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PS2 Reviews: This is Football 2005

 

This is Football 2003 screenshots

 

The Final Say!

Gameplay
8.2
Graphics
9.1
Sound
8.7
Value
8.8

This is Football 2003
 reviewed by Andrew B 
Review Date: 30 November 2004
Review Score 8.9/10
Distributed By: Sony

This is Football 2005 returns in a true sporting spectacular that can be considered nothing short of amazing and once again brings gamers into the most definitive European soccer game. With that said, there is also a plethora of other teams from around the world that include Australia and Brazil!

Another impressive feature of This is soccer 2005 is that it supports the EyeToy Cameo that allows you to use the EyeToy to capture your face and then superimpose it onto a player in the game. So apart from just playing the game, I am actually part of the game. Another cool feature of the EyeToy cameo is that when you watch replays, you can see your sporting finesse on the big screen, provided you have a widescreen television.

This is Football 2005 also supports a variety of different gameplay modes that includes our fan favourites such as Exhibition Matches, Challenge Mode, Career Mode and Seasons Mode to name a few of the modes that grace this title. Although the game really comes into its own when you play the Career Mode that basically lets you start from the beginning of the soccer world and work your way to the World Cup spectacular. 

This is Football 2005 has great multiplayer support with either a multitap (8 players) or now with the inclusion of network play that lets you play online with players from around the world. The control system of This is Football 2005 is quite easy to learn and you basically control your players via the analog stick with the standard buttons used to  pass, tackle, swap and kick. The game also supports a variety of new manoeuvres that are activated via the shoulder pads on the Dual Shock.  With that said, This is Football 2005 has an extremely arcade feel to it and brings back the glory days of arcade soccer on the Amiga 500 such as Kickoff.

The only "slight" downside to the current incarnation of This is Football is that the AI of the game which is a little rough in some places with defenders sometimes failing to defend their goal and all you need to do is briskly pass them and you can kick your team a goal. Fortunately the licensing of the game has also fallen short, with only just a handful of official soccer anecdotes that have been included in the game. Even though EA has the official Fifa license, This is Football is still an extremely fun and entertaining game.

Graphically, This is Football 2005 is probably one of he most realistic soccer games of 2004 and is easily on par with Electronic Arts Fifa 2005. The player animations have also been improved from its predecessors and players now move with a human-like grace that contain some extraordinary realism that truly enhances the gaming experience of this title.

All the characters in the game contain an insane amount of polygons and match that with some realistic texture details and it's almost as if you are watching a real soccer game. Everything from the little touches of each player, such as the spikes on their shoes or the way they kick up mud or dirt has been flawlessly implemented into this amazing soccer game.

The stadiums have also been professionally designed and each stadium looks like their real-world counterpart with flags waving in the stadiums, smoke flares rising from the stands, and some realistic weather effects that once again enhances the gaming experience of this title. There are also some special effects in the game that appear to be particle effects and also some lighting and shading detail... just look at the screenshots!

This is Football 2005 also has contains a variety of accurate soccer sound effects with the developers including just about everything you hear in a soccer match, from the roars of the crown to the thuds of shoes kicking balls. The commentary of the game is perfect and has been flawlessly implemented into the game with  every single player in the game having their names recorded so you will get some very fluid commentary.

This is Football 2005 may not be the Fifa 2005 killer but it does come extremely close and if you are looking for some great arcade soccer fun than you should look no further than this soccer game. With a variety of different gameplay modes, new soccer manoeuvres and also some amazing graphics, this is one soccer game that fans should check out!

- Andrew B

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