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EA Sports’ premiere soccer franchise makes a second appearance on the PSP. Though the PSP has only been released for about 7 months, the game has been graced by two entries in the FIFA series. The FIFA that launched with the system was inarguably rushed to make the system launch. FIFA 06 is a much fuller, much more complete version of the game.
FIFA 06 for PSP is pretty much like the PSP version of the game. The vast game modes include manager mode. In this mode, you begin as a manager for a less than superstar team as you eventually work your way up the chain. It shouldn’t be too hard to get to the top since you’ll have fifteen years to do so. The way this works is as follows. At first, you’ll receive an email from the board telling you what they expect from you this season. You’ll have to manage several people including a scout, stadium manager, negotiator and several coaches. The coaches are of variable quality, though you can make them better by spending money.
To get money, you’ll need to get a sponsorship deal. There are several to pick from with various amounts of money being offered. Some of the sponsors simply want you to rate within the top half while others want you to go all the way. Of course, the sponsors with the more intense requirements pay better. If looking for a sponsorship isn’t your cup of tea, you can always implement (or increase) ticket prices for some extra revenue. Be warned with continually increasing prices since it’ll lower fan support, which is a major consideration for the manager. As manager, you also need to make sure to have high team chemistry and job security. Overall, the manager mode is definitely a well thought out single-player mode.
The gameplay will be familiar to fans of the series, though some improvements have been made compared to previous years. For instance, the game now lets you use the D Pad or left analog stick to change tactics either in offense or defense. There are eight different tactics you can change between. The control system has also been simplified when compared to previous iterations, giving a nod to FIFA games of old. Another key gameplay change is the importance of team morale. The different players have different morale since a bench player will be down if he is continually left on the bench. However, a team will get a significant boost if they make successively good moves but will be negatively impacted if they are in the lead and struggle to maintain it.
The PSP version of FIFA 06 does support online play. This is new to the PSP version of FIFA since the previous game didn’t support online play. The game works very well online with very little lag being noticeable. The game also supports offline multiplayer.
New to the PlayStation 2 version of the game is the ball-juggling minigames. This lets you pick your favorite player (there are countless players in the game) and play a Dance Dance Revolution like minigames to keep the ball in the air. It’s pretty simple yet strangely addictive, likely taking up countless hours of your time.
The game’s visuals are pretty good. The game does a good job of displaying large portions of the field at one time giving you a great view. The player models are very realistic though not quite as detailed as they were on consoles. The animation is believable, as well, since the characters accurately pull of their moves. The replays look amazing thanks to a neat visual effect that lets the player stay in focus while the background gets blurry. The stadiums look great, as do the fans that populate them.
The game’s audio is also satisfying. The announcing pair of Andy Gray and Clive Tydsley do a good job at announcing the game. They manage to keep things interesting. The soundtrack is very vast in scope, encompassing songs from a number of countries. It fits very well with the international focus of the FIFA series. Lastly, the sound effects are impressive, particularly the way the crowd explodes when something interesting goes on.
FIFA 06 is a delightful experience. The game truly captures the atmosphere of soccer. This means you’ll hear the enthusiastic soccer fans scream when their favorite team makes a good play. The gameplay is solid, and the presentation simply cannot be beat thanks to the wonderful combination of top-notch graphics and a scrupulous soundtrack. -- Adam Nunez, PGNx Media
---- Oct 25, 2005
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