It's probably hard to tell here, because PAL machines and our video grabbers still don't get on quite as well as they ought to, but FIFA's use of a nonstandard graphics mode gives everything a look rarely seen on the N It's still not pin-sharp by any means, but it's far better than the Coke-bottle glasses effect of old.
The animation of the players is much better than it was; if you think that everyone's got the moves of David Ginola, it's because they have! The posy Frenchman was motion-captured doing his stuff for the benefit of EA Sports' computers, and it pays off.
Having fully animated players does cause some annoyances from time time, because there are occasional points in the game when it seems like you have to wait for a particular animation sequence to finish before you can regain full control of your player.
It's especially apparent when you're trying to make tight turns, where what should be a single smooth movement feels like move-turn-move-turn-move. This time lag is short, but just noticeable enough when it happens to be irritating. The animation isn't the only thing that's better about FIFA ' The players are now a lot more controllable than the hobbling pensioners of old, and the drastically improved control system now lets you pass the ball about with some degree of accuracy, rather than just hoofing it up the pitch and hoping for the best.
It's much more of a passing game than it used to be, and is a lot more fun as a result. Although the intelligence of the opposition has been improved, they thankfully aren't the invincible supermen that some football games over the years have provided.
The keepers aren't infallible, and providing you're quick enough on your feet you can get shots past them from all distances without having to resort to the little slippy kicks and specific tight angles that often plague soccer sims. A very good new addition to the game is the on-screen directional arrow that accompanies corners, free kicks and dead balls.
The arrow itself is pointed at its target with the analogue stick, while the Z and R buttons bend it so you can belt out curve balls without messing around with aftertouch.
Although some people might not like it in a multiplayer game, on the grounds that it gives away your intentions, it makes things a lot easier for the player taking the kick - which is as it should be, as they're meant to have the advantage!
From the more varied chatter of the commentators Motty, Des and Andy Grey to the extremely in-depth management options, FIFA '98 is polished in every way. But is it as good as Konami's International Superstar Soccer 64?
On the other hand, FIFA's management and customisation options and more up-to-date teams, as well as its greater variety of camera angles and familiar commentators, might tip the balance back for some people, and unlike ISS versus FIFA 64, there isn't a huge difference in playability.
Plus there's the rather obvious point that FIFA '98 is cheaper! Which you buy is up to you, of course. But for the first time in ages, you won't be falling for the old trap of 'big licence over gameplay' if you buy FIFA ' If you want to take your home team to the World Cup, you can't go wrong with this!
Banishing the memory of FIFA 64, there's plenty of promise here and a seemingly rosy future for the World Cup '98 version. The game copies in accuracy Football Championship in France starting with since the qualifiers. That involves virtually every team of the world Besides, all of the 11 leagues are retained.
Suffice to say, I was extremely pleased when I got some solid playtime on this game, because it is remarkably improved over its predecessor. There are a lot of improvements in FIFA 98 , but the most important one is that the game is very fun. There is a variety of realistic moves, and some are quite dramatic when they involve shots on goal. Multiplayer is where this game excels, but the One-player Modes are fast and challenging.
For a change of pace, you can even try some frantic indoor soccer. There are only two major flaws with FIFA. First, the goalie A. For example, sometimes the goalie will walk by a ball that should be picked up, or will dive at routine catches.
It'll cause you to grumble "cheap goal" more than a few times, I'm sure. Next, the frame rate is suspect at some points during the contest. It doesn't hurt the pace of the game much, but you'll notice it occasionally. FIFA 98's 3-D graphics are excellent. The players are very detailed, and they have a variety of realistic moves. The atmosphere of the game just feels right, and if you like you can dampen it with the rain, sleet or snow options.
FIFA 98 is a huge improvement over last year's version. FIFA 64's engine has been totally overhauled for the better. The stadiums are more detailed, the player animations are much smoother and the gameplay is much more intuitive and friendly. Multiplayer games are a blast and the whole experience reminds me of ISS64, and that's a good thing. The goalie Al is braindead at times, but other than that, all is peachy.
Al Sports: It's not in the game. Soccer games are getting better and better. A few flaws prevent FIFA 98 from reaching stardom. Inconsistent goalie Al they don't seem to know where the ball is sometimes ; 2. Poor frame rates even in 4x4 indoor soccer and 3. Poor passing mechanics. Overall, the game is fairly entertaining. I hope EA keeps improving the series. If so, FIFA 99 will be king. What a difference a few months can make!
The game controls really nicely, the graphics are awesome the frame rate could've been better, but it's hardly bad , and the play-by-play is excellent. Indoor Soccer is a blast too. My only gripe is that goalie Al can get flaky at ti mes. If you're a soccer enthusiast that was a little let down from FIFA '97 , you'll definitely dig the improvements made to this year's game, which make it the best on the Nintendo And since this is the only soccer game with the official World Cup license, you can also try to earn a spot in the World Cup championship in the Road to World Cup mode.
As far as teams go. On the features side, FIFA throws in 16 re-created outdoor stadiums and one indoor stadium, along with the ability to manage every aspect of your team from its formations to its roster --you can even tweak your players' aggression levels. You also have the option to create a custom player and put yourself in the lineup. FIFA '98's overall presentation is really topnotch, featuring some of the best all-around graphics, sound, and control found in a soccer title.
The players are superbly detailed and move with fluid grace, and the character animations are so realistic, you'd swear you were watching a televised game the goal-scoring celebrations are especially cool. On the sound side, FIFA '98 never misses a beat with its two-man commentary, and the in-game effects and crowd chants really raise the intensity during the match.
It would also be nice if the game provided more post game stats other than goals scored and bookings. Who racked up the most tackles? Who won the most key headers? Which player passed the ball most effectively? The offensive AI could use a bit of work. Most goals scored by the computer are due to great individual efforts rather than beautiful passing and playmaking.
Finally, the speed burst effect lasts way too long it would be nice if you could fine-tune this as you could in NHL Good players have the ability to run at full speed up and down the pitch without breathing heavy. The audio, a feature that North American gamers complained about extensively last year, is back on par with the return of British commentator John Motson. The failed experiment of having American MLS announcers provide the play-by-play last year is hopefully one that will never again be repeated, and it shows that the developers at EA Sports listened to feedback.
The players themselves are vocal this year; they yell, grunt when tackled, and generally make quite a racket. Quibbles aside, this is a solid title. You can finally enable player names to appear below each player on the pitch, and this makes is so much easier to tell who is who. The game is loaded with modest and subtle changes like this that end up adding a lot to the game.
Evidence the attacking midfielder doing his little dance as he blitzes past yet another defender, switching legs and giving the ball a little push with the outside of his shoe. See the player about to throw a ball from out of bounds receive it as it is thrown from the sidelines, and watch he net moving satisfactorily when a goal is scored.
FIFA 98 simply looks tremendous, and I shudder in anticipation to think about next year' installment. The movements of the players are so fluid, so realistic, that in my first few games I had to stop once in a while simply to admire them. It is the first game ever in which I sometimes run a CPU only match, because it is so much better than any screensaver.
No, don't ask me if the non-3dfx FIFA 98 also supports PowerVR straight from the box version is good enough to play- it simply doesn't matter. I know I said this about a few games this year notably Moto Racer and Screamer Rally , but I had no idea what I was talking about, really. So I will say it again, and this time with conviction: if you love soccer, even a little, and you do not have a 3dfx card, buy FIFA 98 and a 3dfx card.
It is a really cheap ticket to gaming heaven. Trying hard to find some fault in the graphics, I can think of two things: in crowd animation, EA Sports are still using that 2D overlay, although this time there is some low resolution movement at the front row or two. And you may also get a very rare bug, in which the ball seems to go into the goal after it had hit the outside part of the net, and vice versa.
As for sound, well, it doesn't disappoint. The graphics are so superbly done, that the audio is belittled in comparison, but let me assure you that EA Sports did a great job here too. Yes, you still get the occasional funny mistake by John Motson in the play-by-play, like forgetting to mention that a penalty was given until after it was actually shot, or claiming that the referee was "a little lenient" when an opposing player just received their second yellow and was thrown off the field.
But these errors are rare, limited to maybe once or twice per 12 minute game, which is way better than anything else on offer in your local computer shop. They have also included some nice, colorful remarks, like when Motson claims that this is great treatment they are getting back in the media booth. Lastly, ambient sounds, like crowd cheers, are good and add to the overall experience.
Is FIFA 98 a blast to play? Surprisingly enough, the answer is a most emphatic yes. This year, EA Sports went back to the tried and true arcade methods of shot control, then made them much more complex while still keeping their basic simplicity. Sounds confused? I will try to explain. First of all, an 8-button gamepad is fully used- there are buttons for lob, shot, and pass, and also avoid tackle and speed burst.
The latter replaces turbo in a much more realistic way, allowing the player a short burst of speed to pass an opponent, but also tiring the attacker. You cannot use too many of those during a break, as the player will simply run too tired too quickly, and the defender will easily catch up and strip him of the ball. You also have the R ight and L eft buttons, which, combined with other buttons, perform specific actions, such as a spin or leg change or any other of a large number of different combinations.
Every move you ever saw in real life is possible in this game, if you try hard enough, and are quick enough with your fingers to perform it. OK, so this is pretty basic, except for the R and L buttons. Where the control system gets complicated is in the fact that a different type of execution of each button press will have a different result. For example, you may shoot normally by pressing and holding the shoot button the shot gets stronger the longer you hold down the button, up to about one second , but you may also make a direct, strong, low shot if you simply tap it once, or a chipshot if you tap it quickly twice in succession.
You can pass to a player normally, or may pass to an open space by tapping the pass button. You can lob low or high, depending on how you use the lob button, and you can even "lob" the ball to yourself, preparing for a bicycle kick.
Did I mention already the necessity of training? If you really want to master this amazingly rich control system, then you will have to spend some serious time with it. But if you don't, you can do very well with the few basic options, never caring about the flashier moves. Still, where's the fun in that? And how does the AI perform? Very well, thank you. Today's computers are simply not advanced enough for that. But compared to other soccer games, this one is a leap forward- players move realistically, changing places and running for open spaces.
Defenders switch positions and cover for each other, executing offside traps with cunning accuracy. Your teammates will position themselves well in almost any situation, but only as dictated by their level and skills. Goalies and defenders let balls slide over the line, protecting them from advancing strikers. No more of the "two defenders leaving the ball, undecided" phenomenon seen on other games- in FIFA 98 , if you want to score against a better team in World Class level, you need to work for it.
The other two levels, Amateur and Professional, are good for the first few games, but it's in World Class that the most fun can be had.
Another nice touch that has to be mentioned is the how the different teams play- you can expect different things from Colombia and Germany when you pit your lads against them, with the former going for many short, on the ground passes and flashier plays while the latter being much more effective- and boring.
All in all, when it comes to gameplay, FIFA 98 scores heavily. The pace of the game is right- it feels like real soccer is being played. Movements are realistic, and your plays are rewarded or punished as your would expect them to be had the match been real. Controlling your players is as impeccable as you want it to be- if you spend the time learning the game, your can do precisely what you want to do.
It takes some time to understand that things are not perfect. To finish the section, I am reminded of one incident that happened while I was writing this review. Remember the "Rosenthal miss", in the premiership, from several years ago? The one where he hit the crossbar from 5 yards, after a breathtaking break, and while standing alone in front of the goal?
You must have seen it, as it is still starring in almost every "premiership bloopers" collection shown. Well, it happened to me too And in another match, I managed to duplicate Poborsky's goal in the Euro championships. These little moments of deja-vu are evidence of how good FIFA 98 really is. From time to time, the game really makes you feel as if it is real football you are watching, that you remember the play you just saw from sometime in the past.
Yes, FIFA 98 is not perfect. First and foremost, there is the "catchup logic" problem. EA Sports have included a bizarre feature in the game, which takes effect during the second half if the computer is down at halftime.
What happens is that the computer will start shooting wildly, from improbable distances, making your goalie smack his lips in anticipation of a big bonus after so many saves. I am not talking simple long shots here, I am talking ridiculous- yard attempts become rather commonplace. You can "disable" this feature from the options menu- I strongly recommend that you do this before you begin to play- thus reducing the problem to a much more bearable state.
You still get the occasional "shooting streak", but in general, CPU teams at least try to get closer to goal most of the time. In any case, EA Sports have promised a patch for this problem, and to be honest, with this feature disabled, my enjoyment from the game was not ruined. Other, much more minor problems, are also there. Goalies still make some silly mistakes sometimes- the most noticeable one is leaving the ball to the closest defender to clear, effectively allowing a charging striker to reach the ball first and force the keeper to make an instinctive jump to save a possible goal.
Would have been easier to collect the ball in the first place, but most of these situations do not end up in goals anyway, as the striker is under pressure from just behind. Trying to reach a ball that is lying just by the sidelines seems impossible for computer controller players, as they will almost always push it over. Players about to take a corner kick usually try to fix the position of the ball, only contrary to real life, they do not move it to the edge of the marked area, but rather to the middle, which seems a little unrealistic.
Lastly, but for me, the most annoying aspect of the game, are those little animations during deadballs. Just before freekicks, goalkicks, or any other such activity, the game "treats" you to a short, admittedly beautiful, animation of the player "doing something"- fixing the ball position, moving away to prepare for the shot, etc.
This is nice in the first match or so, and in an impromptu "screen saver mode" as I mentioned earlier, but becomes terribly annoying when you've seen it all for the umpteenth time already. I really wish EA Sports would have added an option to skip those annoying little animations automatically. The first stage, of shock, is where you become stunned by its amazing performance. It takes a few games just to register everything that is going on around you, and to start getting used to the controls.
Then comes stage two, of pure enjoyment. You begin to understand what you are doing, get excited by scoring your first goal, and the like. The third stage is the one where you get annoyed by some of the glitches the game has, like the "catchup logic" problem. And the last, fourth stage, and the one I am in right now, is that of growing admiration.
Even after playing 40 games I am still enjoying this game tremendously.
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