Operation Sports:

FIFA Soccer 2005: Running the Show

By Shawn Drotar, Managing Editor, OperationSports.com

Most sports games have a Career mode, and Electronic Arts' FIFA Soccer 2005 is no exception. However, what makes FIFA's career simulation different is its focus—not on the team itself, but on you, the team's manager.

As head honcho in Career mode, you work your way through as many as 15 seasons, trying to become the finest manager in the soccer world. If you do well, you'll likely coach more than a few teams as you're hired by the world's more prestigious clubs, and, if you perform poorly, you'll be fired from those same clubs. It's a fascinating and fun way to approach a Career mode, and a great way to show off FIFA Soccer 2005's stellar array of teams, leagues, and locales all around the world.

Play in some of the finest stadiums in the world.

First, you pick a picture and name for your new manager, and a region for your career to start in. There are five different regions, each representing different parts of the world, and they each contain between four and six leagues to choose from. After you select a region, you choose a team from the region's leagues. Teams are rated between one-half and five stars, but don't expect to be offered a job by a team rated higher than three stars. After all, you haven't proven anything yet!

After you select your squad, you're treated to a newspaper headline announcing your hiring, and your in-game PDA displays an e-mail from your bosses that tells you their expectations this season. Meet or exceed those expectations, and things go swimmingly. Fail to meet them, and you might be looking for a new job before you know it.

Next, you assign "upgrade points" to members of your staff. The more points you assign to each member, the better that part of your team will perform. You earn more points with each win, so you can build upon your successes. You have four position coaches (Striker, Midfielder, Defense, and Goalkeeper), a Fitness coach, Medical and Scouting Staff, and a Finance Department you can upgrade.

After assigning your staff's points, you're taken to the Career Central screen, the nerve center of your team. Your team's ratings in Attacking, Midfield, and Defense are on the left, while above that are your manager's picture and his Manager Prestige rating (between one to five stars). The rest of the page displays your current job security on a sliding scale, with quick links to the league's Tables and Fixtures (standings and schedules for us Yanks), details on your next match (including the weather forecast), and a quick menu to control the rest of your career.

Before your first game, you should visit the Options Menu. From here you can select your set pieces, change your team's tactics and free/corner kickers, check stats, and look at the status of both your team and your manager. The Transfer Market can be reached from here, as well. You can move players off of your team into the market, where other teams will offer you budget points for your player, which you can then turn around and spend to purchase new players from another club.

Set your team alignment carefully.

After you've gone through the Options menu, be sure to visit the Squad menu. From here, you can set up your team's alignment and substitute players in and out of the staring lineup. When you highlight a player, you'll see his age, skill, morale level, and fitness level. Players' morale will decrease if you're losing or they're not playing, and their fitness level will decrease dramatically without occasional rest, so be sure to rotate players frequently to make sure that your team can perform at its very best.

You can always play all your games, but FIFA Soccer 2005 has added a new way to simulate games as well. If you simulate a match, you'll see a graphic display that shows the game clock progressing, and a window below that relays updated play-by-play information. At any point in the game, you can tap the A button, and hop into the game at that point to play out the rest of the match. You can take over and try to score a last-ditch goal, or hop into the game to preserve your lead. It adds a new level of control to simulating your games, and a fun new way to play through multiple games in a short time.

FIFA Soccer 2005 gives you total control of your career, in a whole new way. Now, get out there on the pitch and show 'em what you're made of!

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