| MLS 2000 North America
Patch |
| Developed by: |
Ozzie Montiel |
| Website: |
www.fifamls.com |
| Reviewed by: |
Andrew Crome |
| Date: |
24/09/2000 |
When reviewing
a patch based upon the MLS it is always important to ask
one question - why bother? After all, the MLS was the one
license which EA fully utilised in Fifa 2000 - with real
shirts, the league logo and full and realistic rosters -
so why bother changing it? The answer is that while EA attempted
to make the MLS a realistic part of the game, it had its
shortcomings. Why, asked fans, could you not play a season
in MLS mode? Where, they pondered, were the realistic ad-boards?
And what was with those jerseys?
Well, while
the rest of us despaired over EA's latest effort, the boys
from FIFA-MLS.COM decided
to take some action. Listening to the demands of MLS fans
they produced the MLS megapatch - featuring realistic jerseys,
stadiums , turfs and even the amazing ESPN in game pop-up
patch. The MLS Patch North America adds to the successful
formula of the first patch with teams from Costa-Rica, Mexico,
and the A-League (with teams from the United States and
Canada). Could the boys improve on EA's effort? Let's find
out...
Choice
A good deal of choice is available for the discerning Fifa
player when they boot up the MLS NA patch. Firstly you get
not only the MLS playable in Season mode, but also the A-League,
Costa Rican League, Mexican League, and USA U23 squad. Add
to this the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Nike U.S. Cup and the
US Open Cup and you get a great variety of teams and competitions
in which to test your skill. Seems good so far...
Ad
boards
Hmmmm. Adboards are always a tough area to judge, as they
depend as much on the company sponsoring a league as the
quality of the boards themselves.
The MLS NA
patch doesn't feature too many eye catchers - it seems that
most Adboards are dark in colour and blend into the pitch.
In general the boards themselves seem fuzzy and ill-defined,
and don't even seem to measure up to EA's own efforts, though
as with everything there are some glorious exceptions. All
in all not the best Adboards you'll ever see, but decent
enough .
Pop-ups
Simply superb. The patch features the wonderful ESPN
graphics patch which instantly promotes it above most, if
not all, other popups You get a wonderful variety - from
"Tony the Tiger" sitting atop the goal scoring pop-up, to
the Pepsi can that signifies offsides and substitutions,
to the little red or yellow card which attaches itself to
the score whenever a player is booked. The popups scream
quality at you, and really add to the whole MLS experience.
The only problem is that the popups are designed for 640x480
set-ups, and with many playing at 800x600 or above this
does spoil some of the effects. I'm nitpicking though, these
really are top class!
Shirts
Detailed, accurate, in some cases beautiful - but, as you
most likely guessed, there is a "but" coming up. Yes, the
strips are great in many cases, yes they are in 128 colours,
BUT some lack detail and colour. The strips of LA Galaxy
and Columbus Crew look particularly suspect, while Miami
Fusion's strip is really not very nice at all. Thankfully,
however, these are in the minority. One look at Dallas Burn's
kit, or the Mexican league strips convinces you that there
has been a lot of effort here. When you realise that even
the kit of the A-League Seattle Sounders side has been realised
in full detail you are filled with admiration. The kits,
then, while not the best, are certainly above average.
Menus
Well, the title screen uses a nasty font... OK, OK, I had
to search really hard to find something bad to say about
the menus - they're great! A nice blue pastel colour scheme
greets the player, with photos of the MLS adorning the side
of the pages. The picture are pretty, without detracting
from the functionality of the menus themselves. A nice touch
is featured in the team selection screen as well - the flags
of the USA (A-League), Costa Rica and Mexico are provided
with the trademark EA animation - a nice touch which shows
some great attention to detail.
Turf
and Ball
With work from the "turf master" Shai Ziv, the turfs
in the patch should impress at once. However when I saw
them for the first time I was filled with indifference.
And, well, they do look pretty, but they just don't seem
convincing enough. On a better note though, they do grow
on you after a time. The ball itself is very well realised.
The official MLS ball is recreated down to the tiniest detail,
which adds to the atmosphere and authenticity of the patch.
This attention to detail is a credit to the patch makers,
and shows real commitment to the player. Nice!
Stadiums
Wow. That's what you'll say when you see the stadiums in
the MLS NA patch. 18 new stadiums have been added, and each
is jaw-droppingly good. Go play a match with Columbus Crew
at home, and you will see the kind of quality stadium included
in the patch. It's enough to make you go weak at the knees...
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