FIFA 98 - ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP
EA SPORTS

I*ve been a buyer of this series from the beginning (even had the Sega 
CD version, which was great). I thought the 97 Playstation edition was 
the best yet, so boy was I ready for this one...

Graphics (9/10):
Excellent. From a first class intro, to much improved stadiums, to 
video footage of the city you*re about to play in, this one has it all. 
The players have a lot more animations than in the last version. 
Skilled footwork, arguing with the ref, goalies diving to cover balls, 
new goal celebrations (good ones!) and more! They*ve really packed a 
ton of new motion captured animation into this title.  Tons of player 
detail as well. Well drawn kits, and the players seem to resemble their 
real-life counterparts (Alexi Lalas has red hair, Ian Wright is bald, 
etc.) On the down side - The default camera view doesn*t seem as good, 
it always feels like it*s cutting off the bottom of the field a bit. 
Also there is a leaning dribble animation (hard to describe) that 
players now do just about every time they change direction. Gets to be 
a bit much. I don*t know, despite all the new detail, the animation of 
the player interacting with the ball seemed a little tighter last time.

Sound (7/10):
Great intro and pause music. I think you*ll recognize these tunes. 
Sound effects seem a bit better than the last time, crowd chants are 
still a little lacking if you ask me. Here*s the big issue - the 
commentary:
The commentary on FIFA 97 was the best I have ever heard, in any sports 
game. They were smart enough to use the actual English commentators and 
it was perfectly executed. There was an enormous variety, they knew 
every players name, and made game specific calls such as *that could 
have been the equalizer* or *surely that one will win it for them* 
(when you go up by two goals late in the game or something). This 
version: I was VERY happy to see the same commentators come back . In 
addition, there has supposedly been a lot more speech added. 
Consequently, the sound quality of the speech has been reduced to make 
room. That*s not so bad (even though the last time it was crystal 
clear, which was great) but the problem is that the speech has actually 
slowed down, and now comes after the play on many occasions (not as bad 
as in NHL 98, but certainly a step down from FIFA 97). During the game 
he seems to not say as much during the course of play - i.e. *well 
handled by Wright* or *excellent pass by Bebeto* is now just *Wright* , 
*Bebeto* when they have the ball. The new speech seems to be mostly on 
set plays or special situations (bookings etc.). One big plus - that 
annoying call of *what a bad challenge there* is gone. In the 97 
version it happened ALL the time.

Interface (9/10):
This is better than last time. They*ve really tried to streamline all 
the options, while at the same time giving you more than twice as many. 
This game has all the options you could EVER want. It*s staggering. 
EVERYTHING can be adjusted it seems. Even little things like access 
time when at the half and pausing the game have been improved.

Gameplay (8/10):
Well, I haven*t been playing it for more than a week or so, but it 
really seemed like the last one may have been just a touch tighter. 
Perhaps this will change as I get used to it. There is a new kind of 
tackle that*s good (though I wish they hadn*t changed the buttons) and 
the set plays are improved in this version. There are a million 
gameplay tweaking options I haven*t played with yet either, so this 
score may improve to a 9/10.

Stats/Season Play (10/10):
Get ready for STAT heaven. Someone at EA definitely had World Cup fever 
and wanted to spread it to the rest of us. A plethora of league teams 
with all your favorite clubs, and as for national sides - this is as 
realistic as qualifying for the World Cup can get. I love the idea that 
someone in Moldova could play this game and see all their national 
players with accurate ratings, as well as subs! All of the qualifying 
groups are even put together realistically. One quibble - only a few 
stadiums to choose from, and a weird selection at that.)
Here*s a big one: In FIFA 97, the real American players were noticeably 
absent. I was afraid this was a ploy by EA to later bring out an MLS 
version of FIFA and try to get all us Lalas loving Americans to buy 
that one, luckily that didn*t happen. And I*m happy to say that all the 
real Americans are in this one and ready to fight (desperately) for a 
chance at the cup! 

Difficulty (9/10):
The control is pretty easy to get into, especially if you*ve played one 
of the other versions of FIFA, and since all the difficulty levels are 
infinitely adjustable, players should have no trouble adjusting to 
their level of play.

Overall (9/10):
Though there have been a few setbacks from FIFA 97, I would have to say 
the improvements far outweigh them, making this the best video game 
soccer ever. I*d be VERY surprised if anyone can top this version. (I*d 
be curious to see the N64 version. Maybe the graphics are better, but 
they can*t possibly pack all that speech in there). Get this game and 
get ready to take on the world! The Cup is up for grabs!