Immerse yourself in classic 3D soccer gameplay with realistic physics and strategic depth
Immerse yourself in classic 3D soccer gameplay with realistic physics and strategic depth
Vote (1,347 votes)
Program license Trial version
Developer Fifa2005
Version 2005
Works under Windows
Vote
(1,347 votes)
Developer
Fifa2005
Works under
Windows
Program license
Trial version
Version
2005
Pros
- Features real teams and players.
- Decent graphics and sounds for an older game.
- Controls are easy to learn.
- Works fine on older PCs.
Cons
- Rival player AI is sometimes buggy.
- Visuals not as realistic as in newer games.
FIFA Football 2005 is an older edition of the famous FIFA series of association football (soccer) games published by Electronic Arts. As a complete sports simulation game, it lets you manage your team and control the action as you play against your rivals. The objective is to take a team from the lower divisions and turn them into champions.
Just like all other games in the FIFA franchise, you'll control players and teams that actually exist in real life. Though you have to remember that the game was launched near the end of 2004, so you won't see any of the stars that rose to fame recently.
Interesting Improvements Over Previous Years
The 2005 version of FIFA Football features several improvements to earlier editions of the game. You now have access to a "create a player" mode, which lets you create a player of your own and customize him based on your preferences. The new 15-season career mode puts you in the role of a football team manager. You'll be responsible for managing all aspects of your team, including the players on your roster and the backroom staff like fitness coaches, scouts and team doctors. This mode is a bit more complex than others and takes some time to get used to, but can be very interesting for those who want to get involved with the inner workings of a football team.
The graphics and animations are excellent, as they look noticeably smoother than in the previous versions. The game's audio is much better too. You get to hear real crowd sounds as you play, over 40 different soundtracks of background music and commentary from John Motson and Ally McCoist. While the graphics are decent for a game that is over 12 years old, you can't expect the same level of realism as in more modern video games. Some of the player models have a slightly "blocky" appearance during gameplay. Also, when viewed from some angles, the stadium crowds may look flat like they were cardboard cutouts.
Simple and Fun to Play
FIFA Football includes first-touch gameplay, giving you more realistic game physics combined with greater control over players. At the same time, the controls are relatively simple to master, even for casual gamers. You just need to spend a few minutes going through the provided tutorials to understand how to execute various plays on the pitch.
There are four difficulty settings to choose from, allowing you to enjoy the game whether you just want to have some fun or are into a challenge. The game's AI is very good overall, but isn't perfect. You may notice computer-controlled rival players occasionally doing plays that make little sense, like having an almost certain chance of scoring, yet choosing to pass the ball to a teammate instead.
Finally, as this is an older game, it runs very well on less powerful PCs. It only requires a 700 MHz CPU, 256 MB of RAM and a 32 MB video card to work.
Pros
- Features real teams and players.
- Decent graphics and sounds for an older game.
- Controls are easy to learn.
- Works fine on older PCs.
Cons
- Rival player AI is sometimes buggy.
- Visuals not as realistic as in newer games.
Pros
- Easy to learn gameplay
- Able to tinker with strategy and line up
- Fun to score screamers
Cons
- Frustrating lack of ability to score simple goals
- Very sensitive referees
- No control over direction of power and accuracy of passes and shots
The original soccer game for purists only.
In the land that time forgot, all football games were run on 2D engines with pixelated players kicking pixelated balls into flat goals. Entertaining yes, but not very visually appealing. In 1994, however, EA sports launched FIFA International Soccer, the world's first 3D engine using the national teams and the 1994 World Cup format to change the world of football computer games forever. It has spawned a yearly sequel resulting in near photo-realism, player personalities affecting games and incredibly realistic ball physics. However, in the beginning, life was a lot more simple.
Gameplay
Rather than the top down camera angle of a pitch running from top to bottom of the screen of all previous computer games, FIFA International Soccer's camera put the pitch running from bottom left to top right. It was originally designed for console play, so you'll find that beyond the four directional keys, you'll have three buttons to control the game:
• Lob/slide tackle - you'll rarely find use for the lob button unless you're looking to embarrass a friend, crossing the ball or make a long pass down field in conjunction with the pass button. However, slide tackles are the best way to get possession, unless you do it from behind. In that scenario, expect to see a red card fairly quickly as the referees in the game take a dim view of bad tackles.
• Short pass/shoulder tackle - short passing is the key for success and you don't have to worry about pointing in the right direction as the computer will automatically send the ball to your nearest player that you're facing. The speed and accuracy of the pass are out of your control as these are determined by the player's passing stats. When you're defending, this button will allow you to nudge your opponent and occasionally get the ball. This is best done with players with high strength ratings.
• Shoot - the final button has a single purpose only - to clear the ball or stick it in the back of the net. Unlike other football simulators, there's no control over where the ball goes or how much power you put behind it; these are pre-determined by the player's statistics. The game will automatically aim the ball towards the corners of the goal, and the AI goalies will do their best to thwart you.
You can also combine the buttons for different combinations. The lob and pass buttons will send a long pass down the field, whilst the shoulder tackle and shoot buttons will deliberately foul the nearest player.
Strategies
Unlike later versions of the FIFA franchise, the original game makes it almost impossible to score inside the area (forget trying to get a header past the goal keepers), but satisfyingly easy to crash one home from 30+ yards. This does mean that in the longer versions of the game (this is the only football sim ever to let you play a real time 90 minute game!) you'll end up with a score more akin to a rugby match than a football game. With this in mind, there's definitely scope for maliciously fouling your opponents when they're in goal scoring range as you'll never score a free kick.
Pros
- Easy to learn gameplay
- Able to tinker with strategy and line up
- Fun to score screamers
Cons
- Frustrating lack of ability to score simple goals
- Very sensitive referees
- No control over direction of power and accuracy of passes and shots
Pros
- Some graphics and scenes look fairly realistic
- Includes a lot of popular older players
- Lets you play single exhibition games and full seasons
- Historic mode lets you replay historic football games from years past
- Recreates the excitement of real football games
Cons
- Graphics look extremely outdated when compared to modern FIFA games
- Only works on older systems and will not play on newer computers
- Lacks features and modes from modern FIFA games
- Missing many top current players
- Does not include classic games from over the last decade
FIFA Football was one of the first football games released for computers. While it will not run on all computers today, it still features some of the exciting action that you remember about the game.
A new FIFA game now comes out every year. For fans of this exciting sport, the only thing better than watching live games in person is playing this game at home. Not only does it feature the same players that you watched for years, it also comes with some of your favorite players too. As this is an older version of the game, you should keep in mind that it doesn't come with newer players who joined the league in recent years.
FIFA Football comes with a few modes of play. One option that many will love is the historic matches feature. With this feature, you can actually recreate some of the top football matches in history. You get to decide whether the original team should win or if the team that lost the original game should come out on top. It also has an exhibition feature that lets you play just one game at a time in front of a large crowd.
There is also a full competition mode available. After picking a team, you have the chance to play a full season and see if your full team can make it all the way to the championship. The downside is that this game lacks some of the most exciting moments from more recent years. Anyone who lived through the 2014 World Cup may find themselves missing the chance to replay that game.
FIFA Football comes with some of the top features that players still love about the game, including star athletes and the ability to replay the top matches from history. As the first game in the franchise, its age definitely shows. Not only does it lack some of the characters and teams that you love, but it also lacks a lot of top games. Though you may want to download, install and play this game to remember how much you once loved it, your memories will likely be better than the game itself. FIFA Football will only work on older computers and lacks a lot of the modes and features found in newer entries in the franchise.
Pros
- Some graphics and scenes look fairly realistic
- Includes a lot of popular older players
- Lets you play single exhibition games and full seasons
- Historic mode lets you replay historic football games from years past
- Recreates the excitement of real football games
Cons
- Graphics look extremely outdated when compared to modern FIFA games
- Only works on older systems and will not play on newer computers
- Lacks features and modes from modern FIFA games
- Missing many top current players
- Does not include classic games from over the last decade
