FIFA Football 2005

The start of the European football season every year brings with it a deluge of football titles all vying for every wannabe David Beckham or Ronaldo's attention. As usual, EA Sports have delivered their now almost legendary FIFA title in time for Christmas. This year however, instead of being sure-fire favourite to top the European gaming charts at Christmas, FIFA is the underdog. Pro Evolution Soccer 3 outclassed FIFA 2004 in almost all areas and to dig itself out, EA Sports have to deliver something quite special indeed. Quite amazingly, they may just have done it.

Putting FIFA 2004 up against Pro Evolution Soccer 3 in a real football game would have been the equivalent of putting the Kingz up against Arsenal. PES 3 played FIFA off the park with its intuitive passing, its amazing attention to detail and actual resemblance to the beautiful game. This year though, things are a little different. The FIFA team have been training hard and have come up with some nifty new moves to leave PES's defenders in their dust. While it still may not resemble the real game as well as PES, it is an enormous improvement over last year.

Controls this year remain almost identical to last years. However, there have been several small tweaks that have smoothed the flow of a game. The shoot button has been given a power meter. While this sounds almost trivial, it does make a difference. A shot, even from point blank, can be blasted over the bar in a way eerily reminiscent of David Beckham's penalty miss at Euro 2004. It is also possible this year to pull off lob shots to pull of some cheeky moves when playing your mates.

Through balls have also been tweaked to allow lobs and the ability to send players on probing forward runs has also opened the game up immeasurably. If timed right, a player sent on a run can be threaded a clinical pass and will leave defenders staring at his heels. Some of the moves that can be linked together would leave Brazil breathless.

One criticism about how the game is played however must lie in the odd positioning of players at times. Defenders do not move forward to hassle attacking midfielders or strikers. Instead they lie around the penalty box waiting to be attacked. This, again, seems trivial but it does allow for some cheeky long-range goals as strikers are left with acres of space. You are not even able to alter a player's position on the tactics screen to make them push up into a more aggressive position. This makes enabling the 'offside trap' tactic almost pointless as strikers very rarely are in a position to be behind the last defender. That said, it does not take long to adjust your game to suit this and defending becomes a breeze quickly.

Newly added this year is the 'First-Touch' system. It basically involves using the second thumbstick on receiving a pass to create space for a run. It is initially quite tricky to use but given time, you will be able to create mountains of space and leave defenders in your wake. It isn't perfect but it is quite fun and is somewhat reminiscent of the old FIFA special moves from days gone by. Try it with a player who is rubbish though and you will give the ball away quickly. Try it with Zidane or Henry though and you will be able to control the ball like a pro.

One of the only areas where FIFA 2004 won out in its battle with PES 3 was in the graphics department. Fortunately FIFA 2005 is as stunning to look at as its predecessor. The biggest stars in the world, and even some at my beloved Aston Villa, are modeled on actual players faces and create an almost lifelike representation on the field. Players like Henry, Rooney, Crespo, Beckham and a whole lot more are all there in stunning detail. Animation too is stunning and this year manages to not affect gameplay too much, I am yet to find an instance where a player being forced to complete his animation will do something ridiculous. Stadiums and kits are also packed with detail. Even lowly Third Division teams like Lincoln City or Notts Country have 'proper' kits and not just a jersey of the same colour as they usually wear.

FIFA's soundtracks have always been a strong point and this year is no exception. Franz Ferdinand, New Order, Morrissey and a host of other British Indie acts are joined by a multitude of European and South American sounds. It all blends together to create an incredibly varied range of tunes that you can happily listen to while exploring the games menus. Crowd noises are also as good as ever with individual chants being distinguishable for each club; at least I'm sure I heard some Aston Villa chants while I was playing with Villa.

The usual FIFA game modes are all present with the only real addition being a hugely expanded Career mode. Rather than being limited to a five-year career, players take on the role of a young manager at a smaller club and are forced to earn the right to manage larger clubs as the years progress. It is not quite up to PES 3's Master League mode, but it is quite a step up from previous FIFA efforts.

However, FIFA 2005's biggest selling point is its compatibility with Xbox Live. American Football fans have had online console gaming since NFL 2k on the Sega Dreamcast but Soccer fans have been waiting for this for a very long time. Thankfully EA Sports have not let us down. The online play is brilliantly executed. Players can track a dizzying amount of statistics and you are even rewarded with trophies for going ten games unbeaten, scoring three goals in a game and a whole lot more. While connections with European players here in New Zealand can be very laggy, playing Australians or New Zealanders is generally very smooth and one hell of a lot of fun.

At this moment in time, FIFA 2005 is the best football title available for the Xbox. So if you are a football fan then you really should consider picking it up. Whether Pro Evolution Soccer 4 takes its crown or not is a huge question but one we cannot answer until its release around Christmas.