FIFA 2004

FIFA is the most popular soccer/football franchise on the market which goes way back to '94 when the first title in the series was launched featuring 16-bit graphics and an isometric view unique for that time. Ten years later, the game looked amazing compared with its early versions and with FIFA 2004, EA managed to bring a fresh experience with cool new features.

In comparison with its predecessor, FIFA 2004 did not bring many improvements regarding its engine, but, at the same time, it fine-tunes the features that made the 2003 version so popular amongst its fans, including the animations which now make players move smoothly on the pitch with more organic motions.

In terms of gameplay, EA added the new Off The Ball control system that gives you the possibility to issue commands to your teammates, including call in tackles, lose marker, jostle for space and get in position to score.

An important addition to FIFA 2004 are the Dutch and Portuguese leagues which round the number of national leagues to 17 and a total of 350 teams. Moreover, second divisions from Europe's best leagues are available, allowing you to prove you have what it takes to help lower ranked teams to promote.

Crowds have also received an overhaul and now come with 300 new chants for the best teams out there. If you think you got what it takes to be a coach, you can try out the new Career Mode where you'll be able to guide your club to the top of the league while making the right decisions regarding players and tactical strategies.

For those of you that also own and play Total Club Manager 2004, you can now take advantage of the new Football Fusion feature, which allows you to play games from the sim in FIFA.

With the 2004 version, FIFA began to slowly detach from the arcade gameplay feeling heading more towards a more realistic experience which we can now enjoy in the latest releases.

For a decade ago, the graphics are as crisp as they could have been complemented by yet another great soundtrack featuring Radiohead, The Jam, Kings of Leon, and others.