Getting Our Kicks with FIFA 06

One of the gifts we received during the recent holidays was the latest, just-released edition of the FIFA 06 videogame for PlayStation 2. FIFA 06 is the officially sponsored classic soccer (or "football") game by gamemaker EA Sports. The videogame's realism is mesmerizing, while the game itself is a little harder than the last version we picked-up, FIFA 2004. (We didn't bother with the 2005 edition, because the changes didn't seem significant enough at the time to make it worth our money.) BUT ... FIFA 06 is a quite a leap from '04 and '05. The controls are slightly different, more varied and with more combinations, and the off-the-ball functions are gone. The gameplay itself is a lot more realistic, even in amateur mode.

One of our favorite features of the FIFA series has been the number of accurate real-life European stadiums recreated in the game, and fortunately there are now more stadiums than ever. The players and teams are all up to date as of August 2005, so if you currently follow any of the major European soccer/football leagues, you'll find all your favorite players there. Anyway, we're already spending way to much of our precious free time playing this game. Our rating: 8.5 out of 10.

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