Evolution Of FIFA 15 - 21 Years Of Incredible Football Graphics

16. FIFA 2000

Another year, another stab at lifelike renditions of our favorite footballers. FIFA 2000 was one step closer, but back in 1999 EA Canada were still a long way off. An updated animation and motion capture system did craft a more lifelike game of soccer on the field, with an emphasis on flamboyant goal celebrations and other antics, only to be let down by the rough facial modeling which hadn't changed as must as we hoped. Elsewhere it was business as usual: the various stadiums were pleasantly detailed, while pitch textures, crowd fidelity and so on all had the now expected slight tweaks. Nothing to blow us away, and possibly still not worth the upgrade from the Road To World Cup 98 release. Unless you were a North American gamer, as this was the first FIFA to include a fat slice of official Major League Soccer action.

15. FIFA 2001

The year 2000 saw the launch of the best selling console in gaming history, the PlayStation 2. EA Sports did well to harness this new found hardware power of the sixth-generation early on, giving the FIFA franchise the most significant graphical revamp it had seen in years. Visually at least, this was the start of a solid run of new FIFA games, each with progressively improving facial modeling, advanced motion capture and stadiums filled with increasingly believable crowds. Side-line activities and surrounding subtleties brought the game to life, while on the pitch itself a revised engine meant smoother shading and more detailed polygon structures for more lifelike players. Team badges and sponsor logos for many of the teams, along with other nuances added to the package, creating the most visually immersive FIFA we'd seen yet.