EA SPORTS™ - 2002 FIFA World Cup™
Guess what I've recently bought to play on the PC? Heh-heh, you got it, the most recent installment of the EA Sports FIFA series.
It has to be said that EA Sports now has been lagging a bit - the graphics are superb as usual, but the gameplay can get a little frustrating at times. Or maybe it's because I still haven't gotten the hang of the one-touch passing yet.
The game is actually a joy to look at; the players really look like they should. It's scary how realistic Beckham, Gerrard and Owen look, for example.
The game tries to get more realistic by having strength-sensitive passes. What I _do_ like is that the players make intelligent runs, and nothing beats the satisfaction you get when Gerrard slips a ball behind the back four for Owen to latch on with a diagonal run.
However, the annoying thing is that the whole game is locked into just 'friendly' and 'World Cup' modes. You can't even design your own tournaments, fer crying out loud!
So, although this will be on my hard drive for the next two months, I have a funny feeling that it'll disappear pretty soon after that.
Food, glorious food
We musn't forget a key ingredient for any World Cup veg-out - what we're going to eat while watching it! The mind is already picking out possibilities, but due to the timing of the games, there are restrictions on what can and can't be done.
The opening game (France vs Senegal) is conveniently set at 19.30 in the evening. This means that it wil be possible to actually have a decent slap-up, home-cooked meal before the game (isn't that right, mama?). I was actually thinking of steak and potato salad, or some other meat and potato combination.
Things get a little harder in the ten days after that. There will be at least three games a day at about 14.30, 17.00 and 19.30. It will be possible to have a solid lunch before the games, but time gets a little tight after that. A decision will have to be made whether or not live games will be missed (!shock!horror!). There is only about half-an-hour between games, which to me translates as "Hawker Food". Fortunately, I live at the doorstep of that food-fiesta also known as Uptown Hawker Center. It's close enough, hopefully, to cater for the quick dashes for satay, Tandoori chicken, nasi ayam, kuey teow and all the other grease-laden goodies that will constitute my WOrld Cup diet. There is also now a drive-through (or is that 'drive-thru'?) Burger King in Desa Hartamas.
After 11 June, things ease up a little. Although there are now four games a day, they are now played concurrently in pairs. This means that you pretty much must miss a few live games, and the decision has to be made whether to watch delayed telecasts immediately after the first game, or to wait until later at night.
These games take place at 14.30 and 19.30, leaving plenty of time for conventional meals. I'm eyeing several restaurants around my area and Bangsar, and thoughts of copious amounts of home-cooked pasta come to mind.
After that, it eases up a lot. Games become less frequent, with the final week between 24-30 June only have four games (but one of them is the final). Suddenly, vegging out at somewhere like Chili's becomes a possibility, digging into chilli fries, nachos and fajitas.
What about the snacks, then? Groundnuts are a favourite, as are other nibbles like pringles. I have a weakness for jam tarts, and I suppose I should stock up on fruits as well. Coca-cola looks to be a staple, but I'll try to cut down on the fizzy drinks, and have large bottles of water next to me.
Svennie to name squad on 9 May
Heh-heh. Time to finish off my round of predictions; here are strikers who I think will go to the World Cup (you can find the midfielders
here and the defenders
here):
- Michael "run, run as fast as you can" Owen
- Emile "sheer power" Heskey
- Robbie "Merseyside" Fowler
- Darius "l'il one" Vassell
- Teddy "creaky joints" Sheringham
I think Darius will be brought "for the future" and Teddy will be brought as a kind of attacking midfield option. If Van Nilsterooy considered changing his nationality, he would be on my list as well!
The one player that I think should go, but probably isn't, is
Matt Jansen. Left-footed, fleet of foot and with natural goal-scorer's instincts, if Matt was Irish, he'd be on board the plane to Japan right now.
I know, I know, if you add up all the players that I've nominated, you only get 22 players, and they're allowed to bring 23 players. I think that it should be filled by a utility midfield player as that ace-up-the-sleeve player - someone like Macca or maybe Owen Hargreaves. If Svennie is serious about building for the future, he should opt for the Canadian/Munchen lad.
Eriksson hours from joining United
I really don't understand the English sometimes. Do they not want to do well in the World Cup? Why do they raise the most sensitive issues at the worst possible times? It would have been too easy, I suppose, to not discuss this until after July. I know that it's based on a book that's just been published, but, hey, the timing sucks big time.
