Since I’m only talking about one sports title in this particular “sports” related 3DO post, that must mean I don’t own very many sports games for this console. It’s not like the 3DO didn’t have many sports titles either. John Madden Football could be found on the 3DO. There were basketball games like Slam and Jam and lots of golf games like Pebble Beach, PGA Tour Golf and Wicked 18. But I don’t own any of those. The only sports game I own for the 3DO (as of this writing and not counting street racing games), is FIFA International Soccer.
Full disclosure, I’m not the world’s biggest soccer fan in real life and I’ve never gotten into soccer video games as a result. I own the black box original Soccer for the NES but I can count how many times I’ve actually played it on one hand. FIFA International Soccer became part of my 3DO collection when I bought my initial 3DO bundle many years ago. I played it a few times back then but due to my unfamiliarity with the sport and how to effectively play a soccer video game, I didn’t give it much effort.
Periodically, I’d review “top games for the 3DO” lists to see if there were titles that seemed to generally receive favorable reviews and FIFA continued to show up on these lists so I gave it another shot. Yeah, I get it. FIFA looks awesome. It plays smoothly. The atmosphere of the crowd noise and stadiums combined with the intuitive controls really impressed me when I looked at the game with a renewed interest. Pick your country of choice and get ready for non-stop action. The camera moves around the field effectively and you never feel left behind even when passes go across the field at a lightning pace. I really wish I understood how to play soccer games better because I feel like this would be one of the best games in the genre. I get excited and pumped up simply by the audio! I can only imagine how exciting it would be if I knew what I was doing.
I enjoy FIFA for what it is. A completely competent soccer game that true fans of the sport will find a lot of enjoyment with and causal fans will have some fun with on a periodic basis. What else can you ask for in a soccer game?
Rating: B+
Currently in my collection: game, box
Cartridge Corner 