FIFA 2001 - PS2

Also known as: FIFA 2001: Major League Soccer

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Also for: PC, PlayStation
Viewed: 3D Third-person, floating camera Genre:
Sport: Football - Soccer
Media: CD Arcade origin:No
Developer: Electronic Arts Soft. Co.: Electronic Arts
Publishers: Electronic Arts (GB/GB)
Released: 2 Aug 2002 (GB)
24 Nov 2000 (GB)
Ratings: 3+
Features: Vibration Function Compatible, Multitap adaptable
Accessories: Memory Card

Summary

The FIFA series from Electronic Arts is one of the most populated franchises to date. With instalments of the game produced every year from the late eighties, the game has been refined many times, and FIFA 2001 shows the development improvements quite well.

This latest release, available as a graphically lush PS2 title, features motion-captured animation from Lothar Matthaus. With its official licence intact, and fifteen domestic leagues available as well as all the major (and not so major) international teams, FIFA 2001 is an essential purchase for the hardcore footy fan, not simply because of its authenticity of detail, but because EA are finally catching up with Konami's majestic ISS series. The gameplay tweaks in FIFA 2001 mean higher artificial intelligence for the opposition, and smoother flowing player movements under your own control. Fortunately, thanks to the graphical enhancements of the game and the incorporation of Sony’s fully analogue controller, FIFA 2001 is technically one of the most accurate and advanced football titles to date. New controls mean that you can pass the ball at different speeds, depending on how much pressure you apply to the analogue buttons.

As a complete title, FIFA 2001 is the most polished and comprehensive in the series, and if you were one of the lucky 165,000 punters in the UK to secure a PS2 at launch, EA's gleaming new title is worth more than a cursory glance. One of the better launch titles, no argument.