Games : Blog!
2010 Fifa World Cup
Monday, 10th May 2010
With the World Cup imminent, EA releases the latest incarnation of its Fifa series with mixed results.
Whilst having a mess around with some old PS2 games recently and stumbling across EA’s pitiful Euro 2008 game, I was not too optimistic about the arrival of 2010 Fifa World Cup. It’s true that the series has come a long way in the past 2 or 3 years, but from past experience with Fifa games, the Euro / World Cup games have mainly been a rehash of that years installment and not really worth shelling out for.
After a few quick games however, it was clear that EA have at least taken heed of some of the criticisms of Fifa 10. The most obvious difference is that the goalkeepers no longer rush off their lines. It may sound trivial, but anybody who’s played Fifa 10 will know how annoying it is to have the opposition (or worse, a friend) chip the ball over your goalkeeper every time they’re through on goal. There is also a new system for penalty kicks, with players having to select the composure of the kick taker before powering up and aiming the shot. The camera angles have also been tinkered with, which after a period of adjustment I believe to be a good thing. There are plethora of new celebrations too, some of which are great others not so. The captain your country mode also returns (similar to the ‘be a pro’ mode from recent Fifa games), allowing up to four players to compete for the chance to captain an international team through the course of World Cup qualification.
My main criticism of this game is with the online mode. Thanks to some interesting choices for achievements/psn trophies, a lot of the people you’ll come up against will be playing as teams rated 3 stars or lower, which in a way is a nice change from coming up against Barcelona or Spain every single game you play. Unfortunately however this just means that it is easier to take the lead in a game and thus have the other person quit in anger. You’re also stuck as the same team for the entire duration of the tournament (up to 7 matches) with no way of changing.
Gameplay; 9
The gameplay is crisper and tidier than Fifa 10 and computer difficulties seem a little more adept than before making the game both more fun and challenging to play. Unfortunately the games limited online mode costs it points on this one.
Graphics; 10
The attention to detail is brilliant for a football game and it will be interesting to see if EA feel a need to improve it for Fifa 11.
Music; 8
Fifa games have always had good soundtracks and 2010 World Cup is no exception, with music from around the world to reflect the 32 countries represented at this years World Cup.
Overall; 9
Given that it’s such a topical game it’s not really one you can buy when the price drops. I’d definitely recommend this game to anybody looking for a decent football game who doesn’t already have a copy of Fifa 10. Otherwise this game is only really for die hard Fifa fans. Anybody else should just wait a few months for Fifa 11.
