Quick: what's the best selling sports series in the world? If you said FIFA Soccer by EA Sports, you're one of the few to know that well-kept secret. The FIFA Soccer series has been around for eleven years, tackling the world's most popular sport with fantastic presentation, great detail, and methodical gameplay. That last bit has served a bit of rivalry between this series and Konami's well-received Winning Eleven franchise, but EA Sports is looking to end the question of which is the best soccer game with FIFA Soccer 2005.

FIFA Soccer has always been known for a slower pace of gameplay which some gamers appreciate and others see as frustrating. FIFA Soccer 2005 continues to strive for realism, but helping pick up the pace is new animation that allows more believable played movements. Flicking the right control stick, your player will juke, spin, and evade defenders on his way to a fantastic pass or shot. Improved from last year's version, it really feels like you have total control of the players.

One thing that some players of previous versions may not enjoy is that a few options have been removed for the sake of simplicity. An example of this is an earlier ability to manually give a through pass to another player who makes a breakout run, but now it seems the other players breakout on their own and you just have to press the Y button to give the pass (or hold L and press Y for a through lob pass). This actually works better than having to contend with the system manually, and it allows the game to keep a quicker pace.

Overall, the gameplay keeps up a nice and realistic pace. Those expecting a Sega Soccer Slam speed will be disappointed (though there is an option to speed up the gameplay), but if you're into running specific plays to get your strikers open, FIFA Soccer 2005 really shows its experience by allowing a very nice game of soccer. This is especially true when you look at the details and presentation of this year's edition.

FIFA Soccer 2005 is like a soccer fan's dream when it comes to realism, thanks to its inclusion of over 350 official licenses. At your disposal are 18 leagues, 40 national teams, and 11,000 players, making up one of the most robust soccer games to ever come out. The detail goes from authentic jerseys with corporate logos, real-life stadiums with some sweet weather and lighting features, and even the language being yelled on the pitch.

Career Mode is something often overlooked in sports games by many gamers, but you should definitely check it out. You become a manager of a third-tier club, working with a bunch of rookies and lower-level players as you try to meet the goals of your board. Succeed and your fifteen-year career could have a huge impact on the game; fail, and you're destined for the scrapbook of coaching. Of special note are the match simulations, which somehow have a dramatic flair to their text-based presentation, and the job security meter, showing the board's happiness or displeasure with your job. If only we had that in our real-life jobs!

Audio has always been a huge part of the FIFA Soccer series, and FIFA Soccer 2005 is no exception. The famous crowd chants that wowed us back on the Sega Genesis continue their evolution, and if you have a favorite soccer team, chances are you'll hear the same chants as you would in their home stadium. These chants, which come at you in a multitude of languages, really help immerse you in the game and help make the overall presentation of FIFA Soccer 2005 as great as possible.

The strong aural showing continues with the commentary, with John Motson lending his "voice of football" for another year with co-commentator Ally McCoist. The commentary is impressive, as expected, but one gets the sense that a lot of the commentary is being reused from previous seasons. Still, FIFA Soccer 2005 does make a nice effort to add to the banter between the two, and the Spanish commentary option (available through your Xbox dashboard for some odd reason) is a nice bonus.

As for the visuals, they are nicely improved, though people who have played FIFA Soccer before know what to expect. The graphics are slightly evolutionary, and it's starting to beg the question of what we'll see in next-generation systems. FIFA Soccer, always treated as a tech showcase for any system, seems to have hit a plateau, and it's time to see what EA Sports has up its sleeve for future hardware.

Still, FIFA Soccer has a long way to go on current hardware, and this is evident in their biggest new feature: Xbox Live support. Now, you can put your reputation on the line with gamers from all over the world in friendlies between two players. Sure, it only supports one-on-one matches, but there's little room for complaining. The most popular sports game is now online, and there is no dearth in competitors. FIFA Soccer 2005 will keep your competitive self satisfied for awhile.

Overall, FIFA Soccer 2005 is a nice step forward for the series. The big reasons to get this game are the deep Career Mode and the Xbox Live support, but the small reasons can be just as important. The pace of the game is quickening without going "arcade," the graphics and sound show slight improvements, and the overall presentation continues to get better. EA Sports is trying to squash the question of what's the best soccer game out there. Right now, the answer is FIFA Soccer 2005.