PSP FIFA Soccer review:5 stars (Great For a Seasoned Veteran) - Well, to start this review off, I just recieved my PSP two days ago. I bought this game yesterday and feel that it is a solid hit. Yes, the switching between the analong stick and d-pad is confusing at first, but you will get used to it after a little bit so that you can master moving and pulling off sweet tricks. Shooting is difficult at first but that you will also master with the 'joystick'. The challenge mode is lots of fun, and so is the season mode. I haven't tried the wifi mode yet, but so far on my other title, ATV offroad fury, it has performed well. Yes, the game takes some time to master, but it is pretty easy to pick up with the different difficulty settings. All in all, the game is really fun, but some aspects make take some time to get used to.2 stars (Over-hyped.) - I'm excited at the prospect of playing football (ok, soccer) on my PSP, so getting FIFA Soccer is just a matter of time, considering it "seems to" be the best-looking footballing game on the console so far. Sadly, my trust was misplaced, and I was left to stare at a piece of junk that I just paid 50 bucks for.

I've been playing FIFA games for about 10 years. While I'm getting increasingly disappointed with the gameplay of this franchise, at least it added some new technology, namely the first-touch, to its latest FIFA 2005 for the PS2/ Xbox. While I'm still not fully convinced, the first-touch did improve my opinion of EA Sports, and I'm much more forgiving to the game despite already being converted to a Winning Eleven/ Pro Evolution Soccer junkie.

So, what can we expect from the PSP version of the FIFA game? A lot of disappointment, really. While the first-touch function is still in place, the limitation of the PSP console means that you can't execute it with the right analog stick - the PSP doesn't have it! So, you ended up with having to control the movement of your players with the left analog stick with your left hand, and applying first-touch and free-style play with your left hand as well. While it's not entirely humanly impossible, it does take away the spontaneity of the control. Not to mention the controls are less than responsive on this game, making it a pain when you try to wrestle out of a tight situation while under heavy defending.

The graphics are also a dead duck on this game. Granted we see mostly accurate representation of the players and clubs, the fact that this game plays on a PSP screen means that during the game, your players are so small you can hardly see them as humans. My wife said it looks like controlling ants. I thought she's quite right. Even when I turn to my favorite Action and Broadcast cams, which supposedly allow better zoom on the screen, I can still hardly make out who's who on the pitch. That's bad. Of course, there's always the flashy replays, which detail fully how bad the graphics are, with all the jagged edges and all.

The audios are equally bad, and I'm not just talking about the uninspired soundtrack here. The in-game commentary team of John Motson and Ally McCoist try to provide some action description, but it end up all flat because we've been listening to the same old crap for years. FIFA 2005's commentary is almost an exact replica of FIFA 2004, and FIFA Soccer's commentary is almost an exact replica of FIFA 2005. Can't they get someone else to do the job to at least instill some freshness? Of course, there's always the incorrect descriptions. A team on the top of the table could be described as "struggling", and a striker who scored a hat-trick could be immediately slated as "missing a lot of chances" when he missed two of them in the game. Hey, he did score three, you know?

How about the over-zealous referee's whistles and crowd-cheering? The crowd can go "wow!" suddenly when you're basically just clearing a ball into touch, and the referee's whistle is always blown when the ball the goes out of play. Notice I said "when". Where on earth in a football game will you find such a vigilant referee? You blow the whistle after the ball goes out of play, not when it's still in the process of travelling past the line! And did I mention about the frequent drop in frame rates? The screen always freezes when the ball goes out after you miss a shot, always! And it also freezes frequently when your players are celebrating a goal. For a 50 bucks game, I've to ask, why?

The only saving grace is the inclusion of the Challenge mode, which requires you to stage real-life comeback, or complete a rout that happened in past footballing games. At least it makes you want to try and complete all of them. You also earn points to unlock stuff like kits, balls and staidums. I won't go into detail of all these, because I've simply lost interest in the game after playing a few friendlies with all the problems I mentioned above. My suggestion is that you wait for FIFA 2006 (if you're a fan) for the PS2/ Xbox rather than spend money on this.4 stars (Good Game) - This is a very impressive game, graphics wise, for a handheld. The stadiums look great and the players are recognizable. The details on the shirts are a little blurry, but thats just being picky. The controls on the other hand are a little frustrating. The game requires you to use the analog stick which, in my opinion doesn't work very well. Trying to perform quick turns and cuts is almost impossible and my passes tend to go to players other then who i intended it to. Freekicks are incredible, indentical to the console versions. The sound is not bad, if you can stand the weird songs from all the international no name bands. It even has a music video from one of the bands and something that looks like someone's half attempt at a music video made with a computer graphics program.
Overall the game is not bad, and being that I'm addicted to soccer in all forms and fashions, I give it a 4. Although i pray that there will be a Winning Eleven on the system, this is the best choice so far.
PSP FIFA Soccer Features:
Replay famous games as you fight your way out of preset match situations
Wireless multiplayer action
Over 350 official team and league licenses
Battle your way through Season and Tournament play

PSP FIFA Soccer is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 49.99USD.