The beautiful game is back, large as life and twice as impressive on the Playstation 2. The game, as with Led Zeppelin's song, remains the same, but this is by far the best looking of the Fifa family, with the power of Sony's newest family member, Fifa 2001, really being used to good effect with a variety of camera angles provided for your viewing pleasure and some of the best-looking character modelling you'll have seen in ages.So, it looks great, but does the footy match up to the quality of the visuals? This is a little difficult, as the answer is both yes and no. The action is certainly quick and varied, with play up and down the field moving at a good pace and the control system, which utilises the DualShock controller's analogue buttons, is smooth and fairly intuitive.
Where the play tends to fall down, however, is in the artificial intelligence afforded to your team-mates. There is a tendency for your teams hearty front line, swooping towards the opposing goal line, to be chased by your own midfield like a pack of tame dogs, reminiscent of school football.
Still in evidence are the guaranteed goal "sweetspots"--positions from where you can close your eyes and bag an easy three points against the computer and it seems a little too easy at times to thread the ball into space around the opposition's goal and take a shot at the net.
These gripes aside, however, the rest of the game is nothing short of a delight to play. John Motson's commentary is nicely balanced and doesn't intrude too far into the atmosphere and the funky intro tune does it's best to jolly things along.
Add in details for 60 real-life teams covering UK and European leagues and competitions, the fabulous instant replay facility and a second joypad to allow head-to-head play (a must-buy to get the best from this game) and what you have is a recipe for a top night in and one of the most impressive PS2 titles available. --James Gordon
