This past year was probably the biggest year in notoriety for soccer in the United States. Why? Because a 14-year-old kid was signed to a huge contract by a professional team. Whether he wants to or not, it’s up to Freddy Adu to try and get people excited about soccer here in America. Right now, I’d say the popularity is hovering around the NHL’s level. However, with games like FIFA Soccer 2005, Adu may not have to shoulder the load as much.

FIFA Soccer 2005’s graphics take on a television presentation-style look, and it works wonderfully. The far-off look is obviously needed for gamers to actually play the game, but the animations totally look realistic even at that distance. Whether you’re simply dribbling the ball, or try heading a goal, the players and animations are done in a simplistic manner that makes it all the more believable. My favorite is when you miss a wide open shot and your guy looks back up at the sky in disbelief. For those plays that do require an instant replay, the TV presentation zooms in at a different angle to show you what you missed. Here is where you can see the amount of detail put in to the players. Big names (although there aren’t too many here in the U.S.) are depicted well in facial features, while everyone else looks lifelike too.

As far as the audio side of the ball, two things play a big role at FIFA 2005’s success. The two-man commentary of John Motson and Ally McCoist call the game beautifully. The two will banter at the beginning of the game, talking about the importance of the match, or about Ally’s old career and how he handled those types of games. Additionally, they’ll follow right along with the action. Maybe it’s easier for commentary for soccer since every minute is not action-packed (like football), but regardless, it’s pulled off well. The other reason the audio is so good is because of the crowd interaction. They seem to follow the game even better than the commentary. In the past, it seemed like the crowd was just there, and not actually into the game. This year, while you’ll hear those famous chants and such, you’ll also hear the roar of the crowd when you score a goal, or if a player gets a yellow or red card. All of this adds up to a big win in my book.

The big reason why soccer isn’t number one in America is because it seems too slow. Unlike the rest of the world, Americans don’t appreciate the amount of fitness needed to run around for 90 plus minutes at a time, or why players pass the ball across the field or back towards their own goal when really, the players are just waiting for the right angle to attack. All of this adds up to a “boring” match in the United States. Well, if you’re someone that believes this too, FIFA Soccer 2005 isn’t for you. Don’t expect to go 1-on-11, because you’ll get shut down immediately. You’ll have to pass the ball backwards and forwards, from north to south and east to west, just to find that perfect opening for a chance at scoring. Defenses are aggressive, so if and when you do score, you’ll know that you’ve earned it. Now, that’s not to say that each game will be 1-0, but don’t expect to score 10 goals or something either.

EA’s emphasis this year has been on a deeper Career mode. With FIFA Soccer 2005, you get 15 years to play around with, trying to become a five-star coach with plenty of accolades. You’ll earn points for your successes, which you’ll then put towards better coaching. You’ll also earn credit to transfer over to a different market later on in your career, so you can head overseas or stay back in the U.S.

Meantime, there are other things to do in FIFA 2005 other than the Career mode. With 18 different leagues, including the newly added Mexican League, you can play with 38 different national teams and 11,000 players. Now that’s depth! With that, you can either play an exhibition match in Play Now, or go through the ranks of a Tournament. You can even Create your own Tournament if you don’t like what’s offered. Finally, head Online to take on the best that the world has to offer. Here you can play in either ranked or unranked matches.

I’ve been playing the FIFA series for a number of years now, so I felt comfortable not starting out as a beginner. FIFA Soccer 2005 offers up four levels of difficulty: Amateur, Semi-Pro, Professional, and World Class. Even playing on Semi-Pro is a challenge, but it also felt like the most realistic to me (i.e. only a few goals were scored in a match). For those new to the FIFA series, or to the sport of soccer in general, you can play around in the Practice mode, or take a Tutorial.

FIFA Soccer 2005’s new “thing” this year is First Touch Control. By using the right analog stick, you tell your player to put a little “something” on the ball. Basically, they just do a fancy dribble or something; it just depends on how good the player is that’s doing it. However, this is not a guarantee to dribble around a defender. You may be able to elude someone, but more often than not, they’ll steal the ball away. You can also use the right analog stick before you receive the ball to control it in a certain direction. However, I didn’t use this feature all that much since I was just trying to keep possession of the ball.

Meantime, the rest of FIFA 2005 played well on the PS2. The loading time was pretty quick, and only a slight chunk of the memory card will be used up when saving a career.

Like I said earlier, if you’re someone who thinks soccer is a slow sport, you won’t like this game. But if you’re a soccer purist, or someone that’s looking to get over the NHL strike, FIFA Soccer 2005 may just be what you’re looking for.