ISS Realm - N64 International Superstar Soccer 2000 Review

The International Superstar Soccer
Realm

Review - International Superstar Soccer 2000
(Nintendo 64 -October 2000)

Acquired: 27 October 2000
Reviewed: 8 December 2000
The much delayed ISS 2000 - so delayed it should be called ISS 2001 - has received much criticism. Mostly in that there is nothing new, and that what is new, has had little effect on the game. And with the excellent ISS Evolution on the PS fresh in everyone's minds, the more fluid, arcade-style, N64 versions has suddenly become the weaker version in the minds of many media. What a turn around from the days when ISS 64 simply wowed the world like no other sports game ever did. In fact, the Cybernet TV show - always great fans of ISS, especially the N64 versions - is now calling it the worst ISS ever. But is it?

First, lets get one thing straight. The Nintendo versions are the definitive and spiritual ISS games simply because they are a continuation of the very first ISS on the SNES. It is in the gameplay, the features, and most obviously, the game customable options. The PS versions have gone off on a tangent in gameplay terms with increased simulation aspects, and until Evolution, were, less dynamic games and simply not as good. It irks when PS media claim that Nintendo ISS games are not the true ISS games. Play ISS Deluxe again and you will see the legacy it left in the N64 versions. But what worked then, does not always work now. In this 32-bit fully 3D era, what the PS games did show up was that things could be done differently, and more importantly, better.

What's New?
The two main features - the hi-res mode and career mode - turn out to be disappointments. Hi-res is just too jerky to play and the career mode offers nothing but novelty value. Basically you create a player, manage his training, his activities, etc, watch a whole lot of dialogue between him and his team-mates, coaches, advisers, doctors, etc, see him get selected and then you may be a few minutes of actual game-time with him. Don't know what else happens because I got bored.

Graphics:
I suppose the main thing that caught many pundits eyes was the graphics and the lack of any improvement. True, nothing really has changed: the excellent animation combined with slightly blurry details still exist. Konami would have been wiser to over-haul the standard-res mode, or maybe even offer the option of turning off the over-used filtering that is the cause of the blurriness. Cybernet labelled the graphics as out-dated, and they are. But facts are, ISS 64's graphics were pretty much perfect in the first place and these ones are actually slightly improved with a bit more detail, extra animations both during the game and after goals are scored, and overall better presentation. The flying headers for crosses, the Thierry Henry styled toe-poke shots on goal, and even flowing hair, were immediate stand-outs. But for overall clarity, we will just have to accept that while Konami could have at least made an effort, the N64 does not have evolving hardware - you can't just slap in the latest 3D card - and they are pretty damn good anyway. Waiting for the GameCude is the only way the graphical standard will ever match the gameplay.

Gameplay:
To top off any disappointment associated with the graphics and career mode, on first plays, the game-play feels very similar. In fact, on lengthy play, you still maybe hard pressed to see exactly what has changed. But that is only if you believe other media reports. Even the ISS Realm's first impressions felt the game was the least changed ISS ever, but after actually going back and playing ISS 98 - something most other media obvious failed to do - ISS 2000 reveals itself to have some very apparent differecnes. Most obviously, it feels slower with some stadiums feeling even slower than others! However the speed is deceptive because while the players are not slower themselves, the ball physics and possession-gains are. Compared to ISS 98, it feels as though someone has forgotten to mow the lawn and the players are on valium. ISS 98 was a very knock-about game where you could one-touch pass with almost complete impunity - even in the most physically unlikely positions - and made for a very fast arcade action-packed game. Sure it was fun, but did it go overboard? ISS 2000 has addressed it by reducing the oomph behind the passes and giving the players a slightly sluggish feel by delaying their one-touch reactions a few milliseconds, especially when they are in a physical position that is difficult to make such a pass (eg: sidewards, backwards) or gain possession via interceptions or scrimmages. In fact, trying a physically impossible kick, will often result in a mis-kick. Direct passes, however, can be easily one-touch passed away. It is an example of some of the simulation aspects influenced from the the PS Evolution ISS but not so much in that the core N64 fluid, easy passing game, has been compromised.

The other key difference - and another one that the PS Evolution showed up and that the ISS Realm thought was missing - and that was more varied tackling. You can check back to the various Evo and 98 reviews, but essentially, ISS on N64 erred - and this was a legacy from the SNES days - that tackles saw you either win possession or not. Previously there was no in-between, but now, as in real life where most tackles are often deflected away, most tackles that get close enough without winning possession, will see the ball spring free. Team-mates will now also occasionally help out by sticking a foot in or taking possession when the opposition runs into them, which greatly aids defending and playability. They don't help as much as those in Evolution, who actively slide tackle, but that game is more ruthless in actually letting you win possession. Overall, the defensive level of both games is about the same.

It was something that really needed to be fixed because the ultra crazy thing in ISS 98 was that when playing really good teams (like Brazil) with average teams, despite having a posse of defenders surrounding them, often you could not dispossess them. Defenders would be shrugged off and it became very frustrating. The SNES never saw that frustration factor because you were rarely shrugged off: if you got your foot in you mostly won the ball. Whereas the N64 suffered because it introduced greater evasion features (like shrugging), plus looser controls that enabled you to more easily go-by opponents. Some of that still remains, though, when there is a wide disparity in class, but mostly, it has been eliminated.

That is not the only thing that has been tampered with to make tackling more rewarding. The step-over evasion move, previously automatic at the CPU's discretion, is now manually controlled. Double-tapping Z (or L when using the d-pad) will now perform this move. Your slide tackles will now never go in vain if they are accurate. And the scenario of a tackled player retaking possession from you because you are still on the ground from your own slide tackle is avoided too. Because now, that player tackled is either floored, or stumbles greatly out of the way. It is a subtle yet wonderful change that has put even more control back into the player - always a good thing. Seeing your opponent shaping up for a tackle whilst he is waiting for you to jump is a marvellous game of chicken. But then, you just pass the ball away anyway! Little things like this adds so much to the game.

AI has been tweaked towards the area of defence too. They close-down players even more quickly and team-mates are even more smarter in intercepting through-balls and long passes, especially with the slower speed of passes now. The long through-balls from ISS 64 are gone forever, and instead, the game asks you to get close to the penalty box before unleashing a devastating short one, or a one-two, for a one-on-one with the GK. Speaking of which, GKs are still easy to round at close range, but then that's life. However, saves are now rebounded more accurately, or safely, often out for corners or even just in front of the GK for him to quickly regather, instead of dangerously to somewhere in the box. And if he does not gather, defenders are very smart at picking up the crumbs for you. Skill wise, the GKs seem about the same, but since defences have been beefed up, it is wise to set their attribute level at just 3 in versus games.

To compensate for the extra defensive tweaks, the most significant feature added is the skip-ahead and fly-one-two. The skip-ahead, performed by hitting run-button and Z (or L) simultaneously, results in your player slightly kicking the ball ahead then sprinting up to the ball - basically, a quick burst ahead. While it has negligible effect when already in motion, it is at its most devastating when at a near standstill where the quick burst leaves your markers dumbfounded. It just creates so much space against unsuspecting opponents, but does have the side effect of losing contact with the ball. The fly-one-two is performed by double tapping the through-ball button. This is an extra fly-ball to the current one that sees the ball lobbed back to you after it is originally passed along the ground. This new one differs in that the first pass is made through the air, with the return headed back to you. Obviously a short-range one-two but is just wonderful. Mastering these moves is the key to beating the close-marking AI.

You will need these extra tricks if you want to get good shots off because the potency of the long-range shot has been diminished markedly. ISS 98 had a small bug that often saw late curve on long shots dumbfound the GK - he would jump straight up for the ball but totally miss its line. However, ISS 2000 may have eradicated it all together. While I don't try them often, I have not scored one yet. Hardly a problem really, unless you previously relied on them. If it turns out that one long shot goes in every ten or so games, then Konami have got it right. If it is more than that, they have it slightly wrong, but not as wrong as the frequency of the long bombs in ISS 98. Better to have too few than too many.

Shooting functionally has also been refined towards realism's sake. It is quite sensitive with long button presses seeing the ball skied high and wide - another thing adopted from the PS ISS Pro games. What it means is more composure is required on the ball and random presses during goal-mouth scrambles are not rewarded. Again, a welcome new feature and something you will get used to quickly. Also remember the R button override, which like the search-pass and centring over-ride that allows you to pass and lob where you are pointing rather than to the player highlighted and penalty-box centring respectively, holding R and the shoot button will see the shot to go exactly where you are pointing to rather a particular net section.

It is best to go to the training area to fully appreciate their functionality. Also try out the reworked chest-trap that sees the ball controlled straight to your feet. Also note that the silly flying horizontal kick that pervaded ISS 98 when trying to win long balls is gone. You will get a header instead, and if you are no where near the ball, you simply will miss it rather than launching yourself kung-fu style through the air.

What the tweaking of the controls means is that overall, the game is more defensive and restricted to the mid-field, but still maintains the easy-to-play feel of Nintendo ISS games. You may also be thinking that ISS 2000 is now all about the short passing game, and close range shooting, but it is not. In fact, lobbing potency has increased slightly with a quick cross field diagonal pass to a player spotted on the radar often proving fruitful. If anything, it makes the game more rounded. And while you can't do nothing about it on L4 and L5 against CPU, leaving the GK skill level on 3 in versus mode could see more (or even some) long shots go in.

Overall, there is certainly a step in the simulation direction, but not much, and is still relatively arcade-style compared to the PS games. A few random elements here, a touch of realism there, and you end with a more patient ISS where you have to be more smart and innovative to get in good scoring decisions. While initially that makes the game a bit more difficult, veteran ISS players will find the difficulty level remaining about the same. For novices, level 3 and beyond gets increasingly very hard and you will find the CPU exploiting errors in defence with ruthless abandon and giving you little time on the ball when in possession. However, once you are used to the controls, it is best to start on level 3. Whereas level 1 is not much more than a training drill and level 2 only provides token opposition when going forward, level 3 tests in all areas of the game. Just wear the eventual defeats because that is when you start learning the idiosyncrasies of ISS, and hence, real football.

Predictably, the changes have brought the goal-per-game average down from the more than 9 per game and 5 per game of ISS 64 and ISS 98 respectively, to the more life-like 3 per game. That may not sound good to those that like high scores, but to soccer purists who totally hate conceding goals, maybe even more than they love scoring goals, it makes for the best balanced Nintendo ISS game since ISS Deluxe on the SNES. While the quantity of the blistering shots, great saves and high scores has been reduced, to compensate, the game still maintains its action packed integrity with end to end stuff and rewards you with a greater number of thrilling last ditch defensive clearances.

Multiplayer:
For the N64, the evolution is compete. While ISS 64 turned out to have a better (or fairer) CPU mode, and ISS 98's two modes were relatively even, ISS 2000's multiplayer mode - just like PS Evolution's - is even better than the CPU mode. With the dynamism of humans, the game opens up, and in fact, is more free-flowing than the CPU game. More time is afforded on the ball and more chances created. However, it is still more defensive-minded than ISS 98 and a really good player will stifle his opponent. All the changes made have done nothing but add more realism, fun, excitement, and most importantly, fairness, to the game. Just as in the single-player, the game is well balanced and allows both sides of soccer - offence and defence - to be executed with equal effectiveness. The only thing missing is the ability to pre-set certain on-field players to particular human players for only them to control in team games. This has been an on going beef with not only ISS, but nearly all sports games, and is the only solution to current chaotic scenario of the who the hell is controlling whom. In fact, it seems to be the only major query the ISS Realm has had with past ISS games that has not been addressed!

Sound:
Well, Konami have upped the ante again with the most detailed crowd sounds I can recall in any sport game. From all the various chants to the building "whhooooooaaaaaaa" as corners and goal kicks are taken and to even individual voices in the crowd. Yep, especially at down times like throw-ins you can hear things like "go for it", and I swear I even heard a baby cry a couple of times. The maligned commentary is back, but with two new commentators this time. Both are very clear, and while the first is accurate, the second one - in an expert role - offers the same few lines all the time. But the most noticeable sound change is that of kicking the ball: the previous thud is gone for a more realistic phat and seems to go hand in hand with the slower paced passes. All in all, the best ever.

What else is new?
Some extra stadia, including Rotterdam, a bucket-load of teams all the way down to tiny countries like Fiji and Andorra, varied weather that changes during the game (only rains part of the time) and there is often lightning preceding any rain showers. A new Euro Cup single-player tournament has been added to the standard World Cup and World League that havr always been on offer, but finally, a new multi-player mini-league has appeared. While still lacking all those fully customable tournaments from the PS ISS games, at least this mini-league is something. It is for four, six, or eight teams, either CPU or human controlled and can be played over one or two rounds. A nice addition is that the options screen (for game length, difficulty, etc) now comes up before each friendly, and also before the league starts. Here you can also set whether games going into extra time and penalties, or not. The game clock now shows the exact amount of real-time injury time to be played - usually about one minute for a 5-minute half. Scenarios are based on Euro 2000 qualifiers, Confederation Cup matches and friendlies at the time. And the game is rumble pak compatible.

The only downer is the names have been mutated from their ultra-close resemblence from ISS 98, so much so, that many player names are indistinguishable. Some seem to be based on U23 Olympic players, but it is somewhat disappointing that the player names have made a retrograde step. This should be the last of false names because Konami have acquired a world players association license with the PS2's ISS the first to benefit. The other minor quibble is that the random team selector only operates within the group and not across all the countries. Suppose you can just close your eyes and shuffle the groups before hand, but you should not really have to. Maybe it is to avoid Brazil/Fiji clashes?

Anything missing?
Other than the host of single player tournaments and fully customable multiplayer tournaments and leagues that the PS versions have enjoyed, I would still like to see an option that allows for the CPU to randomly assign you to a match in a tournament when you win rather than sticking with the same team. Why? Because it just gets boring playing with the same team all the time and would just spice things up. Instead of, say, Holland winning a cup, you, or Player 1, would win the cup. While the tournament can easily cope with this format, the league would have to be tailored differently with Player1 represented on the table, along with a whole host of fictional names - maybe even traditional ISS names - like Koppers, Fuerte and Galfano? The CPU already decides other teams' positions in the leagues - which closely match the relative team's skill level in real life - and there is no reason why these fictional players could also represent a particular country like Holland, Argentina and Italy, and have the league table decided accordingly. And why not play against these fictional "Mentors" in something called the ISS Mentors Tournament and League? Until then, playing random friendlies and scenarios against the CPU and games against humans will be my restriction. In fact, I have not completed a league since ISS Deluxe on the SNES, nor a Cup since ISS 64, and it is likely I won't in this version either.

Overall:
You may have noticed that no scores have been given. Well, I think we all know the ISS games represent the pinnacle of football gaming, and yet again, a new version of ISS has extended the benchmark of what we previously thought was a near perfect game. And besides, it really has come to the point that these various incarnations of ISS are becoming more esoteric with regards what you prefer in a football game. While I appreciate this version is now easily the pinnacle of the series, others may not like the changes and prefer ISS 98 or even ISS 64. And of course, there are those that will never get to grips with the N64's seemingly simplistic style and swear by Evolution on the PS. It boils down to what you want in your football games. If you are happy with ISS 98 or even ISS 64 and love the high scoring and frequent goal mouth scrambles, stick with it. If you are a purist and want the ultimate simulation, ISS Pro Evolution on the PS maybe your best bet. But if you want the combination of traditional ISS fluidity and some simulation features to give it extra realism then there is only one choice. After comparing ISS 98 with ISS Pro Evolution, the ISS Realm always felt the best ISS possible would be an ISS 98 based game with its core fluid gameplay and myriad of options and gameplay settings, merged with Pro Evolution's best simulation features of tackling, sensitive shooting, out-field heading and ball control and tournament options. While the tournaments never made it, the rest did. And here it is, ISS 2000. Amazing.

i emailed you a few months ago about iss 98 which you put in at the bottom of your iss 98 review

i am thinking about buying iss 2000 - after reading your review. however i was surprised that you gave it such a good review. all the magazines here in england slated it, even the official nintendo mag!! they all loved iss 98 and praised it for being better then iss 64. but they say iss 2000 is the same but slower.

i wasnt going to touch iss 2000 until i read your review. however you seem to analyse the game much deeper then they do. i am glad to see someone who appriciates the game as much as i do.

i found iss 98 annoying (not hard just some unreslistic features)in 1 player mode but excellent in 2 player.

my purchsing iss 2000 will depend somewhat on the answers you give to these questions:

1. what are the refrees like? they allowed too much pushing in iss 98.
2. even though you say GK rebounds are better the magazines still fault them. do goalkeepers still have slipery hands? is there a big difference?
3. most importantly i thought the player movment in iss 98 was much much poorer than iss 64. has it improved going fowards?
4. how is the game tacticly? iss deleuxe and iss 64 were excellent but in 98 the game became less tactical and more action and player skill. in 64 placing a player a couple out steps in the wrong position made a big difference to my gam but formations didnt have such a great impact in 98 version.
5. is more emphasis placed on tricks? or can you still fly past defenders?
6. are long balls more accurate?
7. is passing still too accurate? ie search passing when a player can passs too another,s feet from 100 yards! they should take it out and put back passing like the snes game's
8. do you need to time headers like in the original iss? it was changed in deleuxe and remined in 64 and 98, where you could press the button much before you head it.
9. is the lob more effective?
10. can defenders catch up with fast strikers running away with the ball? like the do in iss 98. very unrealistic in my opinion.

finaly in one word which is more realistic iss 2000 or iss evolution? i would say iss evo is like siera A in italy whilst n64 is like brazil vs brazil.

i have not played iss evolution but i have an idea about what it is like. is it more tactical than the n64 versions?

You hit the nail on the head regarding us analysing the game much deeper. You know, I doubt most of those mags, and especially websites, would put much more than a few hours into a game. But more importantly, I doubt they've bothered to go back and play ISS 98 to see what it is really like. Saying ISS 2000 is the same as ISS 98, but slower, is a very superficial view of the game. Yes, it is slower, but there is an explanation, which is in the body of the review.

1) The referees are still not up to scratch - nothing has changed. I still can't understand why have different strictness of referees and not make one of them really strict. If anything, the current strict one is the most realistic. And we all know that in real football the referees are too slack on cards, especially the so-called tackle from behind red card rule.
2) GK's are much improved, especially with rebounds. This is one of the things that have really been addressed. Their fumbles may not be that much less frequent, but much of the time they quickly regather, punch it miles away, or the improved defenders are quick to pick up the scraps. In fact, the amount of goal line last-ditch effoert saves as tremendous excitement to the game. To give an idea of rebound goals, just the other night I played 6 games against my friend and there were only two rebounds. And both of those were saves from one-on-one sitations and perfectly acceptable. In fact, I'd say they are 50% better in replicating real-life goal keeping situations and are easily the best ever of any version.
3) Player movement I doubt has changed much. If you were unhappy then, you will be unhappy now. Personally, I think they move OK - better than any other football game - and more importantly, quickly respond to straight through balls and other more complex passes.
4) Placing a player out wide in ISS 64 worked because the teammate AI was so poor that they did not pick them up. ISS 98 saw players being closed down quite quickly which, I suppose, negated small variations like that. ISS 2000 is much the same. But formations do work. I got rolled the other for only the second time ever and that was because Germany played 5-2-3 and I stuck to Holland's default 4-4-2 and it was all to do with the formation change. You can check out the Mentor News of 16/1/1 for more info.
5) Yes. It is a bit harder to go past players, especially with improved tackling, and the skip-ahead move as described in the review is a great trick to overcome this. Plus there are those extra one-twos, but as for individual tricks, nothing else. Though, recently, I have noticed a little lob ahead works well against human players.
6) Hard to say really. I have not noticed to much different, but my friend seemed to be using them more than he did in ISS 98.
7) Search passing is still very similar, but the big difference is that the interception AI of your teammates is improved yet again. Therefore, long ground passes are rarely rewarded unless a player is right in the clear.
8) Have not really taken much notice of the timing, but since I have not noticed any change, I presume it is still the same, and you defininately can hit the button early. Whether it as early as before, I am not sure. However, there are more spillages, and that flying aerial kick is gone from ISS 98 and replaced with the conventional header. There is also a new chest trap move.
9) Have not tried one so just don't know. My friend tried one the other night but he hit it too hard. I use to use them all the time, especially ISS 64 with those killer through-balls resulting in many one-on-ones, but from ISS 98 onwards, they have slowly disappeared from my game.
10) Yep, but it seems only when it is a fast player against a slow player, and even then, both their net pace would be about the same. Look, I think it is one of those compromises to ensure a better game. After all, passing to a speedster and just have him run away makes for cheap goals. Fifa is like that, especially playing against someone with turbo thumbs. Besides, in real football, close dribbling is always slower, and ISS dribbling is close dribbling. Chasing after a short kick ahead is about the only way you will ever be able to run faster than a defender.

Evolution is more realistic if you want to experience the emotions of real football: elation, pressure and sometimes, exasperation and frustration. ISS 2000 is more action packed and fun in my books, but not as action packed as its predecessors. It all depends on what you want and find the most satisfying. Personally, I am glad I have them both.

Whether Evo is more tactical, is hard to say. Truth is, I rely on only a few plays to get into good goal scoring situations. And many goals come from errors or from sheer down-right persistence. Often it is a real scramble, which makes the goals scored so satisfying. Of course, just after all that hard work you can just as easily concede one at the other end turning your best layed tactics and formations into a ravel. Because you have so much more control in the game, ISS 2000's tactical approaches lean more towards breaking down your opponent with swift passing, creating space and killer through-balls and one-twos , rather than the more opportunistic, grab-your-chance- while-you-got-it scenarios that Evo prevails. That means there are less surprise goals, and equally, less surprise results in ISS 2000. In real football, that is not the case, but in video game football, it makes for more fairness and fun.

Some of your pet hates from ISS 98 are gone, but some still remain. If you are perfectly happy with ISS 64, stick to it. ISS 2000 is a progression away from ISS 98, not back to ISS 64 so my advice is to rent the game for a few quid and then you will know for sure. Maybe even have a decent go of Evo somehow, and if you love that approach, get a second-hand PS and Evo for the price of a new ISS 2000, or save your bikkies for Evo2 (due Feb/March 2001).