal, just to ogle the skills. All in all, the computer isn't known for "cheating" in this game. Unless you're playing against Arsenal, that is. Then they're just killing you.

multiplayer

Of course, much like any sports game on the market, you and a few of your hooliganistic friends can sit down for a “friendly” game of football. The Xbox and PS2 versions may support online gaming, but the GameCube is still good for in-house multiplayer. This is especially if you’re loaded up on Wavebirds, Pork Nibblers, and Coronitas.

overall

FIFA Soccer 2005 is the best soccer game on the GameCube. There simply isn’t anything greater on the system than this game. Some would argue that Winning Eleven on the PS2 would make a better game, but FIFA just has the unique style, flair and production value that Konami can’t seem to pick up on. Now, if you’re a sports fan and still not a fan of the sport, maybe you should give it a try. Personally, I haven’t gotten into the sport until just recently and this game is more fun than half of the sports games out there. Will it be more entertaining than next year’s FIFA Street? That’s pretty irrelevant. NBA Street Vol 2 provides a fun experience, but hardly packs the punch that NBA Live 2005 does. If you’re a fan of the game, you should definitely pick up FIFA 2005. Not a big online person? Pick it up on GameCube.

8.7/10