Mr. N64's Breakdown of FIFA '98's Game Elements:


Graphics:
4 out of 5: The graphics are considerably better than the original FIFA 64, but they still don't match the graphic quality of ISS 64. The characters are still too small, and the framerate is still too low.

Music:


4 out of 5: FIFA '98's music is very high quality (the title theme is an actual piece of popular music), but I found that some of the tunes got very annoying after a short while.

Sound FX:


4 out of 5: While the quality of the play-by-play has been improved, it's still not as relevant or helpful as ISS 64's. The quality of FIFA '98's Dolby Surround crowd has been downgraded from that of FIFA 64. The deafening, scratchy cheers were a big disappointment.

Play Control:


7 out of 10: FIFA '98's controls are extremely similar to the controls of ISS 64, but still retain that annoying aim-with-the-control-stick feature. After playing lots and lots of ISS 64, FIFA '98 felt clunky in comparison. The ability to combine presses of the R button with other buttons to perform special moves is a nice alternative to the overly complex controls of the original FIFA 64. The main reason that I've given the controls a 7 (as opposed to ISS 64's 5) is because the manual and the training mode made the game pretty easy to pick up and play.

Frustration Factor:


2 out of 10 (10 being the worst): Compaired to ISS 64, FIFA '98 is dull, but not frustrating in any substantial way. The only thing that I truly found annoying is the use of the control stick to aim shots and passes.

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