With how long it took the GameCube to be released in Europe, and how often FIFA games come out (especially in World Cup years), this version of FIFA 2002 never came to Europe, as the next FIFA game was a launch title over here.
EA also managed to become masters of illusion with FIFA 2002, as I thought the game looked great when I played it, but the screenshots look really bad. During openings and replays, the game uses decent quality models, which are swapped by incredibly low poly models during gameplay.
Because the game flows quite fast (especially if you up the speed in the options), and with the distance you usually sit from a TV, your brain seems to substitute the low quality models with the higher detail versions. It’s a strange thing to experience. The menus also look nice and clean, and hearing full length and good quality licensed music for the first time on a Nintendo console is a bit of a strange thing at first.
As for the gameplay, it’s fine. It doesn’t have the fun of FIFA 98, and something feels a bit floaty with the passing. The new control scheme (where you hold A to charge a pass) seems to make it too easy to pass in the wrong direction, and I got tackled constantly on the easiest difficulty. It’s still nowhere near as bad as FIFA’s first outing on the N64, though.