FIFA Soccer 2004

EA Sports, $49.99

GameCube, PlayStation2, Xbox, PC

It’s in the game … and in the front office, too, in this newest edition of what is perhaps EA Sports’ most successful all-around game. Relatively simple basic controls and lovely graphics make this much easier for beginners to enjoy than, say, basketball or football, which requires considerable skill to achieve any level of realistic play. Yet, as with all good games, there’s a lot of depth and subtlety, so you can continue to learn new tricks and features as you become more experienced. The game play is sophisticated without being unwieldy; there are some plays I may never even try to master — give-and-gos or various skill moves — but I can pass the ball down the field, dribble, sprint, tackle, and bend my free kicks with some degree of accuracy, even though I still don’t really know what my D buttons are. New this year is control of players off the ball — up to three potential receivers, for instance, as you prepare to pass upfield — plus a wealth of managerial options, such as preprogrammed plays for free kicks, and a variety of formations and playing styles. Also new — and this is what will appeal to the true soccer aficionado — is a wealth of new teams, stadiums, sounds, and players: 24 pro leagues from around the world, plus 37 national teams, and 16 other top club teams, all updated with their 2003-04 rosters. In all, EA claims to have some 350 teams and 10,000 players, each rated in some 23 different skills, from dribbling and shot accuracy to aggression and field awareness. You can play them one-off against each other, or run through an entire tournament or season. There’s even a five-year “Deep Career Mode” in which you try to develop a championship squad over time, juggling lineups, searching the free-agent market for new players, scheduling games, even setting up a weekly training regimen for each player. Or there’s the online mode, where you play, trade, or chat with other gamers worldwide. That’s a bit much, even for me. What I’m working on, instead, is taking Torquay, the English third division squad from the seaside resort where Fawlty Towers was based, and getting them to where they can win the FA Cup by 2008. I’ll let you know how it goes. — Nick Barbaro

This article appears in December 12 • 2003.

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