This is where things started to change. I can’t exactly explain why or how, but this game just didn’t feel right for some reason.
Here we are again with another FIFA game—it feels like I’m spamming FIFA articles at this point. Let’s start with the positives. The graphics have visibly improved. Player movements and physics are definitely better. You also get a bit more assistance when you have the ball: the circle underneath your player lights up green, yellow, or red, indicating the direction you’re facing and whether your teammate is in a good position to receive the pass. Additionally, corner kicks now have letters above your teammates—pressing the corresponding letter directs the ball to them. Beyond that, there are plenty of teams to choose from, and if you’ve watched the videos, you can see how thrilled I was to see Fenerbahçe as an option.
Now for the downside: the game just doesn’t feel right. I still can’t pinpoint why, but it feels slower and somehow dull. Even the menus are boring—it sounds strange, I know, but they lack excitement. Once you figure out the gameplay, you start scoring 5+ goals every match, which gets boring very quickly.
The weather effects are also a letdown. Snow is barely visible, and while you can set weather effects to “random,” “rain,” “hot,” or “clear” in the options menu, you can’t choose the weather just before starting a match, like in FIFA 99. On top of that, there’s no stadium selection either. You simply select your teams and play—that’s it.
This game marked the end of FIFA for me. I went on to try FIFA 2001, FIFA 2002, and World Cup 2002, but none of them were great. That said, if you’re not as fussy as I am, FIFA 2000 could still be a decent football game to play. It’s not bad—it’s just not good enough.
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Hardware Specs used in the video:
Gigabyte GA-6BXC
Intel Pentium II MMX 450mhz
128MB SDRam
S3 Trio3D/2X
3DFX Voodoo II
Creative SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 (SB0100)
40GB Seagate HDD (IDE)
Microsoft Sidewinder Gamepad
