game review: FIFA 06
GAMEPLAY: 20/25
Compared to FIFA 2004, the gameplay has been simplified and improved greatly.
* Greater control over dribbling and some ability to control the target of a pass.
* Headers are more of a feasible attack and a more useful defensive tool.
* Your team has momentum that can go up and down, and each player has a "playing style" that can be shining through or getting bogged down.
* Weather - particularly rain - notably affects gameplay.
* More difficult to score from long range.
* As far as I can tell, most of the off-the-ball runs system has been eliminated. Though a useful addition to your attack, this was also a little cumbersome to do in real time and the zooming in/out when the runs were being called was distracting.
* To replace that, you can now call plays using the directional pad, as well as changing the team mentality (aggressive, defensive, neutral) on the fly.
* Some problems still persist. Since passing still isn't icon-based, the computer sometimes passes to the wrong player. There are some situations when the computer takes over controlling a player (such as off a long clearing kick when it forces your strikers to sprint after the ball, often wasting their energy) which is annoying.
* For some reason, controlling the goalie in a shootout is a lot more difficult than it used to be... unless I am doing something wrong?
* AI has shown definite improvement, particularly at reacting to the situation as far as lead/deficit and time remaining.
* Occasionally when there are a lot of players on the screen, gameplay will get a little choppy. Not unplayably so, but enough to be irritating when it happens.
GRAPHICS: 11/15
The graphics are pretty much the same (if not exactly the same) as FIFA 2004. Which means good enough, but not without a few issues.
* Nice selection of camera angles and zooms.
* Most notably, there's some situations where the ball is really hard to see.
* The multiple angles on the generated replays is pretty cool.
MANAGER MODE: 13/15
There are a lot of new additions to manager mode.
* When you first start, you cannot control most of the really good teams. You can unlock them through FIFA Challenges. Though this gives you incentive to try the challenges, it was kinda annoying having to win the Brazilian Cup with all these teams I've never heard of, just to get enough user points to be able to start a career with Manchester United.
* More customization of the manager - hello, Sean Connery.
* Added contracts, sponsors, and that pager/email thing that is in pretty much all EA sports games now.
* Added staff (various coaches, trainers, etc) which can be upgraded at a cost, including upgrading your stadium capacity.
* Added Team Chemistry, Board Support (ie job security) and Fan Support meters. Each team also has a Team Chemistry rating that is even used for games not in manager mode.
* Ability to Scout anywhere in the world in search of players.
FIFA CHALLENGES: 10/10
I really liked this idea. Challenges include:
* The first time you play, you will be challenged by the Classic XI team of all-time greats to a friendly match. You have one shot to win this game, while the other challenges you can try over and over.
* Winning leagues and tournaments.
* Starting games with a certain deficit/certain time elapsed and having to come back.
* Winning as a very weak team vs a strong team.
* Winning by a certain amount.
* Achieving a certain statistic (like 90% passing) or other thing (no bookings, win with no substitutions).
These are all against certain levels of difficulty on the computer and, as they are associated with certain regions, most most be done vs a team from that region (though you can pick your own team from wherever).
MULTIPLAYER: 9/10
I haven't tried this yet, but from what I've read:
* Online play available.
* For user-vs-user games, it keeps track of record and will award "cheap shot" bonuses to the weaker player. These include things like giving the other player yellow cards before the match, taking out their team's best player, etc. Now this is cool but I'll just say I hope it is optional. The "pick a weaker team" or "edit match settings to give the other player a few starting goals" methods of balancing gameplay between mismatched opponents work fine for me :-p
* Ability to have multi-user tourneys. (was this not available before?? because they make specific mention of this like it's a new thing...)
SOUNDTRACK: 10/10
Not quite the FIFA 2004 soundtrack (best sports game soundtrack ever), but still amazing.
* Track Listing
EXTRA FEATURES: 4/5
I would have given it 5/5, but for some reason Beckham's goal from midfield is only the #4 goal on the momories list. The ones above Beckham's - especially Bergcamp's - do not even compare. Even #10 and #6 are better cool goals are better than his.
* So yeah, I mentioned that you can watch footage of these 10 memorable goals.
* Random audio commentary of those and other memorable goals mixed in with the soundtrack.
* You can play FIFA 1994 - the first FIFA game. It really sucks but it's cool that they included it.
* Interview with E'to.
DAVID BECKHAM: 10/10
This game does in fact have David Beckham in it.
TOTAL SCORE: 87/100
Typical high-quality game from EA Sports - very easy to learn, decent depth of control for advanced players, decent single player mode.