With 2002 being a World Cup year, it means two FIFA games in the space of six months. This means that in Europe, we missed out on the first fully-featured FIFA game and got this version on launch day. Unlike World Cup 98, though, this isn’t just the same core game with fewer teams, they actually made some changes.
Passing has been reworked significantly, which means follow on passes are much more reliable, with your player running past opponents to meet up with the ball. The players you aren’t in control of seem to be much more intelligent, and will make runs into spaces (indicated by a dotted line so you can plan appropriately) and they sometimes even make tackles on your behalf. There’s a lot more activity happening in the box now, giving you more options than just booting the ball when you get close to the goal. I found it made the game flow quite nicely. Another small touch is a meaty WOOMPHHHH sound effect when you make a shot.
But with a massively reduced number of teams, fewer modes and no team or player editing, it’s still missing a ton of stuff from the main FIFA releases, so hopefully some of these gameplay elements will be evolved for the proper game.