FIFA 2006 on the Xbox 360 shows signs of greatness in the visual quality, and signs of improvement needed in others. On the pitch, FIFA looks fantastic. Player models are appropriately proportioned, animations are sick, and everything moves at a constant and steady frame rate with no hiccups to report. Even the speed of the game play is just about perfect. All the passes, tackles, and movement up field are paced perfectly and really provide an intense game of soccer. Where FIFA gets a yellow card is in the close ups themselves. Oddly enough, this is where FIFA usually shines the brightest, but on the 360, the results are down right ugly. Up close, the players do not look so nice, with zombified faces, plastic skin. Even the crowds in the background are very low res and pixilated. What’s worse is all this “attention to detail” allows the framerate to really take a hit during replays and cut scenes. This issue should have been ironed out before release, as there is no reason on a system this powerful to have slowdown. Thankfully, the game looks good where it counts, so if the up close and personal stuff bothers you as it did me, then at least you can skip it.

Audio on the other hand is brilliant. The commentary by Andy Gray and Martin Tyler is very entertaining, and sometimes the emotion is so high, you would think they were with you watching you play the game. Speaking of emotion, it will be hard for anyone not to feel an adrenaline rush when hearing the incredible crowd get into the game. Not only are they loud, rowdy, and responsive to the action on the field, but they are in pure Dolby 5.1 for that full stadium effect.

Gameplay is pure gold. Pulling off headers, bicycle kicks, passes, tackles, and other great moves is a cinch in FIFA 06. The pacing allows the game to feel both realistic, and exciting at the same time. Even the A.I. is intelligent, as they will pick, block, tackle, force the ball up field in scoring situations, or hold the ball and play defense when the lead is a goal or two. Only one real gripe is that the ball does not feel very alive. You will notice on more than one occasion that the ball feels almost tied to the player’s ankles by a string. This takes a bit from the realism when ball physics are concerned, and hopefully will be addressed next season.

Where FIFA Soccer 06 takes the biggest facial to the grass is the features themselves, both offline and online. Offline, you have only around 70 teams versus 500 or so on the current gen consoles. This also means that you have a bare bones assortment of modes to choose from. No career mode of any kind, just the Road to the World Cup. There is a create a player thankfully, but that still is not enough to fill your plate. Unless you are playing multiplayer friendly matches with a buddy, you will find the single player experience shallow to say the least. Speaking of online multiplayer, the game is seriously lax in that department. The biggest hit is the lack of leagues or tourneys to play in. I mean what is this, five years ago? Another downer is that EA still insists on using their online lobby service for Xbox Live. Any fan who has played their Xbox online can tell you that EA’s lobby system is ancient history. There is a primitive leaderboard system and some friendly one on one matches…and that it.

For a game that shows great promise on the field, all the extras really bring the game down. It is hard to recommend FIFA Soccer 2006 for anyone looking for a single player experience, as with the lack of options, they will likely grow tired of it quickly. Gamers looking for some great multiplayer soccer action, it doesn’t look or sound much better than this, so a pick up may be in the cards for you. No matter which profile you fit, it is certain that EA has some work to do next season if they are to attract gamers to shell out 60 dollars again.