FIFA Football 2005 Review

Since launching in 2003, the N-Gage has unfortunately seen relatively few sporting titles grace it's LCD screen. Of those titles, EA's FIFA Football 2004 was arguably the best - and now they've returned with an all-round improved version in FIFA Football 2005.

Like it's predecessor, FIFA 2005 boasts a large complement of club and international teams, with in excess of 10,000 real players. When first loading up the game, you are prompted to select your "Favourite Team", for which you can select from all four divisions of English league football, the Scottish Premier, and various other top leagues from the footballing world. So unless your loyalties lie with the likes of Leigh RMI or Raith Rovers, you're going to be able to play as the team closest to your heart.

As you would expect, the games allows you to compete in an array of competitions, both cups and league seasons. FIFA 2005 also includes a 'Career Mode' where you guide your team through five seasons of league and cup football. In career mode your goal is to take your club to national and international glory, while earning prestige points for your accomplishments over your time in charge.

The game controls are easy to pick up, and after a few games you will be putting together impressive looking strings of passes with ease. Unfortunately, this takes the element of difficulty from the single player game as it can get too easy. On the second day of reviewing the game, I demolished Arsenal 8-0, playing as Norwich, on the highest (world class) difficulty setting, with the shortest game length. I'm still trying to beat Brazil as Cambridge United in friendly mode, but the best result I've managed so far is a 4-3 defeat.

Having said the game might be too easy, FIFA 2005 does include a 'Challenge Mode', which involves comeback challenges and rout challenges where your objective is to recreate some of the most famous comebacks and thrashings in recent football history. While whipping Germany 5-1 as England wasn't a problem, scoring two goals in the last five minutes as Manchester United to claim the crown of the best club team in Europe at the expense of Bayern Munich proved to be truly challenging.

Although as a handheld game, the graphics are naturally years behind those of the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube versions of FIFA 2005, the players still look realistic. Ronaldinho doesn't have long hair in the game, and Norwich City ace Leon McKenzie is nowhere near as black in real life as the FIFA 2005 engine makes him appear, but the likenesses of many players are recognisable.

Usually, I pay very little attention to the soundtrack of games - but the scores that provide the backdrop to FIFA 2005 have lodged themselves in my head and I constantly find myself humming the tunes of some of the upbeat background music from the game.

To conclude, FIFA Football 2005 for the Nokia N-Gage is great fun, especially when playing against a human opponent. Unfortunately however, the sheer lack of difficulty on playing against the AI lets down the single player mode.

This review was added on 15th March 2005 by Rupe Parnell.