The above really only scratches the surface as far as how beautiful FIFA 99 truly is. One last important issue is that of player heights, which are now reflected graphically and have an actual effect on their game. More typically British humor has been added to the generally superb commentary (Motson and Lynham lead the commentator team again, and that's all we need to know) as well.
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Also, the free kick arrows are much easier to understand now, and players are scaled better (although the ball is ever so slightly too big).Īs far as sound effects go, it seems like crowd chants now happen during more realistic moments in play, but otherwise, the game keeps the very high standard of its predecessor.
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I will take care to mention only three: close-ups now happen not only after goals or during a foul, but also after really big misses when the player who messed up may grab his head in frustration the ref is much more animated now, and the full effect during fouls is so good that it is tempting to make harsh fouls just to see what would happen and EAtook care to remove those stupid animations during deadballs. You now get players following the ball when it's flying above their heads, mouth movements in close-ups, much more accuracy and fluidity in player movements, and so many other small but significant improvements that I could spend the whole review just talking about them. They fixed the commentary issue, but that is the least important of the improvements. FIFA 99 's graphics and sound are just as big a leap from FIFA 98 as the latter was from FIFA 97. I was shocked to find out that, indeed, they managed this yet again.
The only real problem with its predecessor in this regard was the unsynchronized commentary, but otherwise I simply could not envision EA managing to make the same leap in technological warfare as they did previously FIFA 98 was simply too beautiful. The one thing that I was really wondering about before I got FIFA 99 for review was the presentation issue. That latter bit adds some more depth to an already amazingly rich game, and once you get used to it, it can come in handy.
The former allows you to switch between preset formations on the fly, while the latter lets you execute nifty maneuvers such as offside trap, again on the fly. Perhaps the most interesting improvement in the features section are the IGM (In-Game Management) and IGT (In-Game Tactics) options. Training matches now have defensive objectives, 3D card support is good, and the opening is sub- FIFA98 -standard, which is no surprise since that one was simply out of this world. As far as game options go, we have all the usual goodies - lots (and I mean LOTS - over 200) of teams, both domestic and international squads, season and cup play, a team and player editor, multiplayer modes galore, and no way to configure the controls (What's wrong with you, EA Sports? Why can't we reconfigure the pad buttons? Pretty please, for next time?). The game occupies 130mb of your drive, if you choose your options well, and requires a minimum of 20mb. In any case, anyone who has played an EA Sportsgame from the last two years will feel right at home. Can anyone tell me the exact meaning of that tiny 'blackboard' black box that appears on the lower left of the screen sometimes? I tend to believe it means advantage was given, but hey, my guess is as good as yours. Sure, you can find all possible key combinations listed - if you can understand them - but quite a bit is not mentioned at all. The same white box and the same less than informative manual. It seemed impossible that EA could make something that would actually be so much better as to justify a full release.Īs far as packaging goes, FIFA 99 follows the well-known adage: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." EA Sports games simply look the same on the outside year in, year out. And I waited with bated breath to see FIFA 99. I resisted buying World Cup 98 with all the willpower I could muster, after having played it a couple of times and deciding that it was simply not worth it when I already had the first one. I reviewed FIFA Road To World Cup 98 last fall, and gave it the only gold award I ever have. I personally believe this ploy would not have been accepted so easily had the games not been very, very good indeed.
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The fact that this meant one had to pay the full price just to get an upgrade for an existing game, I am sure, only made EA happier. EA Sports , however, made sure we were all enjoying ourselves in front of the computer instead of watching Italy on the telly, by releasing two FIFA games instead of the usual one. The world championships saw a distressing decline in the number of exciting matches (were 32 teams really too many?), while we also welcomed a newcomer to the world champions club. Soccer fans were glued to their seats in 1998 - and with good reason.