DrJ008's Full Review: 2002 FIFA World Cup for PlayStation 2
Warning: If you're not a soccer enthusiast, have never played an EA sports Fifa game, or don't like detailed analysis, I direct your attention to the button on your browser that says.."Back" with an arrow. I can't be bothered with bringing you beginners up to speed on what I'm about to discuss, especially considering the fact that this review is probably a one-off event. The following is intended for people who have played the Fifa series, or at the very least, have a working knowledge of the sport. If that isn't you...bugger off!
Now, if someone were to ask me to explain EA Sports, or rather, what kind of people work for EA Sports, in one word...lazy. You see, changes have been slow to develop for the EA Sports Fifa Soccer series, and not due to a lack of consumer feedback. For years now, fans of the often ridiculously programmed series have given very constructive criticism and watched the yearly renditions parade with improved graphics, but little else. Most European gamers scoff at the series as complete rubbish and a complete arcade-like farce. Fair enough.
So, when this year's title "Fifa 2002" was released in November of 2001, many here in the U.S. were amazed at the complete overhaul of the classic, and moronic, passing system. I'd actually highlighted the eventual changes months and months prior, but it was nice to see that my thoughts had actually come to fruition down in EA-land. In fact, people seemed to be so overjoyed by the new look game, that they heaped glowing praise without ever taking a second to sit back and really analyze it as a whole. These same months and months have passed now and it's obvious that for all the new ground gained by the latest innovations to the game, a long way is still yet to be traveled.
Highlighting the gulf that still needs to be covered, we're presented with EA's latest edition to their footballing library.."Fifa World Cup 2002". Now, before I begin criticizing this game, and make no mistake, I'll be doing just that, I have to hand it to EA for a few very important improvements. There are quite a few nice surprises with this special release that come as a metaphoric glimmer of hope toward the other end of the chasm we find ourselves traveling through year after year with EA. If I have a worry, it's that the only reason these things have been implemented is that they have more programming room to work with, and will not have that same luxury when releasing "Fifa 2003" at the end of the year.
For starters, EA has seen fit to actually make tackling an exercise in timing and positioning. Since the inception of this series, it's been marred by the absurd nature that if you're able to attempt a tackle and make contact, you automatically get the ball. This, of course, was negated years ago if you happened to be doing one of several special moves, but that's neither here nor there.
In "WC 2002", just because you attempt a tackle doesn't mean you're necessarily going to get the ball. Amazingly enough, it has taken EA Sports division nearly 6 years to figure this out. Bravo boys! Instead, if the ball is being shielded, i.e. the player is blocking the opponent from reaching the ball cleanly, then generally, that same player will keep his feet and be allowed to regain his balance. This is of paramount importance, because it stresses that tackling and dribbling be done with care, separating the average gamer from someone who actually has some skill. With the former system, the playing field was much more level, and for no real reason.
Next, we come to the heading and crossing aspect of the game. In years gone by, heading was something that your average soccer enthusiast could tell was not of massive import to the developers at EA. The fact that the flight of the ball was calculated to the point that each opposing player going up for the ball would meet at the exact same point before leaping, was laughable to say the least. With this edition, we see players actually having to scamper back and track the flight of a ball. Sometimes they arrive late and are out of position when they jump, missing the ball completely. This is a very good step forward for not only the Fifa series, but EA sports in general. The fact that the AI is able to now calculate such things without having a central point of reference is something that is certainly worthy of note.
Another accolade that EA can snatch comes in the design and recreation of all 20 host stadia in both Korea and Japan. I tip my cap to the artists and designers who did a magnificent job with each and every site, as they are all well crafted and very realistic. Sure, the crowds are still jumping up and down constantly, which is campy, but all EA games do that at the moment and it will be years before we see realistic crowds.
Finally, and most notably, the players within the game are now...and I hope you can follow here,...in the game. What I mean by this is that they actually seem to fill the virtual space with which they occupy. In every other Fifa based game released, the players had the magical ability to ghost through one another through glitches, or a lack of programming. With "WC 2002", we actually see for the first time, players running into one another off the ball, and holding one another up. Sure, there still is the occasional ghost (I once called it the morph), but it happens far less frequently than previous versions, hinting that they may soon be able to crack the problem completely. I cross my fingers, but then, I've had them crossed for years.
We all know games are getting better, more advanced, and with more bells and whistles. But, as a long time player of this set of supposed sports sims from EA, I have to admit that this is the first time I've felt that EA have actually made a gigantic step. Over the years, advancements have seemed more like baby steps. One thing is added or removed, but the snail's pace of advancement was almost so annoying as to have me hang up my controller for good. The most aggravating thing was the fact that there was no comparable competition. ISS Pro Evolution was released for just one year back in the 90's and from what I hear was a superior game. However, with the newest steps made, it forces the issue of whether or not Electronic Arts are finally getting the message and putting some time into development. Let us all hope so, because my upcoming derision points out the steps that still need to be made.
What's sad, is that at the end of the day, with all the improved functions, added realism in various measures, and overall ingenuity, the game still lacks that final cutting edge that would make it a true simulation. You've got all the right side dishes, but the meat is not only under-cooked, it's rancid.
Where are the main faults? Well, let's start with shooting. It's completely cocked. You've got a shot meter that powers up like the past two versions of Fifa, varying the different levels of muscle when attempting a shot. What's comical is the result when getting a fully charged shot. It's as if the ball were shot out of a gun. I'm sorry, but no one can hit the ball at the speeds they travel at in this or any other Fifa title, nor with the regularity. You don't have to be a physics major to see or comprehend the idea. So, after good defense, tireless passing, and a well-worked move, the end result is a shot that regardless of where it's aimed, is going to go in. Now, call me crazy, but writing it out the way I just did makes the stupidity of such a game come very clearly into focus. When you play a game that has 6 minute halves, and each team manages only a half dozen shots within the game, throw up a flag. Because when normally 40% or more of those shots go in, that to me screams a level of unrealism that is hard to match in most other EA sports games.
The other major fault with this title falls in the realm of options. I make this point, because it's the way of Electronic Arts it seems, and highlights the idiocy of creating a game, and then forgetting to paint and wax the puppy. For starters, they don't allow you to edit the players themselves. No big deal, aside from the fact that you can't create yourself within your favorite nation. Not having an ability to randomize the tournament groupings, however, is a big deal. What this means is that you're forced to play the same tournament as it was played in real life, and only in that way. If you play with a particular country, you're always going to have to play the same three teams coming out of the group stage. Sound unbelievable? Yeah, me too.
Another completely retarded option that somehow went MIA is weather. That's right, there is no rain. Now, forget for a moment that it's unrealistic and just focus on the fact that the 2002 World Cup was played earlier than usual to avoid....the rainy season. (P.S. It still rained quite a bit, statistically the rainiest finals ever.)
Speaking of statistics, you know what you can't look up in "Fifa World Cup 2002". That's right! Statistics. You'd think that the statistically obsessed idiot American sports culture that's supposed to buy this product would somehow want at least some numerical information. The few bits of stats you are fed through the game, come across on this pathetic scroll function that slings the info by as if it were an electronic sign at your neighborhood mini-mall, stating time and temperature. Sound dumb? Yeah, me too.
Finally, and most notably, EA has once again forgot to place a team within the game that should certainly be added. Legal considerations come into play, but the producers of this game must be a very disorganized and unpopular bunch. Once again, a major player in the world scene somehow inexplicably calls in sick. Who's are lucky contestant this year? Holland, who are no doubt, the finest footballing nation to miss the 2002 finals. I will say that after having apparently lost the Dutch Eredivisie in this year's main Fifa game, I'm not that surprised that the Dutch were not included among the pool of qualified and extra teams you can choose from.
So, we've rounded the corner and can come down the front stretch of this review/ramble with a bit of understanding into my personal frustration and the inner-workings, or lack thereof, at Electronic Arts. Why are these problems and detracting factors still around after over half a decade of game design. I have a humble theory that I feel might just hold water. The majority of Americans are too ignorant to know otherwise. At least, that's what EA seems to believe.
The Fifa collection is one of the best selling series EA has ever produced. What they seem to figure is that most Americans not only don't know the sport, but are trying to figure a way to Americanize it. We've seen how well the MLS has taken off after they Americanized the sport, losing hundreds of millions in empty seats. What EA has, that MLS doesn't, is a monopoly on the market. There is no other game developer here in the U.S. that can compete with EA Sports, and therefore, regardless of quality, EA is going to swallow up a vast majority of such a market.
To "attract" consumers, EA takes steps in design to make it easier to score, while sacrificing realism and gameplay, so Americans will suddenly become interested. There was actually a line on the back of a previous version that stated, and I'm paraphrasing here..."Dominate games with bicycle kick magic!". Like that's all the sport is...bicycle kicks. I can hear the pundits across the globe now, trying to decipher why Germany lost the final.."I think the Germans might have had a chance, were they able to just get a couple more bicycle kicks in on goal." I'm glad whoever was running the wheel over at EA's little cage finally awoke from their stupor and took steps to make bicycle kicks nearly impossible to perform during a game, much the same way they are impossible to perform in real life.
What EA needs to concentrate on is appeasing and satisfying the already established soccer fans, lying dormant I might add, because of their loathing of Americanized soccer. There's a reason why no one watches MLS, but ESPN buys Champions League coverage. There is an audience for the sport here. The difference is that the audience that watches the sport, like it or not, is usually a wee more discerning and fickle than your average American sports fan.....period. As an American, I like the fact that America doesn't understand the sport or accept it. If they somehow did, it would detract from the overall integrity of it. What EA needs to accept is that what they produce, as of right now, is a fluff sports game. Until EA understands and accepts that the sport is not capable of being Americanized, we will always be saddled with games that are just a few steps from realism. Maybe then, they'll throw in the final touches and have an option, much like racing games...."Arcade or Simulation".
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