Reviewed: June 6, 2005
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Electronic Arts
Developer
EA Canada - Team Fusion
Released: April 25, 2005
Genre: Sports
Players: 1-2
ESRB: Everyone
7
6
8
8
7.4
Supported Features
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
Soccer is still a relatively niche sport. In comparison to other sports titles soccer only represents a fraction of the offerings out there, and even if you want to watch it on TV you are going to need access to satellite or at least ESPN2.
I’m a huge fan of the Winning Eleven series on the PS2, so I know a bit about soccer, but the last time I played a version of FIFA was on the 3DO system back in 1994. That’s not to say FIFA hasn’t been around. EA has been cranking out FIFA games almost as long as their other sports franchises and their latest offering, FIFA Soccer for the PSP is based on the 2005 console edition for PS2 and Xbox.
Much like EA’s MVP Baseball this title suffers from numerous tech issues and gameplay glitches that make me think EA is rushing a bit to get their titles onto the PSP to compete with Sony’s sports offerings. But when it comes down to it, just being on the shelf at the same time isn’t enough, and you have to have a quality game to get people to buy and play it.
FIFA Soccer offers the traditional Season, Tournament, Head to Head, and a Challenge mode that allows you to replay famous matches. The Tournament mode is a quick and easy way to drop in for a quick game when you have a spare half-hour while the Season mode requires a longer commitment.
The first obstacle to overcome is the scale of FIFA. Unlike most sports titles, soccer requires a distant view of the field so you can work the ball to other members of your team. When you pull the camera out far enough to make the game playable you are then reduced to watching characters comprised of a half-dozen pixels. And even then you’ll find yourself passing the ball to teammates off the edge of the screen or kicking into an unseen net.
The game controls well enough once you get the quirky timing down. The players all control with the analog pad and the various buttons handle passing, stealing, shooting, etc. There is a definite lag between the time you input your command and the execution of that command. You can learn to adapt and compensate for this lag, but until you do it’s almost like a satellite delay in the transmission.
Even though you can adapt to the command hiccup, if you try and play using the First Touch controls you are in for a frustrating experience. It requires deft finger work to move the player with your left thumb and the A-pad, pass or shoot with your right, then use the D-pad (again with your left thumb) to direct the ball then switch to the A-pad as the next player takes possession of the ball. It’s as complicated as it sounds and when you factor in the aforementioned button lag, it borders on the impossible. You’re better off just sticking with the basic controls and avoiding the headache.
Most surprising is that this lag just isn’t in the gameplay but even while navigating the menus, choosing game modes, or bringing up the substitution menus during the game. You hit the button, and then there is a definite beat before the action registers. This, combined with some lengthy load times will stretch out your gameplay experience with a lot of overhead.
The flow of the game is also broken up with frequent visual hiccups that pepper the entire experience. Almost everything you do requires the loading of a post-play animation and these are all marked by a defined stutter, even before the play is officially over. There were even a few instances where the game totally locked up on me during these cutscene loads and I had to restart my PSP and my game.
FIFA desperately tries to capture the visuals from the console version but you just can’t pack the same level of detail from a TV into a 5-inch screen. The traditional side court camera angle is pulled out to where you are just moving colored stick figures around the field passing around a white dot. Only when the camera zooms in for the post-play animations can you see the actual characters and with their jagged angles and flat-shaded textures, you'll see you aren't missing much.
The stadiums are huge and they try to put in all of the detail like sponsor signs and such, but most of these details only slow the panning of the field causing a bit of flickering as you run back and forth. The crowds are now static, so the games don’t quite feel as lively as they should.
The menu and overall presentation is just as solid as any of the other games in the EA Sports series. The text is sharp and the menus are easy to read and navigate as long as you can come to terms with the lag while inputting your menu choices.
FIFA delivers an eclectic mix of international tunes that are fun and fit with the global nature of the sport. You can enjoy this music in EA’s Pocket Trax mode and you might even find a music video stashed away on the UMD.
There is some excellent commentary for the game and it actually synchs up with the gameplay. The overall audio experience is perhaps the best part of FIFA Soccer.
As with any sports title your enjoyment is limited only by how long you can stand to play it. As one of only two soccer games currently available for the PSP, your choices are limited, and considering we haven’t gotten Sony’s World Tour Soccer in for review yet I’d be premature in making a comparative recommendation.
On its own merits, FIFA delivers a solid soccer package with all of the game modes, acceptable graphics, and great music and commentary that will keep you entertained for months to come. Just make sure you can settle for the basic control scheme.
I’m not entirely sure soccer is a viable game for the handheld, if for no other reason than the required camera distance and small screen. I’d hate to play this on anything smaller than the PSP screen. EA seems determined to bring their entire console sports line-up over to the PSP as quickly as possible, but I think in their haste they are letting way too many bugs slip through.
FIFA Soccer will certainly appeal to fans of the console FIFA versions who can't stand to be without their soccer, even when they are out of the house, but newcomers should probably steer clear of this title or just play it on the console where it plays the best.