November 14, 2003 - Electronic Arts has been off again, on again with bringing its sports series to the Game Boy Advance, but the international appeal of soccer is hard to resist not capitalizing on...even for the GBA market where sports games are generally a slow-selling genre. EA Sports has always been successful with its FIFA Soccer series, and FIFA Soccer 2004 marks the second time the franchise has been made for the Game Boy Advance. Last year's game was a stunning effort, and this year's edition add new elements and tweaks existing ones from the previous title, and the result is, once again, a really great soccer title on the handheld. It's a wonderful pick-up-and-play design that'll appeal to the casual soccer fan, and its accumulation of more than 300 soccer clubs with real players will definitely tickle the die-hards.

Features

• 300 clubs from FIFA and MLS licensing
• More than 6000 real players
• Adjustable settings for playtime and difficulty levels
• Cartridge save (two slots for competition saves)
• GameCube connection to unlock special competitions
• Link cable support for two players (multiple cartridge)

The developer's focus was, of course, getting an equally rich soccer experience on the handheld as console and PC gamers are getting under the FIFA Soccer 2004 brand. And even though the two markets are drastically different, the team definitely succeeded for handheld gamers. The cartridge is filled to the gills with real players and international clubs, and any of them can be paired up during a Friendly match. But the replays in the competitions, and the GBA game features more than 20 different tournaments and cups to compete in, and the cartridge keeps track of the wins/losses for these competitions in its save memory. In fact, there can be two different competitions in progress on the FIFA Soccer 2004 cart. Linking up to the GameCube will enable another handful of tournaments depending on the progress on the console game.

The soccer design is admittedly slighted more in the area of arcade action, but that's definitely the game's charm and it's what makes it easy to pick up and play. It doesn't overwhelm with complicated gameplay commands, keeping all of the action as simple as can be while offering more than the basic controls that's required of a soccer game today. That's not to say the GBA game's not realistic, as it still keeps soccer rules and elements down to earth in its design. By default games only last five minutes in an accelerated 90 minute clock, but those who want to get a little more involved in their club's competitions can increase the time to suit their tastes. Same goes for the computer AI; the game's set on easy right from the get-go which gives players ample opportunities to score, but those who get good can certainly bump up the abilities of the goalkeeper to make scoring more challenging. The developers added a bit more aerial play in this year's game, making headers and bicycle kicks a lot more intuitive to pull off during the match. Players can accurately lob the ball to teammates with a quick hit of the shoulder button, which can then be converted into a quick aerial shot with precise timing...and it's a wonderful rush getting it past the goalie in this fashion, especially in the harder difficulty settings where it gets more and more difficult scoring past him.

Graphically, the game's definitely got the moves. FIFA Soccer 2004 utilizes the Game Boy Advance's hardware strengths by putting the action in a slight overhead view that mimics the default perspective of the console and PC games. The camera scrolls both horizontally and vertically to follow the action on the field, and this engine does a great job keeping up with the pace. Soccer puts a lot of characters on-screen, and even with all the smoothly rendered sprites running around the field, the game never seems to bog down. Along with an instant replay mode that can be pulled up at any time during the action, the developers went one step further by rewarding players with a "highlight" reel at the end of the game, of the six best plays of the match. Something like this is expected on the console side...but it's a fresh idea on the GBA and pretty darn cool to see. The only real complaint in the graphic presentation is its extremely abrupt transitions between the stoppages of play, or the switch from gameplay to menus. The quick cuts do keep the action moving, but a more subtle effect moving the scene would be definitely make these less awkward to experience.

Closing Comments
Hey, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a soccer fan, at least as a spectator. It just doesn't appeal to me to watch a sport that scores less than I do. But in videogame form, especially in a more action-based design like this one on the Game Boy Advance, the sport is a lot more fun. Boil it down to my affection for the sport of ice hockey. Exient's second GBA FIFA game is a great tweak to last year's game, but it might not be enough of an upgrade for the casual folk who already picked up 2003. Those who didn't, definitely pick up this one. And EA? Hire these guys for NHL 2005, please. They really know how to pour the effort into the sports presentation on the GBA.

Rating	Description
out of 10	click here for ratings guide
8.0	Presentation Tons of teams, players, and challenges in this game, along with some really cool features including a true highlight reel after the game. It just needs better transitions.
8.0	Graphics This soccer game keeps the action high even with tons of players on-screen. Great animation as well.
8.0	Sound A few of the licensed music from the console game's here in limited form, as are crowd chants to accomodate the action.
9.0	Gameplay It's a really excellent pick-up-and-play soccer game with a good balance of arcade action and simulation features.
8.0	Lasting Appeal The several different tournaments keep the action going, as does the link cable support for two players.
8.5 Great	OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)