GOAAAALLLLL! 2010 FIFA World Cup Review
The 2010 FIFA World Cup is long over, I know. We all saw Spain emerge victorious in the final over Netherlands and we all witnessed England getting annihilated by Germany and Ghanna being deprived of birth in the semi-finals after a deliberate hand-ball by Luis Suarez of Uruguay. Indeed, the 2010 World Cup seemed to be a success and I nod my head in approval of the CBC’s coverage of the tournament very nicely done.
Now, however, it’s time for a late review: 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa for the Xbox 360. Yes, that is the title. And yes, that’s a mouthful to say the least. Anyway, let’s get down to business. Firstly, regardless of if you call it Soccer or Football, you can’t dispute the fact that FIFA games sell. They sell huge. And EA Sports had no choice but to capitalize on the event with an exclusive game.
The presentation of “the game” (I’m not going to keep copying and pasting the title just so you know) is well-done. The stadiums look insanely accurate and the player models stack up nicely against their real-world counterparts. Well, at least the star players.
The game features not only the countries that had qualified for the 2010 world cup, but also all of the countries that were duking it out to even qualify in the first place. This means teams from Canada, Singapore, to even Ireland (who is still fuming over their wrongful and unlucky loss to France) are playable and feature complete rosters.
But obviously, the star players for a team such as Singapore are not going to have the same level of polish as say, Diago Forlan of Uruguay. Regardless, unless you have your heart set on playing through the qualifying modes and world cup itself with a weaker country, you shouldn’t have any problems. Just keep a close eye on those North Korean players when they’re at home during qualifying they tend to wander off the field and head south. I don’t blame them. I’d want to get my hands on Star Craft 2 as well…
Oh wait… I already have. But that’s a review for next week. Keep your eyes open for that one.
Anyway, the sound in “the game” is once again very nice. A sweet soundtrack of world music that isn’t really ‘heavy’ plays during the menu and pause screens and the actual in-game commentary isn’t so bad either, although it can be repetitive. The result is a realistic experience the first few games you play, however, after the fifth or so game, the commentary begins to takes its toll on you and becomes utterly meaningless and boring beyond belief.
The gameplay is well-done for a Football (soccer) game and has a slight upgrade over FIFA 2010. Penalty shootouts are done differently and require much more focus and skill much like they do in real life. More often than not you’ll find yourself shooting and missing far and wide.
Games flow quickly and you won’t have to spend a whole 90 minutes to play a single game. Like all sports games, time can be set to a more realistic and ‘playable’ setting. Turning a whole 45 minute half into a mere 8 minutes: I like. Very solid.
Controls work well and I found it extremely easy to pass and shoot. For beginners to FIFA games, the two button controls make it a snap, while advanced players can try their luck at pulling off advanced moves using the full controller.
I’d recommend 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa to anyone who enjoyed the actual thing and wishes to relive it. It’s a fun game that’ll keep you busy if you’re not a fan of Star Craft and don’t see what all the fuss over Wings of Liberty is about. Oh boy, I can’t wait until next week.
Anyway, that’s that. I’m going to give “the game” (ps, I just lost and so did you) an 8/10. Strongly approve of this game, just as much as I approve of calling the sport Football and not Soccer. Goddamn Americans.
