FIFA Major League Soccer 2000

Product Details

• ASIN: B00002R289
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,575 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

Even with the recent excitement generated by the US team's dominance in the Women's World Cup, soccer still isn't that large of a phenomenon in the States. American soccer fans may not be able to get Monday Night Soccer anytime soon, but they can at least get EA Sport's FIFA series - easily the best line of soccer games to hit both consoles and the PC. The latest of EA's soccer simulators, FIFA 2000, proves that the highly acclaimed FIFA line is still the best soccer series out there.

There's more significance in the name FIFA 2000 than just the year. FIFA 2000 is truly the soccer game of a new millenium, and it has huge improvements over FIFA 99. The most obvious improvement is the addition of the 12 MLS teams to the already large roster of countless other leagues. Now fans of American soccer can pit their favorite US teams against each other, or even against the superior world teams. FIFA 2000 also introduces a few important gameplay additions that provide so much added depth to the game you'll wonder how you ever got through FIFA 99 without them. Mirroring popular football and baseball games on the market today, FIFA 2000 introduces icon passing from penalty locations. This makes it much easier to assist would-be strikers from the corners - with a button press you can guide a corner kick directly to your man inside the box, who is waiting to head the ball home. Another feature you'll learn to love is the pass-reliability rating - a small colored arrow in the pass direction that changes color depending on how well defended the pass recipient is. On defense, you can control your team's aggressiveness and formation on the fly, even so far as to make all your defenders leave their man and run at the ball at the touch of a button. With another touch of the button, they'll quickly return to the default strategy. All these additions are both well implemented and simple to use, enhancing the gameplay instead of overly complicating it.

The basic modes you expect from the FIFA series are still intact. There's an exhibition, tournament, season, and practice mode. There's also the create-a-player mode, and you can even customize the teams to your preferences. You get to choose from tons of options, including three skill levels. You decide on the weather, the arenas, the camera angle, and more. There's a pretty big jump between skill levels; indeed, the amateur level - which the game defaults to - is a little too easy for regular FIFA players, while the professional level - the next in line - is almost a slap in the face to those used to scoring eight or nine goals a game. All of this resides behind a useful interface, that admittedly, takes some time to get used to.

The exhibition mode is simple enough - pick your teams, your stadium, the weather, and other options, and then go for it. The season mode is a little more complex. Once you pick your team, you can trade players, create custom players, play around with your formations, and substitute your line around, all the while playing against different teams as you progress on your way to the World Cup. The tournament mode lets you set up a single elimination tournament. You can create your own cup as the prize for the tournament mode or use one of the default cups. The practice mode lets you select different practice scenarios to hone the weak points in your game.

The graphics are probably the most notable difference from last year's game. FIFA 2000 has gotten a stunning graphical facelift, and it looks absolutely fabulous. All the player animation has been motion captured, meaning that everything the characters do - from sprinting to tackling to bicycle kicks - looks amazingly realistic. That, combined with much better textures, accurate facial models, and variously sized players make this the best-looking soccer game on the PlayStation. I haven't noticed any polygonal breakup or overlap - the graphics look that nice.

The FIFA series has always been known for its cool soundtrack, from FIFA 99's Fatboy Slim-composed theme song Rockafeller Skank to FIFA 98's Song 2, performed by Blur. This year the game has got more big names like Robbie Williams, who performed an entirely original song for the soundtrack, to other favorites like Reel Big Fish, and Apollo Four Forty, whose music pumps over the game's menu screens. In the game, however, the audio department is handed off to ESPN commentator Phil Schoen and Women's World Cup star Julie Foudy, who help call the action. While Schoen and Foudy are both competent, neither is as exciting as the English superstar soccer commentator and long-running FIFA veteran John Motson, who is nowhere to be found in FIFA 2000, even though he's mentioned in the credits. Foudy is especially irritating, with a sugary, almost prepubescent voice that doesn't complement her cracks about player injuries and difficult saves. Otherwise, the sound effects are simply incredible, with an extremely realistic crowd-reaction system that accurately represents how fans would audibly react to the current situation.

It's almost as if FIFA 2000 were EA Sport's attempt to Americanize soccer. Banking on the success of the US Women's World Cup Team by including Foudy, replacing favorite Motson with American commentator Schoen, and introducing the MLS teams, FIFA 2000 is the most US-friendly version of FIFA to hit shelves. This gives FIFA 2000 an entirely different feel than previous versions of the series, but it still delivers everything you've come to expect from FIFA. FIFA 2000 is more than just better than last year's game, it is easily the best soccer game ever to grace the PlayStation. --Ben Stahl
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars FIFA 2000 is a great game!, January 12, 2000

By A Customer

Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

I know there have been a lot of mixed reviews for this game, but I have to say that FIFA 2000 is a great game! The addition of MLS teams makes it much more enjoyable for the American soccer fan. The uniforms look great and the flow of the game is pretty fluid once you get the hang of it. The classic teams are fun to play with if you are a soccer purist. Being able to play as Pele (No.10) and Beckenbauer and Ricky Davis with the New York Cosmos from their hey-dey in the 70's is great! The updated team rosters for the European clubs is another bonus. I was a little upset to see that Portugal's club teams and national team were left off of this year's game, and I'm still wondering why Brian McBride isn't on the Columbus Crew roster. As for the new commentators (Schoen and Foudy), they aren't bad. Motson and Lineker were more fun to listen to on FIFA 99, but the overall game is better in 2000! Buy this game! You will not be disappointed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best soccer game out there, December 4, 1999

By A Customer

Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

FIFA 2000 is the best soccer game there is. The graphics have improved since FIFA' 99, the gameplay is better, there are more teams, the crowd does more cheering and chanting, the goalies are smarter, and the schedules mix the cup schedules into the league schedule at the same time, and there are multiple seasons. However, replacing Jon Motson and the British announcers with Phil Schoen and Julie Foudy was not a good idea. They are OK, but the commentary in '99 is better. But, FIFA 2000 is so enjoyable that the annoucers don't take away from the game. If you have to hear the British annoucers, then stick with FIFA '99. Otherwise, go buy FIFA 2000, because it is the best soccer game out there.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Improved Gameplay, But What Happened to the Announcers, September 6, 2000

By	Jorge J. Coelho (Dowingtown, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I loved Fifa 98! Fifa 99 was a disappointment! And Fifa 2000 falls somewhere in between.

The graphics and gameplay had a noticeable improvement. The soundtrack to the game was amazing, just as in prior releases. Especially, the opening sequence (Robbie Williams - It's Only Us). However, I was disappointed with a number of things.

First, not all the countries and country leagues were represented. For example, Portugal which almost won the European Cup is not even one of the available teams. In the previous two versions, it was possible not only to pick Portugal, but also to play with one of the teams in the Portuguese league.

Second, what happened to the announcer? This is not a rip on Judie Fallon, but I liked the commentary combination in the previous games much better. I think that Judie's commentary would have been much more appreciated in a separate game targeted directly towards women's soccer.

Despite the dislikes, I would definitely recommend purchasing this game. The gameplay itself and soundtrack make it the best soccer game around, especially for its listed price.