FIFA 06

THE GOOD:
- New kits
- Nice unlockables
- 5th difficulty
- Wide selection of teams
- Alot of challenges
- Player Realism

THE BAD:
- You have to update alot of transfers yourself
- Set pieces
- Passing sometimes lacks quality

SUMMARY:

The gameplay on FIFA06 can leave you frustrated sometimes with it's passing. From players not making runs to players always running offside. The thing that annoys me the most is the amount of times your caught offside and players not making runs and when do do make runs they seem to change their mind and start running backwards which leaves you short of passing options when your in your opponents half and you loose the ball especially on harder difficulties. Now you have tactical options which is a good feature you can change mentality of the team to attack, defend or stay at neutral aswell as setting them to counter attack, wing play, box overload and so on. I've tried all off these but it doesn't seem to fix my problem with runs and offsides. Eventually when you do get the player onside and a great opportunity to slide a through ball it seems to always go to the computer? The game really decides how good it is by the difficulty you play it on, personally I play it on the hardest level which makes it hard to score, make runs etc. Their goalkeeper always seems to be world class by mine seems to be left back at amature letting things slip past him far to easily. On a positive note FIFA06 allows you to do some slick moves when you master the controls. From different crossing techniques to taking that perfect first touch (which can also become frustrating if not used right). Set pieces is another thing you need to really practise at to become perfect, with no arrows to help you guide the ball you need to really focus, but when you do get a freekick right they look immense.


The graphics on FIFA06 are the best in any football game. They really point out the differences in leagues from the pitch graphics with higher teams having nice smooth perfect pitches then lower teams having those horrible brown patched pitches. The stadiums all look amazing and I have to mention the San Siro because it shows you how well the graphics are in this game. The crowd is as good as you can make it really, nothing much changed from past titles but them singing team songs really does make up for it. The title screens on FIFA06 are very well done aswell nothing confusing but all nicely done which makes it easy for new players to the game.


On FIFA06 you get lots of great tunes from all over the world and also past footballing moments called 'FIFA Flashbacks' were you hear the commentary from past games. Playing matches the noises the crowd makes are very good, with them singing team songs you'd hear in real, for example 'you'll never walk alone'


The basic controls are very easy to get to grips with. If you really want to further yourself you can read the manual you get with the game for nice tips on one-two moves etc. I'd like to point out tho, that the long balls can be difficult having to judge were to kick the ball and how hard you need to but eventually you'll get to grips with it.


If you don't feel like playing a match on FIFA06 you could read through ex players profiles or watch match highlights, watch a Eto'o interview and so on. But if you really want more stuff to mess about with you can for the challenges part. There is alot of challenges that will keep you amused for hours from each section of the world leagues and every challenge you beat you get points to unlock difficulty levels, bigger teams to play with, profiles and footballs and alot more.


There is alot of modes on this game. You could practice your stuff or go straight into kick off for a friendly. Manger mode is the main mode were you have a 15 year career with whatever team you like. You get to choose sponsor's, scouts lots of daily manager stuff. Or you could just create a tournament with all the best teams in Europe.


FIFA06 has it's goods and its bad. Even though you get frustrated with it sometimes it's still a great game to have in your collection.