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By Lonnie on October 21st, 2001
Introduction As you all pretty much know, EA has pretty much ignored the fact that the Dreamcast exists. For all you who are still holding your breath for EA to announce a title. Take a breath. No, it’s not going to happen. In fact not many developers are still sticking with the Dreamcast. Even though for many soccer fans, FIFA on DC would be a dream come true. Striker Pro 2000 is a mix of arcade action and full simulation rivaling any FIFA title on the market today. Striker Pro 2000 is licensed by the UEFA so most of your favorite European and International teams will be here. However missing is the real names of the players. Presentation A major downside of Striker Pro 2000 is the menu system. Progressing through the menu’s is an out right pain. You have to move the cursor down to the bottom or press the x button. This may sound simple however you always seem to miss something along the way and if you do not get it at the main menu you have missed your chance. This is really important for league or tournament play, Lets say you decide you want to bump your AI levels, the only chance you have is at the very beginning of the season. Why is the difficulty setting not in the list of 8 more game options given in between competitions? Perhaps we will never know. It is not all too uncommon to fail to save your tournament because of confusion caused by the menu system. On a larger note be careful as to how you select sides before a match. If you select with the digital pad, you will be cursed with it being the only way to control your players during the entire game. Perhaps this was a bug, or maybe intentionally, either way it’s just plain annoying.Graphics & Sound Graphics are good nonetheless, however they pale in comparison to Virtua Striker 2, which looked awesome. However unlike Virtua Stiker 2 camera angles in Striker Pro 200 are set at a further distance, thus making it harder to detail such things as facial expressions, and those ever so known bobbing ponytails! Animations are fluid; passing and kicking motions look realistic. However on the audio side of things, this game has about the worse commentary I have ever heard, it makes madden look like god.Gameplay While the control scheme and overall setup make this feel like an arcade game the overall pace is where you will see the simulation in the game. Some claim FIFA as the greatest soccer simulation, however FIFA 2000 was somewhat lacking. Scores are more realistic, for instance, no longer can you generate unreal amounts of points against weaker opponents, Trust me Getting a Goal is as hard as if you were really playing. Passing is far from pinpoint accurate, normally this would be a gripe however this time, and it makes it far more realistic. However again with the gripes, there are hardly any evasive tactics, which is the main part of any player’s talent. Another thing we find most annoying is how the AI chooses your player on defense, while it does a decent job, where is the fun in not being able to recognize who you are and the constantly being switched in the middle of a defensive strategy? Exactly, there is no fun.Lasting Appeal Striker Pro 2000 has a certification mode. This mode requires you make certain grades to unlock parts of the game. After about an hour of perfecting your skills and gaining top certification. There are several different modes each one a challenge of its own. League play is pretty much a well-rounded mode not to hard, however not extremely simple. The international modes have brackets that quickly scale up the difficulty levels. As you progress you’ll find that tougher teams press you to the brink of insanity.Conclusion While if I were a true soccer fan, this game might have had higher ratings. However to me soccer is boring and over hyped. Don’t worry this is still a fun game for what it is. I do not recommend spending too much time playing alone. After awhile it gets very annoying. But it’s a blast when having a few friends over for pizza before the big NCAA game on T.V.. |
