If you have FIFA 98, the decision is a bit trickier as the improvements are subtle but significant-you will likely find the improved player and goalie AI and the wonderful recreation of the World Cup atmosphere well worth the price of admission." Warren Christmas of PC Zone gave the same PC version 91%, saying, " World Cup 98 is quite simply the finest football game on the PC the perfect accompaniment to the tournament.
PC 98 GAMES WEBSITE PLUS
Jeff Lackey of Computer Games Strategy Plus gave the PC version all fives stars, saying, "If you don't have FIFA 98, the decision is clear-if you are a soccer fan, or any type of computer sports fan at all, you will love World Cup 98. "FIFA World Cup 98: France Overall Compile Collection") on 5 November 1998, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40. The game delivers fast reactions to controller commands, realistic player movement, clean graphics, an excellent soundtrack, and adrenaline-pumping excitement." In Japan, where the same console version was ported and published by Electronic Arts Victor under the name of FIFA World Cup 98: France Sōshūhen ( FIFA ワールドカップ98 〜フランス総集編〜, FIFA Wārudo Kappu 98 〜Furansu Sōshūhen〜, lit. Next Generation said of the PlayStation version, "Released to coincide with the recent World Cup frenzy, Electronic Arts' World Cup 98 is technically a winner. The game received favourable reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. In 1996, EA Sports obtained exclusive rights to use the 1998 World Cup in video games published anywhere except Japan.
The game features every team that qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, as well as eight others who did not. The United Kingdom version of the game features commentary from John Motson and Chris Waddle, with matches introduced by Des Lynam and Gary Lineker.
Other historical inaccuracies include cards being awarded to players in matches prior to 1970 and the use of brown leather balls for matches from 1970 onwards, in lieu of balls like the Adidas Telstar (for 19) and the Adidas Tango España (for the 1982 final). In matches that took place prior to the introduction of substitutions, it is not possible to change a player during the match (however, this also applies to the 1970 final, which was when substitutions became the rule). The 19 matches are shown using sepia tone graphics. For the 1950, 1954, and 1966 World Cup Final matches in this mode, the graphics are in black and white, as they were shown on television at the time. " World Cup Classics" mode features accurate period team kits (except for the goalies), hairstyles and names, and commentary for this mode only was provided by Kenneth Wolstenholme, the BBC's commentator during the 19 FIFA World Cup. The 1982 match is unlocked by winning the " World Cup" mode, and by completing each unlocked game, the next one is unlocked in the order shown below. The " World Cup Classics" mode allows the player to play fifteen classic FIFA World Cup matches. At the end of a drawn game the player can choose to finish the match as a draw, play extra time with the golden goal rule, or take part in a penalty shootout.Īs in FIFA 98, national squads can be customised to reflect the actual tournament's players by including players from a reserves pool in the "customise" option. It is also possible to play friendly matches between any of the teams that are included in the game. At the end of the "World Cup" game mode, captions show the winner of the Golden Boot for most goals scored during the tournament and winner of the FIFA Fair Play Award, two awards which are given in the real World Cup. At the end of each match, a caption shows the man of the match award, and if applicable a clean sheet caption. The game was released prior to the actual World Cup, therefore results between CPU teams are not based on results from the actual tournament. As in the real tournament, group games do not go to extra time or a penalty shootout but knockout matches do. Each match takes place in a recreation of the venue it was played in the actual tournament. The main feature of the game is the World Cup tournament itself, where the player may use either the actual groups used in the finals, or groups composed of a random selection of the 40 included teams. In-game screenshot of a match between Argentina and Brazil