|
Breakdown of FIFA Soccer 64's Game Elements:
Graphics:
1 out of 5: FIFA's graphics are by far the worst
so far on the N64. The animation is stiff and choppy, creating almost a
strobe light effect. The anti-aliasing of the players removes any significant
details and makes it easy to mistake teams with similar uniforms during
play. The alternative camera angles are ill-suited for play.
Music:
3 out of 5: The only music you'll hear in FIFA
is played during menu selections. Overall, the music sounds like good SNES
music (in fact one track sounds like it came from the first Earthworm Jim
game). For what little there is, it's OK.
Sound FX:
4 out of 5: The crowd effects are awesome, creating
a wonderful atmosphere for play. I'm just not sure what it is exactly
that the crowd is saying. The play-by-play is easy to
understand, except after a goal is scored. The announcer gets repetitive
quickly, and is overly enthusiastic at times. The sounds of players kicking
the ball are very realistic.
Play Control:
1 out of 10: Menu navigation is unintuitive (I
even had to look in the manual for details on how to select an opposing
team for a multi-player match-up). It's not made clear who's who on the
field. Passing is extraordinarily difficult and unintuitive. This makes
multi-player matches (which involve a lot of passing) unexciting. The Complex
control scheme is way too complex for its own good. Stealing the ball using B often results in accidentally kicking it away using the same button. Having to repeatedly press Left C to run fast
gets very annoying. The control in FIFA is just all-around poor.
Frustration Factor:
9 out of 10 (10 being the worst): Perhaps
"Boredom Factor" would be more accurate for this review. Each
and every game I played looked, sounded and played exactly the same way.
The poor control also makes the gameplay frustrating and no fun.
|