2010 FIFA World Cup Review (360)

Can FIFA kick it

The 2010 FIFA world Cup is just around the corner, so no surprise to see a Videogame version of the greatest sporting event in the world. It’s some times a quick way to make money for EA to release a Football Game based around a sporting event but is this one any good. Find that you’ve gone and bought the latest FIFA with a quick internationally-flavoured re-skin and a few Changes here and there to fool you into thinking it’s totally different. We’ve all been here before with the last couple of rubbish FIFA World Cup games, but it looks as though you can put all reservations aside for 2010, because EA has taken the established, much-maligned tradition of shoddily cobbled-together World Cup games and blown it to pieces. 2010 FIFA World Cup is, wait for it! Very good.

Some genuine effort has gone into making 2010 FIFA World Cup a worthy companion to FIFA 10, from the exhaustive roster of 199 international teams to the 10 authentically realised stadia, every Inch of the game is of a remarkably high standard. It doesn’t stop there though, with the gameplay being subject to more than 100+ gameplay enhancements, and the visuals getting a fairly substantial lick of paint. The result is a FIFA game that looks and feels quite fresh, effortlessly outstripping previous Euro and World Cup games in the quality stakes by some margin.

Simply put, this will be the best football game money can buy… be that till FIFA11 hits the shelves.

The visuals look great as you would come to expect from a FIFA title, aspects like improved pitch textures, lighting effects and player likenesses give 2010 FIFA World Cup a more realistic look, which is further enhanced by cutaways to concerned managers and Celebrating fans. All this really drives home the TV-style presentation and helps make the World cup Carnival feel real in your living room. This is about as close to replicating a televised football match as you can currently get. The FIFA gameplay mechanics have also been systematically picked over and tightened up, incorporating seemingly minor tweaks like being able to chest the ball and loft driven aerial passes forward to maintain the momentum of a match. Passing and movement feels more fluid and responsive too, adding to the already rather solid FIFA 10 foundations with meaningful alterations that actually help to actively improve the gameplay. The best enhancement EA have made is the improved Goalkeepers, they’re actually are rather good this time around. So no longer will you be cursing at the Goalie for rushing off his line and getting lobbed.

Then there’s the tons of new game modes in 2010 FIFA World Cup that also illustrate EA’s commitment to making this so much more than a simple FIFA 10 rehash. Besides the obvious inclusion of the full World Cup tournament itself, available in both online and offline, There’s also a new Virtual Pro mode called Captain Your Country. CYC supports 4-players in co-op. You can also import your Virtual Pro from FIFA 10 into the CYC mode and then compete for the captaincy as part of a team of your choosing, or build a new pro from scratch and lead him to glory. Battle of the Nations, Story of Qualifying and the World League Ladder also provide heaps of potential gameplay that’ll endure far beyond the televised event. And let’s not forget about the additional scenarios that’ll be available for free from the 2010 World Cup once the actual matches have played out. Expect to play the inevitable England penalty shootout and Germany grinding they’re way through to the semis.

Battle of the Nations is an ongoing competition to see which nation is home to the most superior FIFA players, like me, and World League Ladder, a fight for supremacy in ranking tables where relegation or promotion is always on the agenda. Story of Qualifying features situations hand picked from the most memorable moments of the World Cup qualifying stages, including that questionable Henry goal against the Republic of Ireland, I really enjoyed the commentary from Andy Townsend seething at the fact of Rep Ireland going out. You can also leap back in time 4 years and put right what once went wrong? There’s a whole bunch of 2006 World Cup scenarios to unlock and pick through as well, so if you feel Zidanes sending off should not have cost France the world crown then here is where to re-write history.

2010 FIFA World Cup does a fantastic job in encapsulating the pageantry and sense of occasion that comes with the tournament. If indeed emotion and passion is what the World Cup is all about, then EA Canada has got it pretty much spot on with its representation of the exuberant carnival atmosphere. It’s much more than just colourful streamers, confetti and fireworks. It’s the deafening roar of the crowd, the waving banners, the national pride and mad-looking fans prancing around in insane wigs and make-up, or just seeing your nation lift the Trophy.

2010 FIFA World Cup is a great edition to the already outstanding FIFA franchise and once more proves that these International tournaments based games are not just cash cows. Now the lifespan I would predict for this game would be about half of that of the yearly release FIFA but still 6 months is a good amount of play time for 39.99. Whether it’s enough to warrant parting with your cash again if you already have FIFA 10 is what most of you want to know. There’s certainly enough new stuff in 2010 FIFA World Cup to make a purchase worthwhile and if nothing else, the new modes and gameplay tweaks make this a perfect companion to FIFA 10. Simply put, this will be the best football game money can buy… be that till FIFA11 hits the shelves.