To test how well this works in the game itself, I decided to play against an Arsenal team that had David Seaman playing centre forward and Mr Bergkamp tending the goal. Roy Keane, for instance, scores well in tackling and aggression, while Dennis Bergkamp has greater shot accuracy and ball control than most. The players are rated from one to 16 on various aspects of the game. You needn't ask how highly rated the Republic or North of Ireland are. Despite being knocked out in the second round of the World Cup they are deemed to be better than Germany or Brazil, and equal only to World Champions France.

But these statistics can be biased, as is the case with the England team. International teams, club teams and players are all rated within the game. Statistics are also an important part of football games. In FIFA 99 the referee will give the penalty but often forget to book the player. Referees in real life are often condemned for silly decisions, but rarely do you see a player being taken down in the box by the last defender, who doesn't even receive a yellow card. Or, if you're lucky enough to be winning a match seven-nil and the opposing goalkeeper manages to make a save, he gets high praise for his brilliance, ignoring the fact that he has picked the ball out of the net seven times already.Д¬ommentary in football games is a black art, and one that is almost impossible to perfect, so one expects the odd gaffe or two. After 10 clean passes and volleying the ball into the net, one of John Motson's co-commentators (Chris Waddle and Mark Lawrenson) offered the opinion that it was a scrappy goal, but that they all count. The sense of achievement felt when you manage to score a goal, particularly if it is an important one, is almost like the real thing.Д®ven the most sane among us must have, at some point in time, clenched our fists or thrown our arms in the air in celebration of a particularly fine goal.Д«ut, like all soccer games, FIFA 99 does have flaws, although most of the imperfections are amusing rather than detrimental to the game. The graphics are excellent and playing the game is both frustrating and invigorating.

FIFA 99 is without doubt one of the best football games ever.

Fifa 99 n64 controls