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FIFA Football 2004 for PlayStation 2
FIFA Football 2004 for PlayStation 2 is a football simulation in which you control real clubs and national teams. You build an attack with short combinations, seek space along the touchline and choose when to attempt a through ball or cross. Simply sending the ball forward is rarely enough. You also watch your attackers' movement and the defenders blocking a possible passing lane.
Off The Ball gives you influence over a teammate without the ball. You can prepare a run while another player remains in possession. This helps seek space behind a defense, but requires overseeing two situations at once. Timing and the direction of your passes remain important in ordinary combinations too. If you lose the ball, you switch to a defender to slow the attack or intercept a pass.
You can play an individual match, practice or stay with a club for longer in career mode. That includes decisions about your squad and signing players. Up to four local players can play matches together or against each other. Official names, kits and stadiums place the action within club football of that period; on the pitch, it revolves around your own choices in every attack. For three or four local players on PlayStation 2, you need a Multitap.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
FIFA Football 2004 for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of FIFA Football 2004
FIFA Football 2004 appeared in 2003, developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It followed FIFA Football 2003 in the annual football series. As with other seasonal releases, squads and presentation changed, but this edition also received a clear new control premise: influencing players who do not yet have the ball.
EA presented Off The Ball as a way to place the preparation of an attack more explicitly in the player's hands. The run and pass therefore became two actions you could coordinate. That idea fitted a broader movement toward greater control over the team. Clubs from lower divisions also provided a different reason to start a career rather than exclusively playing with the best-known top teams.
On PlayStation 2, this came together with FIFA's recognizable television presentation: match cameras, replays, commentary and stadium sounds. That presentation supported the official team names, but the new controls also required practice with the controller. FIFA Football 2005 later built on this foundation and shifted attention to the first touch. Within the PlayStation 2 series, 2004 therefore chiefly marks the step toward more deliberate off-the-ball movement alongside playing the eventual pass.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
FIFA Football 2005 retains Off The Ball and adds First Touch. This gives you more explicit control over how a receiver takes or lays off a pass. FIFA Football 2004 places its particular emphasis earlier in the attack: getting the player free before the ball arrives. Both use full eleven-player teams and official clubs.
FIFA 06 expands club management and uses team chemistry to give teamwork a larger role. Alongside results, you also pay attention to cohesion within your squad. FIFA Football 2004 offers a career too, but its most notable addition lies in preparing off-the-ball runs.
FIFA 07 further develops ball behavior and the influence of position and balance on shots. You notice this especially when the ball rebounds or a player finishes under pressure. FIFA Football 2004 shows the same sport at an earlier stage of development, with Off The Ball as its central control innovation.
FIFA Street 2 uses four-on-four matches in which tricks earn points toward a Gamebreaker. You often seek a direct duel with an opponent. FIFA Football 2004 has you distribute an entire eleven-player team across a large pitch. Space more often arises through buildup, positioning and a pass to a teammate making a run into the open.
Pro Evolution Soccer 5 also lets you control full teams and build attacks through passes and runs. Master League connects matches with assembling and developing a squad. FIFA Football 2004 places its own control emphasis on Off The Ball, which lets you influence a teammate without possession. The competitions and the structure of club progression differ.
