Those who hammer the buttons on their gamepads as though they were synthetic rodents in a whack-a-mole game had best prepare for their day of reckoning. The foremost proponent of willy-nilly button-beating, EA Sports, has used the latest edition of its vaunted FIFA Soccer series as a springboard to a more thoughtful and more challenging control method that genuinely alters the way the game is played. Penalizing adrenaline-fueled thumb jockeys and rewarding those who initiate actions only after quick consideration, FIFA Soccer is quite simply a more grown-up affair than its predecessors. That it also offers improved passing and player movement and a generally more credible feel are just two more reasons fans of real-life soccer will find this the most enjoyable soccer experience on the PC to date.

Even with the recent excitement generated by the US team's dominance in the Women's World Cup, soccer still isn't that large of a phenomenon in the States. American soccer fans may not be able to get Monday Night Soccer anytime soon, but they can at least get EA Sport's FIFA series - easily the best line of soccer games to hit both consoles and the PC. The latest of EA's soccer simulators, FIFA 2000, proves that the highly acclaimed FIFA line is still the best soccer series out there.