I traded in my "Winning Eleven" soccer game and switched over to FIFA 2005. For whatever reason, I enjoy FIFA soccer more. I like that you can choose from several "real" leages and teams. Also, I never did like the layout and menus of Winning Eleven...confusing and hard to navigate. Finally, the controls are a bit more streamlined/intuitive and you can pick it up and play out of the box. (Winning Eleven had a 20 page instruction book.) My only complaint is that the crowd noise/chants, etc>, are more subdued than my old (2003?) FIFA World Cup xbox game I used to have. Guess it's supposed to emulate that more casual non-world cup crowd? If you can pick up Winning Eleven used for cheap, you may try it to compare/contrast but I for one vote for the EA (FIFA) soccer brand.

FIFA 2005 is the most fun sports game I have ever played. I have not met one person who has played the game sasy they didn't like it. The graphics are excellent, and the gameplay is great. The first-touch control makes the game awesome, and the different moves players can do add excitement, especially when you pull off a move and score a goal playing multiplayer. There have been several nights when me and my buddy staed up and played this game for 6 hours straight, and never got tired of it. This game has excellent replay value, simply because it is different every single time you play.

And online play is so much fun, not only because it lets you play with people from all over the world, but also because everyone has a different playing style, which makes it so you can never do the same things over and over again. Almost every game you have to adjust your play style to play your opponent. If you have been thinking about buying this game, dont wait any longer. Get this game, and I promise you will not be sorry.

* I am writing this review on August 2nd, 2005, and the FIFA 06 comes out in two days. I am planning on buying that, but since I haven't played it, I can't say how it is. If it is anything like FIFA 05, then it should be worth the money.

the gameplay is completely crazy on this! players like ronaldo battle to win possession of the ball, rather than just standing around eating a kebab waiting to be passed to like the real ronaldo. also, the career mode bears absolutely no resmblance to the real thing, here's what happensin the fifa 2005 universe. i managed celtic, who i'd stocked up with adriano, zambrotta, lampard, terry, gerrard, joaquin, buffon, shevchencko, and a few created players with overall ratings of 99%. ok, so you can stack the odds in your favour, but it won't help you. because after all mighty dunfermline athletic comes along and beats celtic 7-0 at home, even though the celtic team you've got has the best players there are, and gets the highest rating of any club. the first two seasons you do alright as manager, then, it all goes pear shaped, and my celtic club finished in 4th place (that's only happened 3 times in the last 100 years!!!!!) so, after finishing 4th the spl (inverness caledonian thistle won by the way, something that is inexplicable in it's own right. i decided to manage barcelona, with all the barca players there, and yet another top rated team, and i brought my created players from celtic. well i got relegated!!!!! granted i did simulate some of the matches, but how can barcelona win both games against sporting gijon the spanish league champions of that year (another bit of the absurd)? anyway. don't buy fifa 2005! it is a travesty, an insult to the beautiful game! everybody should buy pro-evolution as that actually plays well, although the players aren't as realistic looking as on fifa. maybe though, if everybody stops buying fifa, and starts buying pro-evolution we'll get all the good bits about fifa such as being associated with pretty much every club there is (i.e. manchester united rather than man reds). all in all a huge dissappointment, i'll never buy a fifa game again.

I would give this game a 3.5 really. The presentation for this game is great. It looks good from the moment you put it into the xbox and while you are playing. They greatly improved the interface from the previous year. The in game graphics are exceptional. And music tracks are perfect with different music from around the world. The create a player option is very good and you can go into great detail with your player. The real problem that I have is the gameplay itself and that is where FIFA loses points. When playing against another person the problems aren't as apparent, but against a computer its completely obvious. You can't switch directly to the player that you need and many times the computer will switch to a player that is not the closest or best position against the ball. Which is a problem that was in the previous years game. Also when passing to a player the receiving player will not go to the ball, allowing the defender to just step in front and take it away. And again in this game the Right Analog stick is for moves, which in most cases are useless and usually cause you to lose the ball or go in the opposite direction than you intend. Also the different teams do not have any difference in their attacking patterns. All they do is pass around and attack from the wings with a cross. And the passes are almost impossible to defend against since the computer passes almost perfect every time. And the controls for defending are very bad. And in many situations it doesn't seem that you have any control at all over defenders. The online play though does help make this a better game than the previous year. Because many of the problems go away when playing against a person.
I can't make a recommendation about another game to play since this is the only game that I have played. But I do intend on renting Winning Eleven Eight. I have heard great things about the game play in this game.

I hate soccer. I cant stand watching it on TV. i think it is very boring. i got this game by mistake. I decide that what the heck im gonna try it out. the graphics are amazing and i have a new view on soccer. once you understand the rules to the game and every aspect of it, soccer is actually very exciting. this game got me into the sport. it is amazing. you cant get bored of playing this. buy it now