A welcome change for soccer patriots is that Team USA doesn’t completely suck this go-round. American fans can finally have a chance to compete with the boys from Brazil or Italy without resorting to creating atomic supermen and inserting them into the lineup. Sadly, the (very fun) ability to rudely tackle the goaltender remains out again, now missing for a couple of years. Sure, you’d get a red card every time, but it was a hell of a great way to blow off steam when losing.

The playing options this year are significantly larger than the last few World Cup editions. Not only can you play the 2006 tourney with the real teams (all 127 of them), players and matchups, but you can take virtually any country and put them through the rigors of qualifying for the Finals in all of the legitimate regional events.

The biggest disappointment is the sheer lack of innovation in the game engine and graphics. Yes, the shooting mechanic is a little different, but for the most part the gameplay is the same as the last few FIFA games. At this point in the PS2 lifecycle EA Canada surely could have gotten the players to look better than they do here and eliminate occasional screen stuttering.