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This Is Football 2002 for PlayStation 2
In This Is Football 2002 for PlayStation 2, you play football with club teams and national sides. Build attacks with short passes, find space along the touchline and deliver a cross to a striker strong in the air. A quick counterattack calls for a different arrangement on the pitch. Choose Exhibition for a single match; your formation and tactics determine how your team attacks and how many players stay behind the ball.
National Season gives matches a longer context through league standings, promotion, relegation and qualification for European competitions. You can also create your own leagues and cup tournaments. Timewarp matches pit historical teams against each other, while Jumpers 4 Posts brings school teams together on a playground. Editing tools let you change player names and kits, among other things. You can therefore alter an existing team or give your own tournament a personal touch.
Up to eight people can play locally at the same time on one screen, divided between the two teams. Three to five participants require one PS2 Multitap; six to eight require two PS2 Multitaps. Each participant uses a separate controller. Playing together therefore also means agreeing on responsibilities: who presses, who keeps the defence tight and who runs into open space? During a match, you can adjust your approach, for example towards wing play or counterattacking.
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
This Is Football 2002 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 This Is Football 2002
This Is Football 2002 appeared in Europe in 2001, despite the year in its title. Team SOHO developed the game for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Following earlier instalments on the original PlayStation, the series made its move to PlayStation 2 with this release. In North America, this instalment was called World Tour Soccer 2002. That regional naming difference belongs to the same generation of football games and should not be confused with a later European instalment.
Moving to PS2 provided more scope for player animations, stadium views and match presentation. The FIFPro licence brought real player names onto the pitch; it did not mean that every club name and kit was fully official. The game therefore also offered tools for editing names and clothing. Alongside the major domestic leagues, historical teams and school football had their own place, extending the selection beyond just the sides from that season.
The separate school competition Jumpers 4 Posts is a feature of this instalment. It is not yet the career in which you progress from a school team into professional football: that approach followed in This Is Football 2003. Here, longer progression mainly comes through seasons and match series you create yourself. Together with play for up to eight local participants, this shows how Sony combined early PS2 football with extensive competition settings and group matches around the same television.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
This Is Football 2003 shares club matches, national sides and editing tools with This Is Football 2002. The main difference lies in Career: you start with a school team and work towards professional competitions, with transfers and a budget. In 2002, school football instead appears in a separate Jumpers 4 Posts competition. Choose between a standalone school tournament within the existing selection and a more gradually developed football career in the sequel.
Pro Evolution Soccer also offers full football matches, tactical formations and local multiplayer on the same PlayStation 2. Konami places considerable emphasis on pass direction and power, and on building a team in Master League. This Is Football 2002 counters with its own seasons, historical teams and school competition. Both have you searching for chances with a full side, but give progression outside an individual match a different shape.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2 expands Master League with a third division, contract negotiations and cup matches. Building and developing your squad consequently acquires an ongoing financial dimension. This Is Football 2002 also offers a season with promotion and relegation, but combines it with separate historical and school tournaments. The similarity is football with tactical choices; the main difference is Konami's continuous club development versus Sony's collection of different competitions and custom tournament settings.
This Is Football 2004 builds on the football and local group matches of This Is Football 2002, but reworks passing, shooting and ball behaviour. The school-to-professional career introduced in the meantime also returns, with a more developed transfer market. In 2002, extended play mainly revolves around domestic seasons and competitions of your own choosing. The later instalment therefore changes both actions on the pitch and the way you guide a team over a longer period.
Like This Is Football 2002, RedCard uses full eleven-a-side teams, but makes hard tackles and exaggerated football moves central to a match. A temporary Boost helps a team apply pressure. This Is Football 2002 focuses more on competitions, tactical formations and recognisable season-based football. They also differ locally: the PS2 release of RedCard is for one or two players, whereas Sony allows up to eight people to participate simultaneously with the required Multitaps.
