Publisher: EA Sports, easports.com
Ages: seven and up
Parental Advisory: Sports action
EA Sport's FIFA Soccer 2002 offers the finest soccer experience on the GameCube-not just because FIFA is a great game, but because for now, it's the only soccer game that's available for the console. And if you're only going to have one soccer game for the GameCube, you can't ask for much more than FIFA Soccer 2002.
FIFA Soccer 2002 lets you play through a season with your favorite club team, or, in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualification Mode where you select an international team and try to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. For this, the game offers 75 national teams and 16 leagues, which include the English Premier League and Major League Soccer (MLS).
You can create your own tournaments to compete against friends, or take on the computer's artificial intelligence, which is challenging. You can also create your own players and teams. For this, the game offers lots of options for body, hairstyle, skin tone, and more, as well as attributes.
The new passing system is a solid improvement over that in previous versions that gives you better control over the ball. However, learning the nuances of this new system can take time. There's also a new tackling and referee model that determines whether you succeed or foul based on the timing and angle of your tackles. Another plus, the game lets you customize controls and map moves.
While FIFA is essentially a PlayStation 2 port, the game looks great. Players have distinctive looks and authentic faces (with expressions), hairstyles, accessories, and more. Also, the player animation is amazingly smooth and realistic. While you won't mistake the players in FIFA 2002 as the real thing on a television set, the graphics and audio do a remarkable job of recreating the sites and sounds of a real soccer game. And to dress up the game, there is surprisingly in-depth commentary.
If there can be only one soccer game for the GameCube, FIFA Soccer 2002 is a good choice. FIFA Soccer 2002 for the GameCube clearly stands as the latest and greatest soccer game. That is, until FIFA Soccer 2003, or one of EA's competitors manages to topple it.
