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Posted by @ 3:39 PM, EDT
DailyRadar reviewed Konami’s Jikkyou World Soccer 2000.
Here’s a bit:

As ever, playing through balls (passes that split the defense) and sprinting are two integral facets of the gameplay. The results are seamless, with opportunities for seemingly impossible precision and highly complex teamwork arising regularly. And in the moments between major incidents, there is a coherence to proceedings that is unmatched by any other soccer sim (FIFA included). In the end, that's what counts.

The goal of each battle is simple – get to the other side of the battlefield in one piece, and make sure the enemy commander gets skewered. But between you and your goal are several thousand enemy soldiers, and you’ll need to lead your troops into the thick of it before you can get close to your ultimate goal. As the game starts, you’re dropped onto the battlefield, and where you go and who you slaughter is entirely up to you.

Though the vast majority of the missions will take more than a few play-throughs to beat, most of them are well-designed, ranging from nighttime strikes on rival companies to chase sequences through dark tunnels. I have one complaint, though: if the Playstation 2 is capable of rendering enormous outdoor battle scenes, it sure isn’t evident here – most of the missions keep you locked into a tiny mission area, or stuck in cramped interiors. While Game Arts’ Gun Griffon Blaze has the player romping across miles of terrain, Armored Core 2 feels comparatively claustrophobic.

In terms of gunplay, X-Fire does not disappoint. Peeking around a corner, then somersaulting out into the open with a blazing machine-gun is enormously satisfying, and clearing out hordes of bad guys in one fell swoop just feels right. Aiming is facilitated with an automatic targeting reticule, which pops up whenever your crosshairs sweep into an enemy’s vicinity. This works well most of the time, but occasionally flubs up when you’re aiming at an enemy who’s standing on a higher level.