FIFA 2001

"Whats the score?", that was one of my uncle's question when he entered my room and a game between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich was going on. I said with a grin in my face, "Its 22-0, in favor of Real Madrid". I knew he was a Bayern fan, and it didn't take him long before he stared at me with large rolling eyes and then shift his look at the score at the corner of my computer monitor. His large round eyes became larger still when he saw that what I said was true, he looked at my face once and once at the score and then I felt pity for him and broke out the surprise, "It is a PC simulation game named FIFA 2001", I explained. He was an amateur, but even people who usually play games will find it difficult to make the difference between the game and the real thing. What I just said maybe a exaggeration, but as the saying goes, "Where there is smoke there is fire", there is enough goodies in the game to back me up.

FIFA 2001 from EA Sports is one of those games that though flaunts the year 2001 on there title, usually hit stores in the last quarter of 2000. I got my hands on the game this January and I was stuck to my computer for a long long time after that, trying to win a triple for the Spanish giants Real Madrid. The game provides gamers with lots of quality fun time.

The graphics itself has sufficient boost to get me writing for a petty long time. The game kicks off with the teams entering the field from the dressing room and they look pretty real. Sometimes it focuses on certain character and then slowly ends up at the center of the field for the kickoff. Now, in the older version of the series it was impossible to recognize players from the game but FIFA 2001 features players who look almost similar to there real counterparts, like David Seaman and Tony Adams of Arsenal, Paul Scholes from Man Utd specially looks real to me and I can't stop myself from being amazed at the work by the guys at EA Sports. There are four camera views to choose from and one customizable camera view, just hold the mouse button and move it to get your desired view. The instant replay feature really can get you going, from different angles this really gives you the feel that you are watching the game on TV. One new feature in this version is that now you can see the linesmen running along the sidelines, and substitutes warming up behind the advertisement boards. There are law enforcers near the galleries moving about minding there own business.... there are cameramen busy taking the footage as the game moves on. These are really great looking and adds up to the developers claim of real world action. There were a few graphic glitch in the FIFA 2000 which have been fixed in this one. Now during the out of play cinemas when the player rejoices his goal standing in front of the goal, he is not bisected when viewed through the other side of the net. The edges are made much smoother. Oh! there are a few new out of play cinemas, both for bookings and scoring goals. But some old ones are left out, I specifically miss the one when the scorer imitates a hunter hunting turkeys, which are portrayed by the other teammates. There is a new own goal-out of play cinema, check it out yourself, it is worth a own goal. I bursted out laughing. Actually there are two, check both of them out. The player customizability is yet more cooler, the hair and facial hair are no longer solid textures, but is more lifelike, you have to see it to believe it..... You can create players and teams and then play with them. Awesome........

Now the game play, there are all the old modes of play: friendly, tournaments, training and season. There are 16 leagues and over 50 international Sides. The leagues feature all the 1st division teams with their kits and even the sponsor's logo on their shirt. Some of the teams don't have the logos but they are not that popular. I noticed a funny thing, Arsenal and Deprtivo La Coruna feature SEGA on their shirt, but in the game, though both the teams are popular, they don't have their sponsor's name!!!!! Surprising don't you think. According to the developers there is more room on the pitch, that creates more space and tactics, but I personally think that doesn't make much of a difference to the gameplay.... but it is much more easier to attack from the wing though. The goalkeepers are more challenging, they virtually fall on to the strikers feet to gather the ball and it is difficult to score from close range. The interface is better than ever and I really love it. There is new league in this game, the J-league, the dudes from Japan will now be able to rock your PC monitor. One thing they brought back is the choice for stadiums, there are five stadiums to choose from, they are Nou Camp, Wembley, Stade De France, San Siro and one German Stadium. The training mode allows you to work up your skill in the different department of the game like penalties, set pieces, corners and also defensive skill. It is necessary to be skillful because now you cannot score scores of goals in even the amateur mode, you have to play according to tactics and use team play. Different team require different strategies to beat them and so you better know the game well. The developers also added the advantage for internet play for the first time. I never played that way but me and my friend played using the modem and our country's phone line being so great(?????) we suffered serious screen losses. However that was a bad experience anyway, I lost.

The music is not that good except for a few of the songs and instrumentals. It features music from Moby, Utah Saints, Curve, Grand Theft Audio(??) and The Source. I had to wait for 15 minutes to find out the names of the performers, I had to wait for the whole credit as the performer names are given at the end of it, man this part of the reviewing was absolutely boring. The sound effects are great, you can actually hear the managers and the players shouting while the game is going on, and the emotions of the players after they have scored or missed. The crowd is also not so quiet, they cheer when someone scores and and booes when someone misses....... really cool, and the crowd animation is also appreciable.

The game has very little flaws, virtually none, but the guys at EA sports could have kept some features from Euro 2K. The player name on the kits and the match highlights that could be viewed after the game would enhance the game more. Well this is one must play game for all sports sim lovers out there. This game will not disappoint you at all.

 

Game Info

Game Name: Fifa 2001

Genre: Sports
Publisher: EA Sports
Reviewed by:
 Sami
Mail him.

Game Score: [Five lightning rating]

Graphics:                          
Gameplay:                         
Sound:                            
Story / Plot:
Reviewer's Tilt :
Overall:

Game Tested on:

- PIII 800 Mhz
- 128 MB RAM
- Savage 4 16MB
- Windows ME

The Good: Gameplay, Graphics, Controls, Customizing options, interface
The Bad: Joypad/stick required for two player game, Not many new features besides graphics improvement.
The Ugly: The Nigerian players????