This year's FIFA on the Gamecube.

[K-project]

Did anyone here, like me, get Fifa 06 on launch day for the GC. What's your thoughts on the latest, and in my opinion greatest Fifa yet? Are you looking to get it? If you have any questions about it come here and ask those who do have it. Please, no zealous PES fans thankyou, I'd hate for this to turn into Fifa vs PES thread. I used to love PES a couple of years ago (no. 3 was the last one I played) and I know all too well how wonderful (and flawed) that game is. We don't need to cut and paste the same old arguments year after year!

 

My own opinions so far are many and varied. First off it's a lovely conversion to the cube. Or at least I would suppose it is having never seen the rival systems versions! The graphics are much more solid feeling and the kits are much more detailed for the most part. Gamecube doesn't seem to get the "shiny graphics" syndrome that owners of Xbox's have complained about, and that's either a good or bad thing depending on who you talk to. There's also a true 16:9 mode hidden away in the game settings menu, which is excellent.

 

There's clearly an incredible amount of depth to the gameplay this year, which I expect will fully prove itself over many weeks/months of play. At first it's a bit of a culture shock having to pass the ball intelligently and retain the ball, while spaces are made and options reveal themselves on the pitch. Once you acquit yourself to this new way of thinking about Fifa, you'll start to make headway into the game.

 

Anyway enough of my opinion (unless you want to know more!), I'd love to know what you think. Better or worse than 05?

[dabookerman]

Please, no zealous PES fans thankyou, I'd hate for this to turn into Fifa vs PES thread.

awww:(

 

ok, ill just make my opinion without mentioning the p word (or words)

 

aint played fifa 06, wont play it, fifa 99 > fifa 2000+

[K-project]

Fifa 99 was the last Fifa I played on the last gen (N64/PS1), and I didn't play an other right up to Fifa 2004 (which was so so...terrible, really terrible). At the time I thought it stank, I really did. It's surprised me to see so many posts on various forums declaring their love for the 99 iteration. To me that was Fifa at it worst. No power or feel to shooting, shots going where they damn well pleased, and worst offence of all, the ability to take a defender for example, and use him to weave unchallenged across the entirety of the pitch, and wallop one into the top corner! I remember showing my mate how to do it on his PS1 at the time and he couldn't believe it! Needless to say, we both got N64's after that with ISS...

 

But really Fifa's come a hell of a long way now. Don't get me wrong there's still issues here and there (the shooting, either heading or booting still doesn't feel as powerful as you might like). But if you have the ability to see beyond the negativity that the Fifa word seems to hold, I'm sure you'd enjoy the new game. Give it a go, but be warned: Now more than ever before Fifa needs a little commitment to get the best from it.

[dabookerman]

Fifa 99 was the last Fifa I played on the last gen (N64/PS1). At the time I thought it stank, I really did. It's surprised me to see so many posts on various forums declaring their love for the 99 iteration. To me that was Fifa at it worst. No power or feel to shooting, shots going where they damn well pleased, and worst offence of all, the ability to take a defender for example, and use him to weave unchallenged across the entirety of the pitch, and wallop one into the top corner! I remember showing my mate how to do it on his PS1 at the time and he couldn't believe it! Needless to say, we both got N64's after that with ISS...

 

But really Fifa's come a hell of a long way now. Don't get me wrong there's still issues here and there (the shooting, either heading or booting still doesn't feel as powerful as you might like). But if you have the ability to see beyond the negativity that the Fifa word seems to hold, I'm sure you'd enjoy the new game. Give it a go, but be warned: Now more than ever before Fifa needs a little commitment to get the best from it.

 

i dont want to go into a pro arguement but i just want to say one thing. in a particular genre like certain sports games, which ever game comes close to perfection ends up becoming the game to over do. imo pro is the perfect football game, fifa 99 was very fun for me, lots of stuff to do, the gameplay was fun, it wasnt realistic, and it wasnt a simulation. but now that we have fun football games (sega soccer slam) and simulations ( pro/fifa) we have to choose which is the best, the problem i see is that with fifa, they have done a lot of borrowing from the pro franchise. aswell as this, they spend too much time on trying to make a selling point for the game rathere then improving the game as a whole. if pro didnt exist, then im sure many of us will be playing fifa, but because pro does exist many of us dont. ive played fifa 2000, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05. was unimpressed with all of them. i dont see myself playing fifa 06.

im also too used to pro mechanics to consider any other footy sim:P

[Guest DS MaNiAc]

Played it in HMV today. I could barely play it for 2 mins, it was terrible. Comple crap. The 'keepers are shat! Someone takes a shot and instead of catching it the keeper punches it back to the striker who does a sliding tackle resulting in the ball rolling into the goal. Theres always next year....*sigh*

 

I played the PS2 version, just so you know. The graphics were ok, nowt special though tbh.

[K-project]

i dont want to go into a pro arguement but i just want to say one thing. in a particular genre like certain sports games, which ever game comes close to perfection ends up becoming the game to over do. imo pro is the perfect football game, fifa 99 was very fun for me, lots of stuff to do, the gameplay was fun, it wasnt realistic, and it wasnt a simulation. but now that we have fun football games (sega soccer slam) and simulations ( pro/fifa) we have to choose which is the best, the problem i see is that with fifa, they have done a lot of borrowing from the pro franchise. aswell as this, they spend too much time on trying to make a selling point for the game rathere then improving the game as a whole. if pro didnt exist, then im sure many of us will be playing fifa, but because pro does exist many of us dont. ive played fifa 2000, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05. was unimpressed with all of them. i dont see myself playing fifa 06.

im also too used to pro mechanics to consider any other footy sim:P

 

I disagree. Simple as. I don't feel the need to "debunk" PES. It's a great, great game. But I prefer the latest Fifa personally, and this thread is for the rest of us who do. As for people playing it for 2 mins then slagging it off on the internet, it just proves my point. It needs more commitment than that. I've seen too many reviews (in particularly NOM and C+VG) that have their opinions formed before they even play the thing. I reckon Fifa could have exactly the same gameplay as PES and it would still get those poor reviews, because essentially "Fifa" is a catch-all buzzword for "evil franchise" isn't it? It doesn't matter how good it is because y'know, Konami aren't an evil corporation at all with a yearly franchise that hey - hardly changes, and they make the "superior" game.

 

I'll re-iterate it again: PLEASE lets not get into FIFA vs PES (even though I just had my tuppence worth!). If there's nobody on the site who cares about FIFA - fine. But I suspect that most FIFA fans are bullied into submission now every year, and are afraid of voicing their opinions. Honestly, every year it's the same. Out come the PES thugs jumping into FIFA threads threatening us all!

[dabookerman]

pes thugs?!! where i live its the complete opposite...what do people say

 

"im SORRY...U CAN DO OFF THE BALL IN FIFA...CAN U DO THAT IN PRO...NO!!!"

[K-project]

pes thugs?!! where i live its the complete opposite...what do people say

 

"im SORRY...U CAN DO OFF THE BALL IN FIFA...CAN U DO THAT IN PRO...NO!!!"

 

 

Well, I was only joking y'know!

 

For me it's always been the other way 'round...as soon as I mention to anyone that I prefer FIFA it's like I've given away some kind of dark evil secret about my personality. I'd like to make clear now that my choice of football game says nothing about who I am as a person!

[dazzybee]

Okay, I wont mention other series, but what I hate about all fifas are these comments which I hope you will tell me ARENT in this version!!

 

Can you ACTUALLY take it round people in this - go on runs, or is the tackling to (unrealistically) effective again?

 

Do you have control over where you shoot? Not the 'general' direction, but can you 'choose' top shoot in the bottom left or the top right if you wish??

 

When you crank up the difficulty does it make your keeper worse and make you passes go astray or does it make the opposition play better football?

 

Can you actually make effective croses, throwins and corners?

 

Are the freekicks still shit?

 

Hmmm, I might come up with more questions later

[K-project]

What was the last version you played dazzybee? Sounds like it must have been 2004, because those issues you describe were solved (in the most part) in last years game.

 

Can you ACTUALLY take it round people in this - go on runs, or is the tackling too (unrealistically) effective again?

 

It does take a little getting used to, taking the ball around people, but I've not had any problems. The ball shielding button is used to help with this, combined with the C-stick moves. I find the tackling much better than previous versions. There's a lot of shirt pulling as you lean into the player with your analogue, and sometimes you'll pull him over, other times he'll skip over your challenges.

 

Do you have control over where you shoot? Not the 'general' direction, but can you 'choose' top shoot in the bottom left or the top right if you wish??

 

Yes, same as 2005 really. The power of the shot is determined by the bar at the bottom, which also affects the height. So pushing top-right on analogue stick with say, 3/4 power on the bar results in top-right corner shot. Pushing bottom left on analogue, with low power results in low shot into bottom left corner. I have previously said though, that shooting still isn't quite as powerful as you might like if you're used to PES.

 

When you crank up the difficulty does it make your keeper worse and make you passes go astray or does it make the opposition play better football?

 

Erm, I can't really say about higher difficulty settings. I'm still getting to grips with semi-pro! It's definitely less predictable than before, but not because of any unfairness in the game logic. It seems to me that they are playing better football all over. It takes some adjusting to!

 

Can you actually make effective croses, throwins and corners?

 

Are the freekicks still shit?

 

Crosses always threaten now, and though you can overshoot occasionally when you get a bit keen, the AI usually has somebody hanging around to whip it back in. Throw-ins are the same as 05 and I liked them then as I do now. Corners are the same as the old ISS 64 (or at least as I remember it). Arrow pointing direction, and a power bar. No fuss. No stupid menus. As for freekicks, well frankly I just can't do them yet so I can't comment. First impressions are though, that they are at least different to 05, but I can't say whether that's better or not yet 'cos all mine end up in row D. More practice required.

 

Hope this helps!

[Kurtle Squad]

The DS ver. is supposed to be better.

[Platty]

i usually like the fifa games i have PES and find it very hard to get on with, i dunno i just prefer fifa especially multiplayer! ill be getting fifa 06 on the DS

[Charlie]

The last good FIFA game I liked was 2003. 2002 WC (I got it on launch day with the GC) was appalling. You could score with your star player at shooting from the hlaf-way line, every single time. You just had to let go of shoot at the 2nd highest bar. 2004 was impossible to score in, the keepers were too good. 2005 seemed an improvement but I didn't have so I didn't play it that much. After that I got Pro Evo 4 on the Xbox and it's so much more realistic.

 

Hopefully 2006 will get even better, I was thinking of getting it for the DS but decided not to after reading what Dazzybee had to say about it.

[dazzybee]

The DS version is truly truly AWFUL!!!! I bought it, took it back the next day.

[daftada]

I have always found the FIFA games to be enjoyable, 98 and 04 are my favourite iterations. The arcadey feel reminds me of ISS 64 which is still my favourite footy game ever. And I find FIFA gets played more than Pro Evo when I have my mates round for a spot of gaming as they find it easier to play.

[Triple_C]

I have hated FIFA since after 2003 (apart from 2004 on GBA), I liked the free kick system, then they had to ruin it!!!!

[dZION]

Well, apparently FIFA '06 plays more like PES. There are lots of similarities in game-mechanics and you can even set the controller buttons to "PES-setup" if you want. (Don't worry, it's not a shameless rip-off).

 

I like it a lot, but haven't really been playing it that much. They finally got the AI right, it's actually hard to score a goal (unless you're playing on wussy difficulty).

 

I'm not saying it's better or worse than PES, it's just pretty different from '05, and I think some PES-fans would be pleasantly surprised when they would try the newest fifa.

 

I might buy it eventually, but for now I'll stick to playing against the shop-owner during lunch breaks.

[K-project]

I'm not saying it's better or worse than PES, it's just pretty different from '05, and I think some PES-fans would be pleasantly surprised when they would try the newest fifa.

 

...And you can't say fairer than that really.

 

Well, I've been playing it every day now since launch, and I must be getting at least 3 hours a day on it (for shame)! I'm absolutely loving it. My concerns over the shooting have since disappated. The ball has a very pleasing weight to it which really reveals itself over time (well it took me time...), and makes shooting feel very satisfying indeed. Particularly so when you add spin to the ball, which again helps make crossing perhaps the best I've seen in a footie game. There are some flaws....the slowdown that occurs occasionally on other versions is also present on GC, there is a "Back Four Flaw" that NGC outlined (which again is present in other versions), and for some reason on the GC version all the pitches are the same. Not the stadia, but the grass itself is all the same. On PS2 and Xbox you get different styles of lawn for different stadia, on GC it seems to be just the one!

 

All told though, none of this has had any impact on the quality of the gameplay. Gameplay? Fifa? Who woulda thunk it?!

[Rolf]

But... holding 'R' and pressing 'C-up' on FIFA 99 caused you to dive. Clearly the greatest addition to a soccer (sorry - football) game ever.

[Space]

But... holding 'R' and pressing 'C-up' on FIFA 99 caused you to dive. Clearly the greatest addition to a soccer (sorry - football) game ever.

Other games had done that before. 'Fever Pitch' on the Mega Drive was the first I can remember. Also that was only on the N64 version wasn't it?

 

Fifa was considered a nice alternative to Sensible Soccer when it was released in '94, but after Fifa '95 and '96 rolled by you started to see it wasn't going anywhere. Sensible Soccer was still far better and no amount of flashy graphics would please a football fan when the gameplay was so lacking.

 

It has been a couple of years since I played a Fifa game. The last one was on the Cube and even as a big Pro Evo fan I tried to justify my purchase, but after a few days I saw that I had been stupid to trust that EA had somehow turned Fifa into a Football fans' game.

 

With Pro Evo 5 on the horizon (pre-ordered long ago) I won't be buying Fifa, but I wouldn't mind giving it a go as I'm not close-minded. But considering the amount of money I've put into the series in the past I'd feel somewhat stupid to buy it again considering how poor Fifa has been in recent years.

[K-project]

But... holding 'R' and pressing 'C-up' on FIFA 99 caused you to dive. Clearly the greatest addition to a soccer (sorry - football) game ever.

 

You could do that on ISS 98 on N64 too. Can't remember which buttons though.

[Rolf]

Other games had done that before. 'Fever Pitch' on the Mega Drive was the first I can remember. Also that was only on the N64 version wasn't it?

I didn't know it had been done before - Fever Pitch was one of those games I never got round to playing. I might check it out. And I only had FIFA 99 on N64, so I don't know if diving was available on other consoles.

 

You could do that on ISS 98 on N64 too. Can't remember which buttons though.

Really? I had ISS 98, and didn't know that.

[K-project]

Yep it's true. N64 magazine told you how. I'll have a look back through my collection if you want to know how. I'm sure it was quite difficult to do as I remember. Something like hold all the camera buttons then press A and B. I do remember actually doing it once.

[daftada]

You could do it in This is Football 03/04, was a great laugh!

[ipaul]

Fifa is ok, but pro evo is so much better. Anyone know when pro evo 5 is coming out?