FIFA 2004

Of all the games out there, sports are the ones that benefited the most from polygons.  Great games in every genre – action/adventure, fighting, RPG, strategy, etc. – could be made on 2D systems.  But sports games are based on something that exists in the real world.  With the exception of Ice Hockey for the NES, I can't think of any 8- or 16-bit sports titles that I loved.

This is why it is so hard for developers to create great sports titles for the Game Boy Advance.  The system has a 32-bit processor, but its capabilities are limited.  Still, there have been at least 10 million GBAs sold in this country alone.  A big audience like that makes game development much more attractive.

Being the biggest player in the sports game field, EA has always been a big supporter of the GBA.  With the best soccer game on the market for PSone and PlayStation 2, I wondered if they could find a way to convert that experience to the small without killing it.  Lucky for us they have.

They say that your first impression is the most important one.  That may or may not be true with people, but that is the case with video games.  FIFA Soccer 2004's first impression left me very satisfied.  It will immediately ease the tension of worried gamers with its fluid gameplay and its console-style controls.  The second impression was even better though.  By that time I had gotten used to the controls I was able to perform all of the game's actions without needing a coincidence to help me along.  If these developers could make other sports games good on the GBA, EA should buy the studio before someone else snatches them.

Soccer is bigger overseas than it is in the States, so unless you're a diehard fan of the sport, you probably won't recognize many of the teams.  Setting the teams apart of course are the statistics.  Being a good player is the real advantage though; you can't rely on the in-game skill of the team alone to help you along.

Opponent AI is good for a GBA game.  Opponents are quick to steal the ball, especially if you're close to their end of the field.  Then they will fight the hardest because they don't want to risk that you'll get a safe shot.  That right there is where the opposing teams fail the most – if you can shoot, you can win.  A goalie can only do so much, and the net is awfully big.  So you'll spend most of the game trying to take command of the ball, and once you've achieved that, you'll inevitably fight to keep it from falling into the hands of the enemy.  This is somewhat true of all soccer games though.  I have yet to play one where the goalie had ESP (thus being able to "predict" where the ball would be kicked).  A game like that wouldn't be very much fun now, would it?

A game can look terrible and still play great, but graphics are sometimes related to the gameplay.  FIFA may look like it's powered by a basic engine, but there's a lot going on in the game that makes it seem like so much more.  Several players can be seen on the screen simultaneously.  They're most likely made up of sprites, but they look like the polygon character models from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.  It's always clear which player is which, who has the ball, and who you're controlling (if you don't have the ball).  Arrows effectively point you in the right direction whenever the game becomes a little unclear.

This is the premier GBA sports game.  I've played a lot of sports games for the system (including other soccer titles), and they're almost always missing something.  FIFA Soccer 2004 isn't missing anything.  I'd be lying if I said it was perfect, but if you take into account all of the limitations that the developers had to deal with, this game is as good as it can get.  The fact that this game is playable in the first place makes it worth a rental.  Take the rest of the stuff into account and it's a game no sports fan should miss.

Gameplay: 8
Electronic Arts scores another Game Boy Advance goal with FIFA Soccer 2004.  The game plays better than any other sports title released on the platform this season.  Its control accuracy and player individuality keep the game from meshing together too much.  Team variety is high, and the season mode is long enough to be entertaining during those lengthy boring moments in life.

Graphics: 7
While far from being a spectacle to behold, FIFA is efficient in giving gamers enough player detail to enjoy the game.

Sound: 6
The developers couldn’t do much here.  EA had a vocal soundtrack to work with, and as we all know the GBA can't handle that.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Easy to learn, easy to play.

Concept: 7.5
”Honey, I shrunk the game!”  FIFA Soccer 2004 is a smaller version of the console game you know and love.

Multiplayer: 7.8

Overall: 8
Calling all sports fans, EA has got the game for you!  FIFA may not sound as intriguing to Americans as NFL or NBA, but when a game plays this good, the sport no longer matters.  I'm not at all a soccer junkie.  I've never even watched an entire soccer game!  But I am really enjoying FIFA Soccer 2004.