Five years later, it is anything but a different ball game, and in more ways than one. We've had another World Cup, Konami is still king and FIFA is still a very good game. Is FIFA 2004 better than 2003? You bet. Improvement is as integral to the EA way as marketing and release schedules. FIFA 2004 shows genuine progress and exactly the kind of thing Andrew Wilson, HB Studios development manager, was talking about when he remarked on the differences cross pollination of ideas has made between EA's internal development studios. OK, so there ¡s a lot of Konami in the fruit, particularly with this season's Off the Ball control, but it works.

Personally, this reviewer has always preferred FIFA on PC. Maybe it has something to do with EA's origins as a console-shy developer, but ever since Fifa World Cup '98 offered PC players sepia tone during historic matches, that's the way it has been. There's still nothing to compare with eight-player matches around the television with the other football game, but once Pro Evolution Soccer 3 hits the PC later this month FIFA 2004 might find the going a little tougher.

In fact, almost the whole EA-developed 2004 sports lineup has shown more improvements this year than in any of the four before. It's not in the same league as the massive changes to Pro Evolution Soccer, more akin to the transition from Winning Eleven to the PES and back again as the US, Japanese and European versions undergo constant alteration.

Things are done differently in that series, and always have been, though FIFA tends to pick up proven PES traits here and there such as this years FIFA Off the Ball which is a common theme for most EA Sports titles this year. Madden has it, NBA Live has it, NHL has it. The concept basically entails controlling a second player via the right analogue stick of whatever controller you are holding, which of course will be less common for the PC. With FIFA, however, it's a little different in that, on attack, your right stick places a pass while the computer responds to the gap.

You will naturally need a compatible controller for this feature, but even without it on attack passing is still one of the game's strongest gameplay elements in terms of satisfaction. This is balanced by the likelihood of a pass being intercepted and with Off the Ball control, for a move to turn out to be a dud as it does often enough. To avoid confusion in passing, the player control icon moves to the receiver as soon as the command is given to execute a pass. However, computer players still get mixed up in moves they should avoid. At other times, a player will hold off engaging the football when he is the only one available and not doing so threatens to lead to an opposition counter-attack.

The power of kicks is determined by how long the command button is pressed rather than how your player is moving or positioned. By and large, the result looks natural, but the feel is not. Shooting, on the other hand, can produce some bizarrely powerful and accurate shots, even from way out. Scoring also seems detached from the player's movement and positioning, and hence not rewarding at all.

Finding gaps is a matter of patience and hard work. Constantly working the ball around the pitch is complemented by excellent AI in both team mates and opponents. Players follow standard football logic extremely closely, and even a scoreless draw can be a rewarding experience.

Of course, if you are playing in the management mode, you will not be rewarded at all. Your training budget and overall success depends on week-by-week results and the fulfillment of specific objectives laid out by the clubs you sign for. These are paid as Prestige Points, and it is part of your job to manage the budget within your allocation while working toward promotion, successive wins and other secondary goals.

The atmosphere still rocks in FIFA, and there are plenty of new crowd chants and soundtrack titles to help the cause. However, the usually interesting commentary still has its cringe moments, such as when the intercourse is patched with tangential discussion cut and pasted from the game's small talk archives.