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Anyone who has played FIFA over the years knows that one of its problems has been with its artificial intelligence and the computer's inability or inconsistency in defending against the cross-field pass and bicycle kick goal combination. EA Sports remedied this problem in FIFA 2002 by incorporating an innovative new manual passing system that actually requires a lot of skill to use, as it forces you to anticipate where your teammate will be. The shooting system also received an overhaul.

FIFA 2002 was also graced with some visual improvements, making it one of the best-looking sports games to date. It also features hundreds of real players and scores of different real-world teams. But the real attractions are the changes to gameplay and the adjustments to the AI of teammates and opponents, which makes FIFA Soccer 2002 the closest thing to real soccer ever. EA Sports' own NHL 2002 was a very close contender for the title of Best Sports Game of 2001, but while NHL features its own numerous, interesting new additions to last year's excellent hockey game, FIFA 2002 refined its predecessor in such a significant way that it emerged as the best new sports games of this year.