-
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Sports
Region: PAL
Format:
Release Date: 17 May 02
User Rating
8 (3 votes) -
Overview
Well, if you love the game enough you could almost call football itself a story of its own. But maybe not.
Gameplay
This is the best bit, the gameplay is absolutely unmatched. If you played ISS on the N64 you can see similarities, and if you played the PS1 you can get right into it too. You don't have to study matches like an England scout with his job on the line like you did in evolution. More focus is on getting the right players on the squad for each match. Each has a different face beside them, happy, sad, bemused and so on. It's more on the side of the N64 version though, because its developed by the same team, some might even say exactly the same (pah, not on this console). It's far more free flowing than evolution but it manages to keep out of the way of the dismal FIFA's arcade gameplay. There are changes to the formula though, gone are the old power bars, now we have analog shooting and passing. Hold the button down hard and the ball will rocket into the air, push it in softly and it will trickle across the pitch. This is a hard concept to get to grips with at the begging, but once you get into it, it becomes second nature. You'll soon be pumping those balls into the top corner.
One of the niggles about this game is that you'll find you'll have most of the possession in the game, stick on about 25 shots, yet only win the game 1-0. This happens frequently because those keepers are just so damn good, It would have been better if they had the right balance between good defenders and a good goalie. This though proves not to be a bad thing when you're in two player though. Read on...
Graphics
I bought ISS a few months after release, stuck it in my console and was amazed. The players looked so real, the motions, the nice touches, everything was there. Each pitch looks fabulous and every player is recognisable so it first appears. There are little rolling bits between free kicks and the ref is actually on the pitch. He gets out his card and gives the players a going over, the players gives him some and runs away like a poof (a bit of a downer considering all the other bits are fab, but that's just picky). When there is a free kick the goalkeepers realistically line up their wall, leaning on the post as the players shuffle in the box, it's just like watching tele, for a while. There's not much in the way of lighting on the players, but that doesn't matter, they don't look bland, and you can see the differences between night and day.
It's only until you have been playing it for ages, and believe me I did (read on gameplay) that you notice the graphical niggles. You'll see after looking at the fantastic replay mode for ages, that the frame rate is a bit slow, you'll see that sometimes the player doesn't even hit the ball. Strange, do they have telekinetic powers, I don't think so. When the players celebrate it also has its problems, they go on a run to the line and the run through other players! This is PS2 for goodness sake, things like that should have been left with PS1. Other times the players hug one another, you see that their hands go through their bodies! What's is going on!? Is it me just being silly? There graphics are not bad, not at all, but you can see the niggles after a while.
Fun Factor
The two-player mode, it's simply fantastic and frantic. You get two people who are just about as good as one another, on this game and you won't get them off. Each player has lots of attacking sprees. Balls fly off the bar, rolls past the keeper and hit the post, deflect of defenders and trickle embarrassingly in and defences open like a can of beans. Everything can be frantic for a few seconds and it is extremely fun. It's got more nice touches than Rivaldo with legs bendable in 30 different places. It's not a stupidly fast as FIFA, yet it's not as technical as Evolution, just the right balance between realism and fun.
Overall
Overall ISS is one of the most playable footie games ever created. Sure, the PS2 has yet to be really push graphically, but they always say good things come to those who wait. If Winning Eleven 5 is as good as this with better graphics, I'll probably break down into tears of joy (maybe). If you haven't already got this game and you're after the best sports and two-player game on PS2 then look no further. Then again if you don't like football then it's a bit pointless...
- Gameplay
8.0 - Graphics
7.0 - Fun Factor
9.0 - Overall
8.0
