FIFA Soccer 06 Hands-On

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In fact the whole concept of money management is more prominent in FIFA 06. You'll have a team budget like before, but you'll have to keep an eye on it from week to week now. Changing ticket prices, hosting games against weak competition, sponsorships, tournament payouts and other elements factor into your team's financial health and you're responsible for all of it. You may have to wait until a particular week when your team's pockets are fat to pull off a move on the open market. Maybe you'll loan that promising young player to that struggling lower-division team so you can sell your aging star at the end of the season knowing you'll have his replacement ready. You get the money and the future is secure.

You'll also be able to negotiate sponsorship deals for your team with both real and fake companies. The version we saw didn't put any new logos on your team's uniform but the sponsorship paid out weekly and was apparent on your team ledger. Certain sponsors offer bonuses or balloon payment with loyalty while other companies simply aren't going to waste their dollars on a second rate team in a third rate town. So now winning in FIFA won't be enough, you'll get a crash course in sports team management as you have to learn how to monetize your team's success and put them on the path to greatness. Madden fans have had a taste of this in ownership mode but in FIFA 06 the nature of the sport changes things. It's a lot tougher to "make" soccer stars through your own gaming skills since soccer doesn't have the same level of specialized skills as we see in the NFL. Losing great receivers to free agency doesn't hurt as much when your quarterback is still All-Pro. In FIFA you'll feel it when your star center-back leaves for greener pastures.

Overall FIFA 06 looks improved in all of the technical areas including dynamic crowd noise and player likenesses. In fact the new celebration animations will be slightly customizable so that your player will have a handful of potential actions at his disposal when he scores. It's not quite the user-controlled celebrations we've been waiting for since FIFA '96 but it's a step in the right direction. Goals are precious enough that a frantic, over-the-top celebration here and there would be worth it.

We'll have more on FIFA Soccer 06 in the coming weeks and months because football makes the world go round.

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