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FIFA Soccer 2002

FIFA Soccer 2002

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Improved, but not without faults
Review: Overall, FIFA 2002 is greatly improved, IF you are looking for a realistic game. The biggest draw is the fact that you can score from outside the box, whereas in previous editions it was impossible unless you were on a break or from a header. This fact alone makes it worth buying. It's harder to get a more accurate shot, but you have more ability to control where it goes. The other main point is passing- you control the speed and the direction, but it's a little difficult to get a handle on. I can't figure out how to control through-balls without having them be picked off by the defense. And slide tackling is much harder to control. Free kicks are not as good as last year-the angle makes it harder to tell where you're shooting, and without being able to practice it (since there's no practice mode), I doubt I'll ever score a goal off a free kick.
Basically, I'd recommend this if you're looking for a more realistic version. But if you get frustrated easily by a ridiculously good opponent, stick with the older ones. You get more control in this game, but that can be both good and bad, depending on how you look at it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Fall from Grace
Review: Why can't we finally get a defintive FIFA game? This game is loaded with problems.

1. Teams...
Yeah, I know that there are hundreds of club teams, but in "1998 Road to the World Cup," EA sports managed to include EVERY team in the qualifying rounds. They even had the names of all they players! You could even play Puerto Rico vs. Domincan Republic. Now, the African and Oceania groups are AWOL, and many players names are represented by numbers.

2. Stadiums...
Only five! In "1998," there was stadiums from all over the world with intro videos to the country. Match-ups between smaller teams had smaller crowds. It was much more realistic to use the "Trinidad & Tobago" stadium when using smaller clubs. I just can't play MLS games in "2002" in front of 80,000 fans. It just doesn't seem believable. Plus, you don't have a consistent stadium for your "home" club games.

3. AI
Unfair and unrealistic. You have a choice: you can either blow away competition at the "Amateur" level, or you can lose 1-0 moral victories in which your team manages 2 shots on goal. I'm afraid to try the "World Class." The computer anticipates all of your passes, wins 90% of the air balls, and makes it generally impossible for you to get any offensive flow.

4. Gameplay
Ohh, this burns me. A lot of the skill moves in the past apparently are not available. For example, you can no longer dive to draw fouls. Everytime the computer falls after a sliding tackle is a foul. It's so irritating. The players only shoot with one foot.

Yes, there are improvements, but in some ways this game feels like a step backward. With the World Cup in the near future, we deserved something better.

Don't believe the hype. Don't waste your money.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Beware of the MAX requirements for the game as well
Review: I bought the game bundled in best of EA Sports 2002. The good news is I got 4 games for a better price than individual. The bad news I got stuck with a bad FIFA game.
The minimum requirements are 200 MHz system. But be warned this game WILL NOT WORK for systems about 2 GHz. This has also been confirmed by customer service at EA Sports. That means if you have a fast system this game will not work. The good news is that the other 2002 games do not have this issue.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Huge Improvement!
Review: This game has improved greatly from FIFA 2001. Before it came out I considered not buying it because of the slight improvements in the older versions, but I played the demo and they proved me wrong!

Reasons:

On FIFA 2001 it was impossible to score from long range in open play. On FIFA 2002 you can score if you get the power of the shot right.

New Passing and Shooting Systems make it more realistic to play. You can now pass the ball into space and make players without the ball run onto the ball.

More skill moves. What I want to see! It hasn't caught up to the International Superstar Soccer Series yet, where you can do rainbow kicks, tap-ip's, and trademark moves, but it's getting there.

So, buy FIFA 2002 now because it's a great game and it has improved a LOT from FIFA 2001.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Back to the Golden Days
Review: After two years of poor games EA Sports came up with the best soccer simulation ever. Both FIFA 2000 and 2001 were overwhelmed by Konami's ISS but this year they made sure to beat all opposition.

I think that in order to rate such a game, one needs to assess three main things, being graphics, gameplay and AI. Regarding graphics it is renowned that EA were unbeatable and in fact graphical detail is quite impressive. With a good video card, you will enjoy swift movements, shadow effects, crowd details and much more.

If excellent graphics are not surprising, great improvement was made to both gameplay and AI. You can play in 16 different official leagues, use loads of national teams and participate in several competitions. In addition to that you can edit every aspect of your players, including the type of boots they will wear. In-game moves are excellent. There are 8 types of special moves and moreover you get to control the speed and accuracy of passing and shooting, with the help of spins.

Finally there is the AI. In previous editions of the game you could easily play at world class level after a few days. There were "special ways" to score a goal and so on. In FIFA 2002 world class is very difficult. In order to score you must make everything to perfection, and the computer plays to maximum ability. This makes the game very difficult and challenging.

Another thing to note is that many pathes to the game can be found online. These patches give you new personalised teams, new kits and also new referees. On the whole this is a game to buy, which will give you hours and hours of fun and challinging gameplay.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: FIFA 2002
Review: I have been playing FIFA soccer titles since the 1997 edition. This is by far the best. It is also the toughest to play. I don't mean the controls are difficult or that the game is unresponsive. I mean the AI is superior and the ball goes where you aim. Getting the ball in the general vicinity is not going to cut it. A player from your team in the general area of a pass is not going to get the benefit of the doubt, giving him an edge getting to the ball. The upside is the rush when you make a beautiful through pass and know it was your skill not a generous program that made the pass. I have been playing FIFA soccer through so many incarnations that I usually start the game at professional level and soon advance to world class. Not with this one. It is a very challenging game and one I am not going to get bored with anytime soon.
I also have World Cup 2002. No need to buy that game. You get the World Cup mode in this FIFA 2002 plus the options of playing leagues and tournaments including creating your own tournaments. The only thing you can do in World Cup 2002 is play the World Cup and friendlies. I think FIFA 2002 is a bit more challenging anyway.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not bad for 10 bux....
Review: I bought this game at Media Play last week for 10 bux...it isn't too bad, but I'm glad I didn't spend the full price on it. It has some faults like the easiest setting it far to easy, but the harder settings seem to hard. I guess I still gotta give it some time. I have played 2003 over my friends house and I do like that one better, but there is no way I'm spending 40 bux on a video game, i think 10 is even too much. Overall though, I like the selection of teams and the leagues and all that junk. Definitly one of the best football games I ever played, but not THE best. It pisses me off that you can qualify for the World Cup but you can't actually play in it!!! Whats that all about??? Whats the point of qualifying??? Oh well, overall I gave it a 4. Thats my rant, peace out ya'll!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: fun game
Review: Good Points:
A diagonal long ball over the opposing defence, breaking the offside trap for Di Canio to run through on goal - that's REAL football!!!

Bad Points:
I'm sure the computer players still cheat sometimes by locking up the controller at key moments... but then that's probably just me!

General Comments:
FIFA 2002 has stunning visuals, although I've only given them a nine because no doubt EA will further improve on them next year! The ball control is so much more lifelike and the gameplay is much more logical and you need to construct a game plan to win against the better teams. Previous to this, football games have been very pinball like. This game has a button to send a player on a run which is the major feature... they've removed the amusing but rare in reality 'Rocastle 360' and flipover (how many times do you see players doing that, certainly not every time they get the ball?!) You still get a little sidestep and, of course, the back heels and all that are still there. EA have gone for realism - and it works...!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One Of The Best !!
Review: hi,
I gave this game five stars becaus it is the best sporting
game i played so far. At first u might say it [stinks],but if u
now the game well u would'nt want to stop playing it. You may be wondering why MOST air balls the computer always gets them. Tricks!! The game speed is alright and the graphics is almost
perfect. If u tink your unbeatable go in options and put it on
World class and the game speed on Fastest then we well see . Sorry i got to go . Bye

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Work in Progress
Review: FIFA 2002 is a fundamentally different game from last year's edition. Almost all gameplay techniques that once worked (e.g., playing along the wing and crossing the ball into the penalty box) will fail. Having to completely relearn how to play the game is both fun and frustrating.

At the amateur level the game is too easy. I played a season as Ipswich Town and won every game. The next level, professional, is entirely too difficult. I finished in last place and hardly ever won. It is at this level that the problems with the game become apparent. It is extremely difficult to accurately pass the ball. Your computer teammates refuse to make intelligent runs to get open. Even pressing the Q (run) key barely helps, which is especially difficult because you also have to constantly press the W key to keep your player's speed up so that he is not stripped of the ball. Apparently the programmers want their customers to get repetitive stress injuries. This relentless key pressing is extremely tedious and robs a great deal of enjoyment from the game.

On defense your defenders are constantly beaten by their opponents and there is very little you can do about it. They insist on looking over their shoulder for the ball and will inexplicably stop for an instant allowing the opposing forward a clear chance on goal.

The interface, music, and game graphics are a step backward from previous releases. In order to have any success at the more difficult levels, you need a camera angle that allows a wide view of the pitch, which reduces the players to little ant figures.

In sum, FIFA 2002 is much more a simulation of football than the previous arcade-like editions. This is good but the game feels incomplete. The gameplay needs to be refined so that the user has both a challenge and a chance at winning without ending up in hospital with carpal tunnel syndrome.


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