With the 2010 World Cup in South Africa just around the corner, football fans around the globe will be gearing up for a carnival of celebrations when the World Cup kicks off on South African soil on June 11th. To give fans a taste of what the World Cup is all about and the special occasion it is, EA have released a World Cup title to whet the appetite of fans of the beautiful game in video game form.
There are many improvements for 2010 Fifa World Cup compared to that of Fifa 10 which was released during the latter part of last year but they are not huge differences. Subtle tweaks here and there to the Fifa 10 engine and it has made the game a more enjoyable experience compared to that of a somewhat buggy, Fifa 10 and small tweaks isn’t a bad thing at all as let’s be honest, we all know that the big differences will come later on this year when Fifa 11 is released. This isn’t to say it’s a bad thing for this version of the Fifa series though.
You will notice more animations have been included and they look very nice indeed. Little flicks, new moves and overall it moves very nicely indeed as we would expect from a Fifa title. Also there seems to be a bit more fluidity in games now and some of the build up play can be fantastic and feel very natural indeed. There are still some problems with the A.I though as defenders go walk about and at times, it can feel like you are playing with a 2-6-2 rather than a 4-4-2. An example of this was when I was trying out the World Cup mode with England and I was up against Australia in a group game and with Australia on the attack, my 2 CB’s of Terry and Ferdinand decided to go on a stroll leaving a gap in my defence so big that a Chinese cargo ship could of fit threw the gap. This can be adjusted in the tactics screen but this should not be happening as default, let’s be totally honest here. It’s not a major problem, but it can become frustrating.
Graphically the game is a country mile better than that of its predecessor, Fifa 10. More detail in the pitch textures, a more vibrant colour palette and the players faces have had a big improvement done to them since Fifa 10. With all that though, there are still things that need to be improved which include the kits mainly. They don’t really seem to have improved much since Fifa 10 as they still have that painted on ‘washed out’ look to them. Also the players still have that ‘Plasticine dipped in oil’ look about them. I’m pretty sure that these problems with be improved upon for Fifa 11. One of my biggest problems with the Fifa titles are that the fact that 99% of the players all feel the same. There is hardly any individuality between say a Xavi and a Ballack which just isn’t right. This is something that the PES series has done very well for years and it’s something that the EA teams working on the Fifa titles need to nail down as this is a problem for a huge amount of footy fans.
The gameplay has been stepped up a notch for 2010 Fifa World Cup and the matches seem to be more varied in style and not so repetitive compared to previous Fifa instalment in the past which is a huge bonus. Shooting feels more varied and more satisfying, passing has had a slight tweak which at times feels a bit like a ‘pinball’ but for the most part, feels great and also the tricks by using the right analogue stick, feels more refined and easier to pull off compared to previous Fifa games.
As you can imagine, the game is packed with some great modes for fans to get to grips with including Captain Your Country, Online League, Online World Cup and a Scenario mode in which players can play 55 scenarios from past World Cup matches. Add this together with the likes of exhibition modes and a brand new penalty system; it will keep you busy for a while yet.
With regards to the new penalty system now it’s not just all about aiming toward a corner and hitting shoot as a new method has been introduced which includes a ‘composure meter’. You must aim which side you want your player to shoot and hit the bar in the right area on the composure meter otherwise you could end up seeing the 2010 version of a Chris Waddle penalty fly high, wide and mighty into row z. Also another part to mention is even if you get the bar in the composure meter spot on, if you push too hard to one side which aiming, it could still go wrong as well. Another neat little feature in the penalty system is a ‘stutter’ motion which lets you try to read which way the goalkeeper is planning on diving. Be warned though as this can come back to haunt you as it sometimes helps the goalkeeper out as well in that it can give away which direction you are planning on putting your pen. The new penalty feature is a good idea and something that with practise, it would become great fun but practise is exactly what you need with this new system and if you expect to just be blasting penalty after penalty in on your first go with this mode, think again. Like they say, practise makes perfect.
So is it worth buying I here you ask? If you still own a copy of Fifa 10, I would personally keep hold of your hard earned cash as although the tweaks for 2010 Fifa World Cup make the game feel more polished and overall a better gameplay experience compared to that of Fifa 10, in my opinion, I’m not so sure that the £40 price tag justifies what you are paying for in all honesty. If however you have the money and also have a copy of Fifa 10 and spending £40 on a somewhat tweaked title doesn’t bother you, then you won’t be disappointed either.
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