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FIFA World Cup 2010 - Review
With this years 2010 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner, it's no surprise to see EA release a video game version of the greatest sporting event in the world.
Everyone has experienced games that are re-skinned to fit an upcoming event, but it looks as though you can put all your reservations aside for 2010 because EA has remedied many of the issues that usually crop up in such quad-yearly titles.
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 stadiums, as 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 terms of quality.
The visuals look great as you would come to expect from a FIFA title with aspects like improved pitch textures, lighting effects, and player likenesses giving 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 broadcast 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 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 feel 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 has made is the improved goalkeepers as they're actually rather good this time around. So no longer will you be cursing at the goalie for rushing off his line and getting lobbed.
There modes in 2010 FIFA World Cup are similar to that of FIFA 10. Besides the obvious inclusion of the full World Cup tournament itself, this is now made available as a full online tournament. There's also Captain Your Country, which is basically a World Cup version of the Virtual Pro modes from previous titles. This time around however it supports 4-players in co-op, albeit offline only.
You can also import your Virtual Pro from FIFA 10 into the new 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 will endure far beyond the televised event. And let's not forget about the additional scenarios that will 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 superior FIFA players and World League Ladder is 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.
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 Zidane's sending off should not have cost France the world crown then here is the chance to re-write history.
2010 FIFA World Cup is a great edition to the already outstanding FIFA franchise and once more proves that these international tournament based games aren't just cash cows. Obviously, this wont last beyond FIFA 11, and the lack of online team modes will see FIFA 10 still get a decent share of online play.
Basically, if you want a preview of improvements to be included in FIFA 11 this is for you, but don't expect masses of longevity. As with the real thing, the excitement will go once the Tournament is done.
7.5 / 10
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Friday 10 February 2012
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