The annual battle of the football games comes round again, and this time the competition is fiercer than it's been in some years. What a year, then, for the longest running of them all to play its trump card and put in its finest performance to date. For with new added features, and a general all-round polish, FIFA 2004 becomes a must-buy.

The big innovation this time round is the off-the-ball feature, and this really is a stroke of genius. It's fiddly to get to grips with, but basically when attacking, you can control a separate player as they run into space, ready to take receipt of a killer pass that splits the opposition defence open. It takes a little working at, but when it comes off, you'll be smug beyond belief. The feature itself genuinely adds tactical edge to a game that used to be wrongly dismissed as an arcade-style kickabout.

On top of that, there are the things that FIFA does better than anyone. The presentation, audio and visuals are superb from top to bottom, and the improvements to the club management side boost the game's longevity--as does a promised link up with Total Club Manager 2004, where you'll be able to import teams from that into FIFA 2004.

Most importantly of all, at the heart of all these improvements is a highly playable football game that's very easy to get into yet suitably challenging to master. And in multi-player mode, it's even better. --Simon Brew

I FIND FIFA 2004 A REALLY ENJOYABLE, THERE SHOULD BE MORE OF A CHELLANGE WHERE CUP GAMES ARE CONSIRNED THE GAME PLAY IS EXCELLENT AND THE GRAPHICS ARE REALLY GOOD WITH ME NOT BEING A FOOTBALL FAN I LOVE THIS GAME WOULDNT MIND GETTING FIFA 2005 WHERE IT IS AFTER TOUCH WHICH IS QUITE HARD TO DO WHICH I HAVE BEEN TOLD SO I WOULD RATE FIFA 2004 TOP OF THE FOOTY LEAGUE

This is one hell of a game. the graphics are amazing and cannot be beaten. Career is brilliant and couldn't be better. If you like football then get this game.

This installment of Fifa is very good and the best thing is that you can play online via a PS2 Network adaptor.

You can chat and challenge players from around the globe and there is a ranking system where by the more matches you win the higher you are. The game play is smooth when playing online though make sure you go to the toilet before you start playing as there is no instant pause like when playing against a mate or computer. The frustrating thing though when playing online is that if the connection is lost for whatever reason you automatically lose th game though I guess this stops you from stopping the connection when you are losing 5-1 to a player from germany!!

The graphics are really good and it has all the players. The passing system is very smooth but it is still to difficult to score a goal or tackle without getting booked.

Not a bad game overall!

Fifa 2004 is one of the best football games around with it's unique sense of play and great graphics. It has all new off the ball control and most of the leagues throughout the world including the spanish and english leagues. Most of the players look lifelike, plus you get proper commentary from John Motson and Andy Gray. it makes a great game so i can't wait to see the all new Fifa 2005.

I amm a big pro evolution fan but for ages i have debated with fifa fans that pro is better. So i decided to find out if fifa really lived up to its name. HELL NO! what do these people see in this game its complete and utter useless. Ok so the graphics are getting better but the actual football is perfetic. You can shot and score from any distance but can't string five passes together and the commentry is as useless as always. The only thing that is better than pro is the fact that it has got english divisons 1 2 3 and the conferance but apart from that its got nothing on pro.