FIFA Football 2002 (PlayStation 1)

FIFA Soccer 2002 on the PlayStation updates the long-running soccer series for another season. Its modes are based on those from the concurrent next generation version, but with less teams and options, only some of the other platforms’ new features and a graphics engine appropriate to the platform.

The game includes teams from 13 national leagues (missing Brazil, Korea and Switzerland from the next-gen version), 15 rest-of-the-world teams and 81 international teams (with the 41 teams of the African confederation missing compared to the next-gen version).

Game modes include friendlies, season play for all 13 leagues, World Cup qualification tournaments for the three included confederations covering Europe, North and South America, the EFA trophy, the European Champions Cup and custom cups. Three further tournaments can be unlocked by winning the WC qualification tournaments. Winning tournaments also unlocks Panini-licensed collectors’ images of star players and some cheating options.

On the pitch, little has changed, with similar graphics and the same camera options (missing the new perspectives introduced on next-gen versions). Controls are similar as well, but a major change having made its way over from the other versions are power bars for both shots and passes, allowing for more precise play.