I read the reviews prior to buying and wasn't deterred by the lukewarm reception of Phil Schoen and Julie Foudy as the commentators. I figured, "what the heck? I'm more interested in the gameplay improvements anyway" (last EA FIFA title for me was Road to the World Cup 98 which I think is the superior of the two). Let me tell you, though, Foudy and Schoen *are* annoying and they do detract from the experience in a big way. I could only handle two full matches with the commentary on. EA Sports should be sent off the pitch for replacing John Motson. It does matter. The packaging, messaging and overall tone of the game is heavily biased toward MLS. You don't need to know much about football to know that MLS doesn't hold a candle to the European leagues.

As for the gameplay -- well there are some improvements. The options, controls and features haven't changed much if at all. There's a few new moves compared to RTTWC 98 which are fun -- options to shield the ball, some new moves (360 degree turns, flip kicks, step overs, etc.) and better free kick targeting. The gameplay moves much faster and it takes some getting used to. I was used to world class in RTTWC 98 and was thoroughly trounced in professional level in FIFA 2000. That's a good thing though. Didn't want it to be too easy. The passing indicator is dubious at best. It's green if the lane is open, yellow if a defender is near and red if it's blocked. No matter the color, though, most of my passes were easily intercepted. Camera angles and graphics are vastly improved as well. The players are also more emotive than before. The music, of course, is still cool.