Rather than remonstrating EA about its uncallous approach to churning out a great title, year after year, seemingly pummeling the opposition, if any, with its programming prowess, I will praise this title. The first big surprise is the amazing visual overhaul. Taking PC graphics into the realm of PS2 style next-gen acuity and playability, FIFA 2001 is quite special. If every sports game looked as good as this, no one would watch the real thing. The motion capture is startling.
Players move with such a fluidity it's stupefying.
The collision detection between player and ball has also been improved. When you perform a bicycle kick, it looks the part. The stadia on offer are numerous and very beautiful. The world is still plagued by games developers who simply can't get the crowd textures right, but we'll survive for now. The magnitude of any single stadium, however, is grand.