FIFA Football 2004 Xbox Review

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"You're the next Arsene Wenger? Prove it"

Over the past few years EA has copped quite a bit of criticism with the FIFA franchise, but thankfully they have stuck it out and the 2004 iteration is now upon us. EA has promised massive changes for this year and they have delivered, FIFA 2004 is one of the greatest soccer (football) games for quite some time.

There is so many changes for FIFA 2004 over previous iterations that it's hard to know where to begin. The first and most major change is the addition of management style gameplay. In the career mode you take charge of a club and are under pressure to deliver the goods for the fans and the board. Although it features management options such as the transfer market (which has completely changed this year) and training players, options such as finding youth talent have been kept out of the game making it look like a very generic and vanilla option. However the management option completely adds a new take to the game because not only do you have to perform on the field to satisfy yourself, others to will be looking on in earnest.

You sign a one year deal with your chosen club and over the course of the first season you must accumulate 1000 points to keep your job. Various factors come into play here. For instance if your team is relegated from the current division, you will lose 400 points. But if you win more then 11 games in a season you will gain points. It is possible to get relegated and keep your job, although highly unlikely. Obviously using a stronger team will make it easier to reach your objectives.

FIFA Football 2004 very much focuses on the club aspect of the sport rather then international competitions. In fact there is no international league this year, but the teams do appear. 18 leagues, 350 teams and 10,000 players are featured in FIFA Football 2004. Leagues such as the English Premier League (which EA Sports has exclusively for FIFA), Serie A from Italy, Bundesligue from Germany and so on. Famous cups such as the FA Cup also feature, but still no Champions League. However, EA has been busy this year and snapped up more licences which go hand in hand with the management option in the game. Not only will you find the top leagues, but the lower divisions as well for some leagues. For instance in England you can play with the Nationwide Division 1, 2 and 3 teams and in Spain the Division 2 teams. This addition adds remarkable replay value and longevity to the title. Are you up to the challenge of taking a team from the lowest division to the top division title?

The player models featured in the game are nothing short of stunning. It is quite easy to pick out a player just by looking at the on screen character. However with the superstars, it is even easier to pick out because they have unique animations based on their real life traits. For instance Theiry Henry displays superb ball control and will usually go for precision rather then power when taking a shot. Some of the players during the up close and personal shots do look a bit "plastic" but other then that there isn't much to report negatively on.

FIFA Football 2004 in comparison to previous titles features a much more simulation style of play. The greatest example of this is the fact you can't change the speed of the game. If you don't like the default, tough cheddar. Rather then being able to sprint the length of the field and score a goal, passing becomes the key to victory. Along with this new style of play, EA have launched off the ball control with this title. Pressing the white button activates this and then you can either execute a lob or pass a through ball or even take control of the other player. Putting players into space with some accurate passing can turn the match in an instant. You can now also determine whether you shot will be aerial, or along the "carpet" by holding the left trigger.

Along with the management side of things comes changes to the transfer market. Unlike previous titles where if your team had the money, you could buy up big, bids now have to be placed on players. However in some rare cases, the pricing is quite strange such as Damien Duff who can be bought for 2 million even though Chelsea paid 17 million to get him from Blackburn. Anomalies like this seem rare. You can now also only buy players during the designated transfer windows of the European summer and during January. The stronger teams obviously have more of a budget to spend then the weaker teams featured in the game.