By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
Football has
become one of the most popular simulations available for video game
addicts. There have been a range of
different titles over the years, and in a new regular series for Simon’s Football
Zone, I will be reviewing some of these games.
They will range from excellent playable games, to titles that were
probably best being left on the shelf.
It is 20
years since the FIFA series started and I’ve been lucky enough to own all but
one title at some point during my life. In
the second review for The Computer Chain, it is time to explore what FIFA 95
was like.
FIFA 95
Released: 8 July 1994
Systems: SEGA Mega Drive & Genesis
Cover Star: Erik Thorstvedt
Released just
before the end of the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, FIFA 95 offered
some new challenges for the gamer, but not enough progress was made from the first
game FIFA International Soccer.
Cover star
for the European version this year is Erik Thorstvedt, but the former Tottenham
goalkeeper doesn’t make an appearance in the game. Unfortunately there are no real player names
for teams for a second successive year.
Luckily, this is the final year it will happen with real names coming in
for 1996.
There is
little change to the graphics in FIFA 95, though the players do look a bit
sharper than they did on the previous version.
There are also advancements in dribbling technique. Repeatedly pressing a button on your SEGA controller
could mean your controlled player was able to do a Ryan Giggs (that’s the
mid-90s Ryan Giggs version) and zoom down the pitch in next to no time, with
tackling becoming harder as a result.
There are six
game modes including leagues, tournaments and the often dramatic play-offs
format, so there is plenty of choice for the player in comparison to the meagre
options on FIFA 94. The goalkeepers are
still mightily impressive and pretty difficult to beat.
Electrical
giant Panasonic become the only official advertiser when it comes to
sponsorship hoardings, and when you score a goal, you get a commentator
shouting the famous ‘GOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLL!’
Congratulations to J. Rival or N. Roberts or whoever who has managed to
find the target from just six yards out.
Lastly, the
audio team deserve credit for added more dynamic to when you find the net. Firework noises are produced when a goal is scored;
perhaps taking inspiration from the World Cup finals being staged in America
and the music beat has improved too, although it would still be a few years
before licensed music arrived.
All in all FIFA
95, which was exclusive to the SEGA Mega Drive console, was an improvement but
FIFA and EA had to raise their game for FIFA 96 if fans were going to declare
this license to be a real and genuine success.
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