The first and only soccer game I had ever played was FIFA 2003. It was a great game, played it about all of the Summer of '03 along with Zelda the Wind Waker. Though, a tough game at first, eventually I mastered the game at the highest difficulty setting and scored goals with relative ease. I sold the game for some extra cash but felt longingness for a soccer game for the time to come. When FIFA 2005 came out, I knew I had to grab this game because it had been too long. I had grown very fond of the career mode for EA's NCAA Football 2004, well, addicted is more like it. So when I heard there was a career mode for the new FIFA game, I was sold immeadeatly. I put down the clipboard, cap, and headset for a nice suit, coat, and tie to play the other football. I had heard of Winning Eleven and World Team Manager, but since I only own the Game Cube, my choices were limited. GameSpot is dead on about the career mode not being very user friendly. It is pretty long and tedious, especially with the transfer market. It can really take a long freaking time to go through teams to find players to help your own club. I started with a team in the English 2nd Division and now am in the Premiership. It took about 4 years, so obviously during previous seasons, I would simulate games to speed things up and intervene (great feature) in case things were going awry. What I do like is that this game can actually incorporate EVERY player in EVERY league, its always nice to know your player's names and see how they do in reality. The gameplay is at its best of the series. There is off the ball control which makes the corner kicks, certain restarts, and even throw ins more exciting. The play is more realistic than before except for some of the scrambles in the goalkeeper box and ball is rolling around as you try to punch one in. The graphics are good yes, but not when the camera zooms in on a certain player. Close ups of Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney do not look real at all...oh well. The shots of the stadiums and the immediate surrounding area are awesome The sound is cool, at least during play and the sound that is initiated during foot/hand to ball contact. The fans noise is not as great as I would like it to be and the announcers sound very wooden and spotty at times. Despite its drawbacks, I like the game. Its pretty addicting and the difficulty is pretty high, even at the 2nd level of difficulty. I haven't switched teams yet, but thats the advantage of playing a 15 season career mode, I have a high level of loyalty. If you like soccer/football, than pick this game up and give the career mode a try. If you are serious about team management modes or very casual, than try a different soccer game if you have the consoles for them.
i have had this game for 3+ years and have not gotten tired of it. The game play is an improvement from previous fifa games and the season option is fun. I have not had a much fun playing alone and I recommend getting ... Read Full Review
~Introduction~ It has almost become an addiction now, the yearly ritual of buying and then playing the latest release of FIFA. I have got all of the FIFA titles and there isn't much that I don't know about the games. ... Read Full Review
