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This is Soccer 2005 Review - PS2

The soccer game market these days is very competitive. To name just a few, the Pro Evolution Soccer, FIFA and This is Soccer - also known as This is Football in Europe - series have been kicking out titles left, right and centre, each fighting for the top spot in the eyes of the soccer fanatic. This is Soccer 2005 has just been released and is the fourth title in the three-year long series. I must admit, despite it being my favourite sport, the last time I played a soccer game before this was back on the Nintendo 64. However, after playing This is Soccer 2005 and enjoying it immensely, I've begun to anticipate the release of the next big soccer game.

Gameplay

After starting up the game you're presented with a selection of menu screens, backed by brilliantly focused extreme close-up shots of soccer-related items, such as the ropes of the net and the woven material of a soccer shirt. Upon these menus are the game's six huge and varied modes, the first of which is the Exhibition mode. Like an Arcade mode, the Exhibition mode allows you to set up a match according to the parameters set by you. You're able to change the length of the match, the time of day, the weather and more. The Cup and League modes are similar and allow you to play in either a cup or league, selecting from the pre-set ones or creating your own. The Season mode is, alongside the Career mode, one of the largest modes. Here, you select a country to play for, and then a team from that country's city to play as. Winning matches earns you large sums of money that can be used in the game's Transfer Market system to purchase better players for your team. You're able to put your own players up for auction, buy or bid on others or search for a specific type of player according to attributes such as their position, age group and skill. Generally, your goal is to create the ultimate soccer team. The career mode sees you - as the title suggests - building up a soccer career. Realistically, you start as a schoolboy - who looks, oddly, like an adult - playing for the school's soccer team, and work your way up to play with the big boys. The Challenge mode is an innovative mode that sees you playing a monitored match. According to how skilfully you play throughout the match, you'll be given a score and special code upon completion of the match that you can enter on the This is Soccer 2005 website that will register your score on the This is Soccer 2005 world-wide high score table. Doing well in the game's modes earns you TIS Tokens, which can be used in the game's club shop to purchase hidden teams, stadiums and more.

Before each match begins you're able to manage your team, setting it up according to how (continued next page)