There is no need for me to state the obvious. We all know that over the last few years we have been quickly losing faith in EA sports. With "new" versions of FIFA hitting our computer store shelves and each year a sense of disappointment overwhelming us with in hours of trying the new game. EA have told us that this year will be different. However, EA say this every year and of course they are going to say it, they are looking to sell as many copies of FIFA as possible. We can't blame them for that... I mean what do you expect them to say? "Please buy FIFA 2001, the gameplay is unrealistic and you'll get sick of it within a week"? Of course not... they are just doing what any good company should do and marketing their product correctly.
What you're about to read is not your usual computer game review. Instead of talking you through FIFA 2002 (you can get those kind of reviews on any games site) and telling you what it has to offer and what it doesn't offer, I have simply picked all the good points and bad points and given my opinions on them.
Here we go!
Gameplay! Without a doubt this is the area EA needed to improve on. If they didn't this year, I know that many FIFA fans would have completely lost faith in EA and FIFA would very soon be lying second behind Pro Evolution Soccer as the most popular football video game. Thank you EA, you have definitely changed the gameplay and it has been a change for the better!
FIFA 2002 does not feel like any other FIFA. Gameplay wise, it is a whole new game and it is as if you have gone back in time 4 years and picked up your first copy of FIFA 98. Gone are the pinpoint accurate passes, lobs and shots. If you're not aiming directly to your teammate, your pass will not go directly to his feet. If you see a massive gap up field, you can now thread a nicely timed through-ball and have one of your speedy forwards run onto it. But make sure you are precise with the power on your through-ball. Just one minute extra push of the new power-bar and the ball will be out into touch.
FIFA 2002 feels like real football. As an example, if you are attacking down one side of the pitch and your nearest team mates are all marked closely, you quickly switch play with a sharp long ball across to your opposite winger and start attacking down that particular side.
Let's take a look at some of the many points that make the FIFA 2002 gameplay a winner:
The players now react to different situations on the ground realistically. Eg. if you take a shot at goal and narrowly miss, the player who took the shot may fall to his knees in despair. This is not a cut scene similar to what you see after a goal, it happens in real-time play with the same camera view that you are currently playing in. Also, if the ball goes out into touch and some players are chasing it, instead of simply stopping when the ball goes out the players will slowly stop running and turn back. This is hard to explain but you'll immediately notice it when you play the game.
EA have completely re-invented and improved the players trapping and controlling skills. Instead of waiting for a ball to hit their feet and then run, your player will run onto a pass and use a variety of different trapping skills to take the ball under control. First time shots are also possible, even if the ball is bouncing slightly and the player doesn't have total control. Players can also shoot with the outside of their boot. You can now tell the difference between players preferred feet and a player will do whatever he can to get the ball onto his strongest foot before shooting.
EA have finally included a 1-2 pass. Hit the 1-2 pass button and the player you pass the ball to will send it straight back to you. This move is hard to master but scoring a goal after carrying out a perfect 1-2 pass is simply awesome. The CPU also pulls off some very good build up play which can involve 1-2 passes which are very hard to defend.
Players can now make mistakes. Sometimes one of your defenders may be running across to take an easy intercept on an attacking through-pass and miss the ball completely. Or perhaps you may go up for a header and miss it. I know that at least once I have taken a complete air-swing at a ball when trying to quickly clear it. No longer can you just smash the shoot button and expect to pull of a perfect volley or bicycle kick. I have been playing FIFA 2002 for two weeks now and I have only ever executed one perfect volley shot and it was tipped away by the keeper. I have definitely missed a lot of volleys and bicycle kicks and in the process made a real goose of myself.
Oops... missed that one!
The goalkeeper is now much more intelligent and realistic. There are no more "superman" saves with most on target powerful shots being tipped away. The keeper can also make the odd mistake. He won't make as many as Barthez, but on the odd occasion he might go to catch a powerful shot on his chest and with the pressure of an attacker coming though spill it resulting in a simple tap-in for your attacker. This has only happened to me once in two weeks of playing which I find very realistic. The keeper can now take as many steps as he wants but only hold on to the football for the allowed number of seconds. The goalkeeper can now get a lot more realistic distance on his punt kicks and goal kicks.
You can now swing the ball left and right using the left and right "flippers" on your control pad. The movement is certainly noticeable and comes in really handy when taking long-range shots and placing long through-balls.
The defenders tackling skills and styles have now improved. No longer does a player wrongly just poke his leg out, but players go in with their shoulders and jostle for balls realistically.
Players heights and weights are noticeable. In FIFA 2002 if a slow player is racing against a fast player to get to a through-pass the fast player will out sprint the slow player.
Height differences
Many people when they first heard that FIFA 2002 would feature a variety of different through-ball options feared that all you'd have to do in FIFA 2002 to score was send one of your players on a run, send a through-pass to his feet and you'd score. Rest assured, the CPU is too smart for that. If you send a player on a run, the CPU will send a defender with that player and mark him closely. Just like in real life, most through-passes you send will either be cut off, or not be accurate enough for your attacker to get to them.
Although still only having three difficulty levels, FIFA 2002 is a much harder challenge than any previous FIFA edition. Personally, when I first got FIFA 2001 I was playing in World-class mode with in 24 hours of owning the game. After two weeks I am still on Professional mode and each match is a real challenge. This is another reason why I feel FIFA 2002 will be a far longer-term investment than any other recent FIFA game.
Gone are the stupid special moves and they have been replaced by two realistic ones. You can now beat a player by running your foot over the ball and darting around him, and you can now fake a shot. If a defender is sprinting across at 100 miles per hour and you're about to shoot, you can easily fake the shot, sending your defender hurtling past you, put the ball onto your good foot and drill home a scorching shot.
You have to be accurate with your shots. Even if you are right in front of goal, if you're not totally accurate you'll miss the goal.
There is no simple secret to scoring. In FIFA 2001, if you knew how to do a cross and a bicycle kick you would always score. I am yet to find a way to always score in FIFA 2002 and I expect there isn't one.
Refereeing has definitely improved. The CPU no longer does as many slide tackles as they used to which is far more realistic.
As I say, FIFA 2002 is not perfect. Let's take a look at some areas in the gameplay that EA need to improve on or rethink:
CPU shooting options leave a lot to be desired. A CPU attacker may be on a break and just need to draw the goalie and push in for an easy goal. Instead, more than often, the CPU player will get to the 18-yard box and try for a long-range shot. The computer players also shoot from very strange angles which most players in real life would hardly ever consider shooting from. The computer players often miss very easy open goals by kicking the ball unnecessarily hard. EA need to work on the computers shooting realism before we could ever consider FIFA 2002 as the all-round perfect football game.
Although FIFA 2002 boasts an array of terrific new camera angles that are easily adjustable, the ball sometimes ends up out of the camera shot meaning you don't know where the ball is going. This only happens very rarely but it is certainly something EA need to take a look at. Perhaps a patch could be released to fix this.
I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad point. I have noticed that the ball hits the post quite a lot. It is definitely exciting, but I'm not sure if it is totally realistic.
As I mentioned, refereeing has improved but the ref is still not strict enough. Even when you set the ref to be extremely strict, he may penalise you, but he won't pull out the yellow or red card as often as he should.
One point that I have made a few times while answering questions in the Soccer Gaming Forums has been the style of game FIFA 2002 is. If you can remember back to FIFA 98 and WC98 you would remember that those games were definitely "running games". You'd get a man and pull of a special move, beat 5 players and score a magnificent goal. Although, when we got FIFA 99 and FIFA 2000 we discovered the world of passing. In those games you'd be forced to pull off a series of quick, "pinball" like passes to have a chance of scoring a goal. The great thing about FIFA 2002 is that it encompasses both passing and running. The passing is realistic and as I have mentioned, the accuracy of your passes evolves around how well you have perfected your skills. While passing is important in FIFA 2002, running is still equally as important. Often you will be placed in a situation where you must out sprint a man, or beat him with a special move. To be a FIFA 2002 champion you must know how to pass, lob, shoot, run, defend and of course, score.
So is FIFA 2002 any better this year? Yes, it definitely is. Is it any different from the past FIFA's that have merely changed since FIFA 98? Yes, definitely. FIFA 2002 has a whole new feel about it and that is why FIFA 2002 is with out a doubt the best FIFA since EA decided to get serious and create FIFA 98. FIFA 2002 is not perfect, but it will keep you interested for many months. It is tough, yet satisfying and with the thousands of third-party patches you'll be able to download here at Soccer Gaming will be the best FIFA ever.
Started By: Knight Marcos 
Started By: javaj2ee 
