The World Cup is a huge deal for millions of people around the world and, though Americans tend to not be among these people, EA has pleasantly created a game for those of us who enjoy the most popular sport in the world. The game is a huge improvement over the previous FIFA World Cup video games, which featured disappointing graphics and stunted gameplay. Instead, EA has really put the pedal to the medal to add the little details that make a sports game so fun.
Graphics and Premise
For those unfamiliar, the FIFA World Cup is the largest soccer tournament in the world where nations compete to decide who is the best team of all. The matches can be extremely exciting and extremely competitive, so a video game representing it should capture this. EA does make an effort this go around to add a little more excitement and real-world feel to this game by their clever use of cut scenes to sidelines where we see realistic representations of famous coaches. The crowd, though still somewhat cardboard, is more realistic than every and their chants reflect which teams are playing. Unfortunately, the fan cheering does not always match the action of the game very realistically, which can be a tad frustrating. You’ll be asking yourself “why are they cheering now?” all too often when playing FIFA World Cup South Africa.
However, this game does a better job than any previous EA FIFA game at making you feel like you’re in the action. Players can choose from a whopping 199 nations, making the possibilities near endless, and EA has put the extra work in to make sure that the famous players from each of these teams are easily recognizable. The great graphics of the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii allow players to really look like they’re standing right in front of you.
Gameplay
FIFA World Cup is designed to please past EA players as well as people new to soccer gaming. EA wisely invented a two button mode, where players pass, shoot, and dribble without having to know complicated button placements. The game also feels more realistic than ever: balls will hit referees, players will run into one another organically, and the ball falls through the air in perfect physics. Besides the normal mode of controlling your team, this game also features a Captain Your Country mode where you control a single player throughout the tournament. Most useful of all for this style of gaming is a new detailed performance box that explains how well your doing during the match instead of afterward. This really helps you know what to do and what not to.
Story of Qualifying is a number of very difficult challenges that allow you to relive famous moments or create your own. One of the most powerful additions to this game, however, is the online play. Not only is online multiplayer available, but EA will upload new realistic scenarios as the World Cup is going on. The game is great on many levels, but falls through on a few minor details. The announcers have annoyingly little to say; they repeat themselves even more than in normal FIFA Soccer games, which will have you wanting to put them on mute after a while. The game features new music, as with all FIFA Soccer games. The game gets about an 8/10.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_%28video_game%29
