FIFA 99
- November 24, 2000 14:47 PM PST
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Because EA's World Cup 98 game, released last summer, is still so fresh in my memory (and still on my hard drive), I feared FIFA 99 would be little more than a minor update in a new box-more club teams, few advances.
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I was wrong. FIFA 99 substantially improves upon WC98 (and FIFA 98) in several key areas. The first and most obvious is graphics. While the default camera is further away from the action, the players and their whopping 835 animations are amazingly detailed and realistic. As in Madden 99, there are three different player sizes, and players' heads track the ball, enhancing the feeling that you're watching real soccer teams.
Much attention has been paid to balls in the air, and now you get excellent chest traps and the ability to head a ball toward a teammate's head or foot. It makes for some wonderful aerial volleys where the ball can travel halfway down the pitch without hitting the turf, then be struck wickedly on goal with the fabulous bicycle or scissors kicks.
The "regular" fakes (holding button 7 or 8 and juking with the D-pad) are also beautifully implemented and add nice variety-step-overs, for instance-to the players' lifelike dribbling. And of course EA added more special moves, including a dive and sliding hook shots that look just perfect.
EA also quickened the game's pace and improved teammate and defender AI. Your forwards make slicing dashes through the box to beat opponents to your crossing pass, and defenders mark tightly at their end of the field. Goalie AI is also top-notch-they're appropriately aggressive in knocking away or grabbing crosses and diving on loose balls. You now have the option to take control of your goalie and have him rush a defender. This new "semi-automatic" goalie feature is one I rarely took advantage of, however, because left unattended they do better than I would.
Scoring can be tricky. It usually requires one or two good passes in the box, as in real life. I'd also prefer NHL 99's convention where, when shooting on goal, Down-Left on the D-pad is the lower-left corner of the goal, Up-Right is the upper-right corner, and so on. In FIFA 99, toward the goal is a high shot, away is a low shot, and left and right are Up and Down on the D-pad (depending which way you're facing).
While I'm always amazed at the well-timed and appropriate commentary, the color guys (Mark Lawrenson and Chris Waddle take turns) have this habit of echoing the key word of John Motson's play-by-play commentary, especially on goalie saves. I'm also not as fond of Fatboy Slim's soundtrack as I was of WC98's, but the sound effects are once again first-rate, with the crowd cheering and whistling (European's version of booing) at appropriate moments, and players grunting when they strike the ball hard.
There's also plenty to master-EA added Portugal and Belgium, bringing the total to 12 international leagues. Including international teams, there are now 246 with real players (except for those in the North American league) and real stats. As before, you can buy and sell players, plus set four in-game strategies and tweak player positioning to your heart's content.
Factor in the excellent multiplay (though it still lacks Internet capabilities), ability to create custom cups and leagues, and once again EA has done a sport proud with a strategically sound, graphically stunning, and highly addictive game.
