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EA Sports cashes in on World Cup Fever. The 2006 FIFA World Cup is currently underway and has taken the world by storm. Although soccer isn’t as popular in the United States as it is elsewhere, EA Sports’ FIFA series has developed a loyal following throughout the years. 2006 FIFA World Cup is easily recommendable to gamers looking for their World Cup fix.
2006 FIFA World Cup includes the expected game modes. You’ll find exhibition matches, practices, penalty shoot-outs and global challenge mode. In global challenge, you’ll be playing famous matches. You’ll be given challenges and awarded a bronze, silver or gold medal depending on how well you complete it. As expected, the game includes the ability to take a team of your choice through the World Cup competition. The game even includes the 32 teams that actually qualified for the finals, though you’re free to choose any that you want. Once you choose this team, you can play through a whole season to make sure you qualify for the finals or move right to them. As you play through the World Cup, you’ll be able to complete over 200 objectives ranging from having a certain winning streak to scoring a certain number of goals. The Xbox 360 version has some achievements in addition to these. The points that you get from these objectives can be used to unlock stuff in the game’s shop, which includes additional balls, classic players and even some gameplay options.
In terms of gameplay, the game plays similar to FIFA 06, meaning that you’ll find a deep, complex game of soccer here. The Xbox 360 version isn’t quite as tight as the current-generation versions but the gameplay is very similar among them. If you’re a fan of Konami’s Winning Eleven games, you’ll find a similar control scheme in the game, aside from the traditional FIFA controls.
2006 FIFA World Cup includes offline and online multiplayer. The PS2 version sports a fancy lobby system that makes it easy to find players of your same skill level. The Xbox 360 version ditches this system for an older one, although it is still possible to find people from your region or skill level. The PS2 version includes a quick tournament mode not available on the Xbox 360, but Microsoft’s latest console at least supports quick match and optimatch options.
The game’s visuals are great. The soccer players are wonderfully modeled and move around realistically. The stadiums are great with plenty of detail. They are packed with actual, 3D fans which bring balloons, streamers and confetti to support their favorite team. Soccer fans are some of the most ardent and 2006 FIFA World Cup recreates this well. The game has some subtle effects that make the visuals stand out even more. The matches begin with a camera outside of Earth and then you’ll see it zoom in on the stadium. The Xbox 360 version is the sharpest and has no slowdown, though the current-generation versions look good though they do have a bit of slowdown.
The audio complements the visuals well. The soundtrack is typical EA Trax fare but it does include music from over a dozen countries. Commentary is executed well with plenty of World Cup trivia and stories to help pass along time. The sound effects are good; the crowd’s sounds really help bring it to life.
Although it comes not so long after FIFA 06, the additional game modes and features may be enough to qualify it as a purchase for many. The Xbox 360 is technically superior with no slowdown but it does lose out some features that the current-generation versions have. When it comes down to it, 2006 FIFA World Cup is easily recommendable to devout soccer fans.
-- Adam Nunez & -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Jun 27, 2006
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