FIFA98: RTWC demands an in-depth, objective review, such as
this.
Presentation wise, FIFA98 cannot be faulted. The opening
movies, the pretty videos you see after selecting a stadium, right down to the player
graphics. It reeks class. I do recommend a 3DFX card to play the game - if you're
wondering why you don't see snow when you turn it on, it's because of this. Our two
intrepid friends Motson and Gray return. It's glad to see EA Sports not simply recycling
the commentary this time around (as did did with 96 to 97). This time, they tend to
appraise the situation better. When a spectacular goal is scored, their commentary matches
it, most of the time. Still though, there are faults, like after I win 10-0, Motson dryly
comments that 'some aspects of their game still need to be worked on', but that's
excusable, naturally.
Moving on to the all-important gameplay. EA Sports have done
an unbelievable job with the controls. Gone is the tedium that plagued FIFA 97. Everything
here is intuitive. You don't have to try so hard to even get accurate passes (unlike the
previous versions), passing is as it should be, accurate most of the time, but with the
possibility of interception, going astray. One touch passing - thank GOD! And the special
moves and sprinting. While not encompassing all possible moves, it is an excellent
sampling of the more famous fakes so gloriously demonstrated by past players, and current
ones.
Following the release of the patch, the game AI has improved
by leaps and bounds. No longer do forwards squander easy chances, and the AI remains
consistent throughout the game, not only for the first half. The AI adopts itself to your
tactics. Play rough with them and you'll find yourself bruised by them as well. I must
congratulate EA Sports for (finally) listening to it's fans. Finally, it's a challenge.
Not as great a challenge as Championship Manager 2, but still, taking Germany on is always
an exciting prospect.
EA has also listened to it's persistent customers and
included the save-replay function again, a feature mysteriously dropped from FIFA 96 and
97. I can only thank them for enabling me to compile my greatest moments on disk. Their
player editor is far more robust than the 'transfer system' present in FIFA 97. You can
edit players names, change their teams for cash, change their jerseys, and meddle in-depth
with team tactics. The only thing not included was the ability to create players and teams
from scratch. The ability to customise teams was present in both 96 and 97, so why, oh why
was it omitted now?
That aside, I am thoroughly enjoying the game now, and intend
to do so till the next FIFA comes out.
| KCW's REVIEW - V 1.30 |
| Graphics |
9.7 |
| Sound |
9.7 |
| Artificial
Intelligence |
8.8 |
| Gameplay |
9.1 |
| Fun-factor |
9.6 |
| Reviewers
Tilt |
9.4 |
| Overall |
9.4 |
Reviewed on: Pentium 200, 64 MB EDO RAM,
Full install off CD, 4 MB 3dfx Voodoo-based 3D accelerator, patched version V 1.30,
SoundBlaster AWE 64 Value, Sony 32X EIDE CD-ROM
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