FIFA Soccer 2004

by EA Canada

Product Features

• xbox
• Video Game
• sports
• soccer
• FIFA

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00009X3V6
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 5, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,850 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: Xbox

From the Manufacturer

For true soccer fans that demand the finest gameplay and comprehensive game modes, FIFA Soccer 2004 is the most complete and authentic soccer experience. FIFA's exclusive Off the Ball Control lets you control the man on the ball and the men off it. Timing runs, anticipating moves, positioning players and jostling for space adds a new dimension to soccer gaming. A new Career Mode gives you the chance to take a team from the lower divisions, battle through ranks, sign new players, and turn them into champions. The action is deeper than ever with advanced levels of player detail and responsiveness. With immersive atmospheres, benchmark presentation, total realism with the world's premier clubs, and industry-leading gameplay, FIFA returns as the true authority in soccer gaming.

Be your own player manager with FIFA's deep Career Mode and build your franchise while you guide your club to the Championship by making calculated front-office decisions. Manage your team's budget and promote or relegate your players to sustain franchise objectives on the pitch. When one season ends and another begins new challenges will present themselves.

More than 300 new crowd chants at an ever-growing list of officially licensed stadiums help put you in the best seat in the house. From stadiums small and large, no soccer gaming experience offers a more complete library of the game's authentic environments. More than 500 official licenses, including 16 leagues, 500 teams and 15,000 players are available. From the fast pace of Europe's super leagues to the Americas Club Championship, which allows you to play with the top clubs from Major League Soccer and South America, FIFA 2004 provides for the most authentic selection of the world's top teams, players, and environments.

Product Description

For true soccer fans that demand the finest gameplay and comprehensive game modes, FIFA Soccer 2004 is the most complete and authentic soccer experience. FIFA's exclusive Off the Ball Control lets you control the man on the ball and the men off it. Timing runs, anticipating moves, positioning players and jostling for space adds a new dimension to soccer gaming.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Game looks great but controls and career mode need work, December 9, 2003

By 

Milkman (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: FIFA Soccer 2004 (Video Game)

FIFA 2004 seeks to improve on 2003's version to compete with many competitors' games. EA always has the edge on licensing (hundreds of teams and thousands of authentic players), but as always, the ultimate test is the gameplay.

Gameplay was a bit arcadey last year. This year EA completely changed the gameplay to make it a bit more realistic. Ball physics seem more authentic. Defenses are tougher to crack. Scoring is really tough, but when you do it is usually a thing of beauty.

However, I still have a problem with the controls. The right thumbstick is used for the "freestyle control" dribble moves, but they are still to slow to engage. In real soccer you control the ball and use dribble moves to react to the defender and keep the ball away from him. Unfortunately these "freestyle" moves take so long to engage that the defender has already taken the ball. The fatal flaw in the control is that you have to predict the defender instead of react.

Also on the subject of controls, they changed the buttons for forward runs for off the ball players. In last year's version you could push the left trigger and send a man on a run toward open space... simple. In so doing, you stretch the defense and find an opening for a pass or dribble. This year, the controls are so difficult they are almost impossible to use in a functional way. You have to press four buttons just to get a player to go on a run! The sequence is: Left trigger, white button, right thumbstick, lob button. By the time you've accomplished that, the defender has certainly taken the ball away from you.

All in all, controls alternate between feeling muddy/slow and twitchy/over-precise. The game expects you to be perfect when you're directing a pass or shot. If you hold the thumbstick just a hair off, your shot will go sailing away, posing more danger to the corner flag than the goal.

On the positive side, EA added a new sequence for corner kicks and set plays that are so unique and cool they act like a mini-game. You choose your target for the kick, and then you take control of the recipient as he jostles for position. It is simple to learn but tough to get the goal, so it is really satisfying when you score.

Also, I love the fact that EA is finally giving us a career mode for FIFA. It is a five-year coaching simulation where you have certain criteria to get contract renewals. There is a lot of depth with training and transfers of players.

It's kind of high maintenance though... your players get out of shape if you play them too much, so it's almost impossible to keep a consistent lineup. I'm not even talking about injuries, just guys playing one game a week. It seems pretty heavy handed to me. You have to rotate guys every single game, and the menus aren't the easiest to navigate, so it's going to seriously hurt the addiction factor that could keep you going. Nothing like navigating stupid menus to make you want to turn off the game, ya know?

The features within Career Mode are confusing too. Training individual players fills in green bars in their attributes, but the attributes never go up. General training of the whole team doesn't seem to do anything at all. The transfer market is confusing and expensive to learn through trial and error.

Another thing I miss is a player editor. Now I'm not saying I want to make a team full of 99-rated Ronaldos, but I want to be able to tweak attributes a little. I also want to change the appearance of some players on my favorite clubs because EA gave them blond hair when it should have been black hair.

But the game looks absolutely beautiful. Last year's game looked good, but now lighting is tons better, and mo-cap animations are totally sweet. The in-game cinematics (like when someone scores or someone else gets a yellow card) are really cool. Sometimes the ref will give a red card and about five guys from each team will start fighting and shoving. Goal celebrations are really well done and usually show at least three members of the scoring team.

So, in review...
+ Licensing tons of real teams and players
+ Cinematics and animations look tremendous
+ Some aspects of gameplay are better
+ Career Mode... finally!
- Controls are complex and feel muddy
- Menus are horrible to navigate
- Career Mode is confusing

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars How do they keep doing it?, March 14, 2004

By 

T. Snyder "TS" (AZ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: FIFA Soccer 2004 (Video Game)

How do they keep doing it? By that I mean, how do they keep making this game worse year after year?

The game itself is beautiful when you get on the pitch. Again, like last year, it's almost like watching real tv when you're playing.

Team depth and selection are super. They've got three English divisions and two German divisions, two Italian divisions. This is great for the career mode where you can take a team from a lower division and try to get them moved up into the big leagues next year.

It's too bad all of this is ruined in the actual gameplay. FIFA used to be a ton of fun to play a few years ago. Each year though the gameplay seems to get worse. It seems like you have to learn a brand new game each year.

The controls are quite bad this year. I never feel in control of the ball. Shooting/scoring is difficult.

Breaking down defenses is difficult even in the default setting. Part of this is because sending guys on runs is downright impossible. They took it off of the left trigger and moved it into a complicated sequence of buttons. (So now the left trigger is used as the 'Walk' function - ooooh I so needed that!!!!)

I found this year's version extremely frustrating - as in throw-down-your-controller-and-turn-off-the-stupid-xbox-frustrating. It's so bad I'm to the point of not even wanting to try to get better at it - yes, I think it's thaaaat bad.

EA, you've done a great job ruining a great franchise. Rent this one first if you can find it available to rent!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT GAME, January 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: FIFA Soccer 2004 (Video Game)

It can be better but there are more pros than cons compared to fifa 2003. I had read many bad reviews and I almost dont buy the game, but they are all wrong, the game is challenging and hard to master, there are more stadiums and teams and more chants. Much of the gameplay was improved, like headers, corners, free kicks, lobs, and even the free style was improved, you can also walk with the ball and perform tricks in any direction just by moving the joystick, just as if you were controlling the ball.

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