PlayStation 2
Released in 2000 by EA Sports
Grade: B
FIFA 2001 may seem primitive and arcade-like by today’s standards, and it gets repetitive, but it’s fun enough to pop in for a few games.
Where it falls in the series
It’s the first on PS2, blowing away the previous generation’s graphics. PS2 editions extend all the way to FIFA 14.
Praises and gripes
The game has a smooth, almost cute feel to it. Players zip around unrestrained by realistic physics. The ball also has a way of moving smoothly, but it’s too robotic. It doesn’t pop loose or bounce around. It usually ends up directly in a player’s possession.
The AI is pretty standard, with players who stay in position and react like well-tuned robots to go after the ball. There’s a nice balance of open space and crowded pileups happening out there, offering chances to pass, carry the ball, and use a few tricky ballhandling moves.
The controls are nicely responsive, as usual for EA, but mapped oddly with no customization options. Pass is X, long pass is Square, and a through pass is … L1? And a speed burst is Triangle, which you need to tap rapidly all the time. Also, it’s hard not to make passes right to the other team, making you realize how newer soccer games have nifty passing logic to avoid this.
The slide tackle and “conservative tackle” seem overpowered. Players hardly ever jostle or absorb each other’s contact. It’s something you might not immediately notice but, as games wear on, can test your patience.
Shots are also a bit awkward and robotic, lacking the finesse and unpredictability of more modern soccer games. Goals come in distinct varieties: a breakaway, a cross into the goal area that’s headed in, or a rebound chance into a wide-open net. Just like with passing, playing this game will make you appreciate the variance and nifty logic used in later soccer games.
Despite a long list of different teams in different leagues, including the MLS, games don’t play out much differently from each other.
It’s a visual upgrade from earlier versions more than anything else. The FIFA series has a more-or-less steady incline in gameplay from here, so let’s just call this one a “really good start” that you probably won’t go back to.