While
FIFA 2006 for the non-portable systems was a delight all-round, FIFA 06
for the PSP is a frustrating paradox. On one hand, EA Sports have done
some things brilliant like porting over the FIFA 06 engine, but on the
other hand they’ve absolutely sat on their asses when its come to adding
a Management Mode. *sigh*
Graphics 73
FIFA 06’s graphics aren’t a major overhaul from those in the original
FIFA Soccer PSP, but rather a series of improvements upon the visuals in
the previous graphical engine. The biggest improvement in the graphics
department is most definitely the elimination of the slow-down/freezing
that plagued the first FIFA PSP game! FIFA Soccer featured annoying
slow-down/freezing that occurred every time the ball went out of play,
fortunately FIFA 06 runs silky smooth. In fact, the change is so
dramatic that when I go back to playing the original FIFA Soccer for the
PSP I find that the slow-down that once was just an annoyance now
renders the old game practically UNPLAYABLE! Props to EA Sports for
getting this fixed.
Another noticeable improvement comes in the TV-style presentation. In
the previous PSP FIFA game automatic instant replays of close scoring
chances would only appear if the keeper hadn't touched the ball.
This has been fixed and you now get to see automatic instant replays of
spectacular saves, as well as shots that graze the post or just fly
over. The end of half and match highlights are still present though I
find that some of the angles chosen to show the action are a bit too far
out. Speaking of camera angles, FIFA 06 also features the Dynamic Camera
angle that is present in its console brethren and I find the zoomed in
Dynamic Camera angle a nice compromise between a stadium view and the
action cam view.
Another improvement comes in the form of superior player faces.
Although they’re still the FIFA-style zombies of the X-Box/PS2/PC
versions the faces are a little bit more lifelike than those in the
previous PSP game and the caricatures of player faces in the tactical
menus are, for the most part, superb.
Animations, for the most part, are very similar to those in the
console versions of FIFA 2006 with transitions that are fairly smooth.
There’s also a nice variety of goalscoring celebrations which is always
nice to see though no real player-specific celebrations I’ve seen.
Finally, the PC and console versions of FIFA 2006 featured some
pretty neat (though overdone at times) ‘bloom’ lighting to give the
action a more dramatic and spectacular look. I don’t know if it’s a
matter of whether or not the PSP can’t handle this kind of effect but
it’s not present in FIFA 06 PSP. Instead, the developers have attempted
to re-create this lighting with what I can only describe as ‘bloom haze’
™. This kind of hazy, skewing of the colors is mostly present at the
beginning of a match when the camera is panning around a stadium and for
the most part it works. The moment I loaded up a match in the Azteca
with the time of day set to ‘Sunset’ my jaw almost hit the floor – it
looked absolutely gorgeous!
So, with that in mind you’re probably wondering why the game receives
a score in the low 70s in the graphics department. The main problem with
FIFA 06’s visuals is that of resolution, particularly when you compare
it Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Edition. While WE:UE looks crisp and razor
sharp, FIFA 06 looks fuzzy and blurred. Not only do you notice this
in-game, but also with the close-up instant replays where lines just
don’t look ‘clean’ – the best comparison would be to say that FIFA 06
looks like a first or second gen PS2 game (i.e. good models but
everything is fuzzy) while Winning Eleven: UE looks like a current gen
PS2 game (i.e. good models with sharp, higher-res details).
FIFA 06 also has some problems with clipping and you often see some
freaky things like goal celebrations in which one player tries to put
his arm around another and instead puts his arm right through his
teammate's head! The clipping also raises its ugly head in some
stadiums, in particular the Santiago Bernabeu where the edge of the
field closest to the camera has instances of clipping where the heads of
fans are missing! Another, very common area where clipping becomes an
annoyance is when you shoot the ball into corner of the net nearest the
camera – the ball appears to go THROUGH the mesh and comes to a stop
OUTSIDE the net when you score a goal.
Finally, one graphical problem that still exists (and that I failed
to mention in my FIFA Soccer PSP review) is that when you turn on the
radar the home team players are represented as red dots and the away
team as blue dots, regardless of the colour of the kits! This is
a problem when you play a match like Birmingham vs. Liverpool. Why?
Because Birmingham can play in their home colours of Blue and Liverpool
can also play in their home colour of red – yet the colours are
reversed in the radar! Just bizarre, and pretty damn annoying.
Now don’t get me wrong, FIFA 06 is by no means an ugly game, in fact
the elimination of the slow-down puts it miles ahead of the previous
FIFA game. However, Konami really raised the soccer game graphical bar
with Winning Eleven: UE and while FIFA 06 is better than WE:UE when it
comes to camera angles and TV-style presentation, the overall sharpness
of the graphics is noticeably inferior.
Audio 90
Commentary in FIFA 06 PSP, much like FIFA 06 for the consoles and PC,
has Clive Tydsley replacing John Motson for the play-by-play and Andy
Gray subbing on for Ally McCoist. While the PSP commentary isn’t as
extensive as the console versions its still mightily impressive and adds
a great deal to the atmosphere.
Also carrying over from the console versions is the fantastic
soundtrack that is my favourite FIFA soundtrack since RTWC 98.
Unfortunately, the short excerpts of famous real-life commentary that
was present in the console versions is absent – not a massive loss by
any means, but I did really enjoy those short audio clips.
Options 60
Unfortunately, it’s in the options department where EA Sports really
drop the ball and end up changing this game from a must buy to a maybe.
More frustrating, however, is that the problems with the options isn’t
due to EA Sports’ incompetence (as is so often the case) but they arise
from sheer laziness! What the hell am I talking about? I’m
talking about the complete and utter lack of a MANAGER MODE!
I
kid you not, FIFA 06 PSP features the same lame-ass single season mode
with no stats tracking, no transfers, no player fatigue, no promotion or
relegation, and no matches in Europe! For shit’s sake EA, what the hell
are you guys playing at?!? Ideally, I would have loved to have had an
option to synch my PSP to the PS2 version of FIFA 2006 and continue a
Manager Mode season. That said, I was fully prepared to have fun with
even a stripped-down manager mode in the PSP version. Instead, EA Sports
give us nothing of the sort.
Accompanying, the lame WE:Ubiquitous Edition-esque single season mode
is cool Scenario mode that was present in the previous PSP FIFA game,
which gave you the challenge of re-creating REAL-LIFE comebacks/routs
that took place in the previous season.
Hey, quick – name your top ten comebacks of the 2004/2005 season!
I’m guessing, somewhere, in the midst of those five you’ve mentioned
Liverpool’s amazing 3 goal comeback against AC Milan in the bloody
European Cup Final!! It may then come as a surprise to you
that the avid soccer fans at EA Sports don't have that game as
one of their scenarios! Not only is that an absolutely ridiculous
omission, it’s made even more startling by the fact that one of the
‘comebacks’ featured is to beat Liverpool using Manchester City with the
score at 0-0.
Hey, EA – you can’t call it a COMEBACK if the score is TIED! (and no
I’m only slightly biased because I’m a Liverpool fan…..ho ho….)
On the bright side, EA Sports have included Internet/Infrastructure
head to head multiplayer as well as the option to update the team
rosters online. This update feature is pretty damn neat and though the
default rosters are pretty out of date, the new ones (which download in
just a few seconds once you’re connected) are correct as of the transfer
deadline.
With respect to head to head via infrastructure, I experienced two
problems. Firstly, I found that for every match I managed to start
online, I had to first endure five or six other matches in which the
connection fizzled out. In the few matches that did manage to play
online I found that there always seemed to be a baseline degree of lag
in matches though once you get used to it its not so bad. The bigger
disincentive for me is the number of connection attempts I have to make
to finally get a game.
The second problem I had with the infrastructure mode is that you
have the option to either pay $20 (or something obscene like that) or
have some soccer site (I don’t even remember their name) pay your
‘registration fee’ and in return they get to send you spam mail. Of
course, most people will just accept the spam listing, but it really
irks me that EA Sports have the gall to charge twenty bucks for laggy
play while other PSP games allow head to head for free.
FIFA
06 PSP also features the same mass of licensed leagues available for
play as the previous game while the tournament mode allows you to play
in the association cup competition for each of the featured countries.
FIFA 06 also features the same whopping list of stadiums and even adds 9
(or so) new ones in the form of the Ataturk, Stadio De Luz, Azteca,
Daegu, Drago, Generic Modern, Jose Alvalade, Seoul and the Millenium
Stadium. Stangely, though, it seems as though EA Sports have removed
the Amsterdam Arena. Weird.
Another weird omission is that of the EA Sports Flashback option
which has been taken away. While I understand that most people just put
the PSP in hibernate/standby mode and then come back to a game in
progress, there have been some times when I haven’t been able to return
to a match for a day or two and the ability to save in the middle of a
match is one that I miss.
Gameplay 80
One of the problems with both the first FIFA Soccer PSP game and
Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Edition has been the poor transfer of PS2
controls to the PSP. Without R2 and L2 buttons WE:UE wasn’t able to
include the super-cancel or medium paced dribbling, while in FIFA Soccer
the lack of a second analog forced EA Sports to map one-touch moves to
the D-pad.
However, I mentioned in my WE:UE review a few weeks ago that even
though there aren’t as many buttons on the PSP there were ways to
overcome the reduction by using different combinations of the existing
buttons. I guess I wasn’t the only one thinking this as EA Sports have
done a fantastic job revising their control scheme and bringing an
almost fully featured version of the FIFA 2006 game engine to the
small(er) screen.
The controls are as follows:
Analog nub – control player
Circle – shoot with powerbar
Square – cross/lob with powerbar
Triangle – through pass
X - pass
L + analog nub – first touch/free style moves
L + square – early cross
L + circle – chip shot
Triangle x 2 – chip through ball
R x 2 – send teammate on run
D-pad – offensive tactics (Counter Attack, Wing Play, Box Overload,
or 3rd Man Release)
D-pad + L – defensive tactics (Pressing, Offside Trap, Zonal Marking,
or Flat Back)
Select – pace control
As you can see, just by adding the use of the L button as a modifier,
EA Sports have been able to incorporate almost the exact same move-set
as the console versions! Combine this with the elimination of the
slow-down present in the original FIFA Soccer PSP, with AI and ball
physics changes identical to FIFA 2006, and you have a handheld version
of the game that is JUST as fun as the console version.
The only possible stumbling block to the fun is the placement of the
Select button as the Pace Control button. Ideally, I would have liked to
have the Start button as the pace control button (and Select as ‘start’)
as it’s closer to the face buttons but I guess this would cause all
sorts of confusion. As it stands though, I don’t mind flicking my thumb
down to the select button as you can still move your player with your
left hand/thumb at the same time.
Finally, another gameplay addition is that of the ‘Juggling’ mode. In
this mode you select a real-life player and then you get to play a game
of ‘keep up’ with the football. This is performed by a DDR/Parappa-style
game whereby you have to press the corresponding D-pad direction when it
shows up on screen, and also try to time your press to the moment the
ball hits the player’s foot/thigh/head. Adding to the novelty of this
mode is the fact that you have to rotate the PSP 90 degrees
counterclockwise to line up the screen correctly!!!
I have a love-hate affair with this mini-game. On one hand I think
it’s a nice, quick alternative to playing a full match and, as with many
of these DDR-style rhythm games, it can get quite addictive. On the
other hand, I just can’t help wonder how much better this game would be
if EA Sports had of spent the time and resources they put into juggling
into other aspects of the game, such as…….A FREAKING FRANCHISE MODE!
Replay Value 65
Like the first FIFA Soccer PSP, FIFA 06 lags behind in this category
because of the lack of a franchise mode. There are only so many single
season modes you can play (with no transfers and no fatigue) before
getting bored. The scenario modes (despite missing that infamous night
in Instanbul, no I’m not bitter) are quite fun and add spice to the
proceedings. Likewise, infrastructure mode, when you finally are able to
connect, is also enjoyable. Yet, at the end of the day without a
franchise mode this version of FIFA just feels hollow and its such a
shame.
Overall 75
Sometimes I think EA Sports and Konami deliberately go out of their
way to piss soccer gamers off. Just as EA Sports do something right with
the fantastic control scheme, the excellent porting of the game engine,
adding infrastructure mode, they also go and fail to put in a Manager
Mode!
The console versions of FIFA 06 are great titles not because of their
gameplay, but more so because of the killer Manager/Franchise Modes that
really immerse you in the football world. Much like Player Manager or
S.W.O.S. these managerial options add depth that allow you to overcome
the inferior game engine.
When I dismissed Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Edition, stating that I
was looking forward more to FIFA 06, it was with the expectation that
FIFA 06 PSP would feature a Manager Mode. However, without
such a mode it has to go toe to toe with WE:UE on the strength of its
gameplay alone. Consequently, the choice between the two becomes far
less clear cut.
I would say that if you’re not going to import PES5/WE:UE PSP and
can’t wait till the North American release of the game for your PSP
soccer fix I’d say you should definitely spring for FIFA 06 as it’s the
best PSP soccer game available for you. If you already have FIFA Soccer
PSP, I’d still recommend getting FIFA 06 as it’s still a much better
game. However, if you’re planning on importing WE:UE or don’t mind
waiting till early next year for the North American release, I’d say
pass on FIFA 06……get Burnout Legends or something instead…..
