FIFA 2001 Major League Soccer

Electronic Arts is well known in the gaming world as the sports leader.  Every year we are bombarded with Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey and more.  The 2001 series of sports titles developed by EA have raised some eyebrows with superb graphics and realism to the sport.  EA has proved year after year that they are the leaders in the sports genre. 

 Like other EA releases, the Fifa series has always been the standard to set all other soccer games to.  Fifa soccer was the first EA sports title to combine 3D graphics with gameplay.  Although Fifa has been known by some as the best sports series to date, it has been outsold in the US by the more popular Madden, NHL, and Tripleplay series. Fifa has done extremely well in other parts of the world where the sport is more popular than the United States.  Will the new 2001 release be the Fifa title that makes gamers take notice of what it has accomplished for so many years?

Fifa 2k1 has all the options and style of the past Fifa games.  There are an endless number of teams in the game to choose from.  You can play the usual Exhibition, Tournament, League, Cup, Season, and Training using any number of teams that are available.  The multiplayer options are there and have really been taken up a notch not only in Fifa 2k1 but also in the 2k1 series as a whole.

Now, lets get down to specifics.  Graphically this game is unbelievable, with fluid motion and outstanding facial expressions that allow you to know exactly what they are trying to convey without saying a word.  The action and realistic motion almost make you feel you’re watching the game on television.  The camera follows the action nicely and also brings you in close when those arguments with the ref heat up.  Fifa 2k1 has the best ovarall graphics of any other soccer game and accomplishes everything you would want in a soccer title.

The music and sound effects are also outstanding.  John Motson and Mark Lawrenson do the excellent commentary and they very rarely repeat themselves like other sports titles (*cough, Madden, *cough) that are out now.  I always look forward to the music the game starts with from "tub thumping" in the previous releases to this year's rendition of "body rock".  The crowd noise draws you into the action with chants and cheers.  The crowd can really make the game give you the sense of being there.

Gameplay is excellent with the many options you have and the ability to hit or kick the ball just about anywhere on the field.  The gamepad was my choice of input to control the game.  Unless you practice, the game can seem rather difficult to play.  When first starting Fifa, the opponent, on easy, whipped my butt so many times I was embarrassed.  After getting use to the controls and how to maneuver the ball around players, it wasn't long before I was taking the game to them.  Practice in this game is definitely a plus before taking on a season or multiplayer games.  Even after practice I still had a hard time scoring, but that is realistically true in soccer.

Multiplayer in the 2k1 series this year is what has caught my attention.  With consoles, which have excellent sports titles, coming onboard with online multiplayer, the PC market had better keep on their toes to stay on top of the playing field.  The multiplayer in Fifa gives you nothing to worry about from the console arena.  There is excellent match up play, along with leagues and seasons to allow you to enjoy more than just a quick game.

The new release Fifa brings the EA team another notch of respect that they deserve.  Hard core and casual gamers will agree this is the best soccer game to date.  If you like soccer then you'll love Fifa 2k1.

Install: Easy

Game play: 9, Outstanding detail to player movement and a challenging game to play.  Multiplayer is right on target.

Graphics: 9.2, Graphics couldn't get much better without being real.

Sound: 9, Nice crowd, commentary, and music give this game an overall professional feel.

Difficulty: 8.5, Practice, Practice, Practice.  Did I mention you will have to practice?

Concept: 8.5, The concept of the actual game is not new, but the concept of the options and gameplay are what should be rated here.

Overall: 9, The game could have been a 10, and probably deserves it.  I usually try to reserve my 10 for games that make my jaw drop.  This game almost did that and then I realized....it was only soccer.