From naming your squad to lifting the cup, the ritual emphasises the right details and makes it easy to suspend your disbelief.
The result centre between matches enhances the feeling of continuity, and having latest scores filter through from other group games while you play is another nice touch. There's something jarring about new commentary duo Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend eulogising South African football stadiums they have presumably never visited, but the ticker tape, gorgeous lighting conditions and cutaways to anxious managers on the touchline and dancing fans make the most of the licence.Ĭommenting on EA Sports' slick presentation used to be a backhanded compliment, but in this case it's deserved.
Most fans' first port of call will be the World Cup tournament itself. Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend are every bit as quotably rubbish as Martin Tyler and Andy Gray. There are still weaknesses and potential exploits (when through on goal it's quite easy to move to one side of the goalkeeper and roll the ball into the opposite corner, and crosses from the by-line always seem to swing out of play), but new animations, tweaks to ball movement and a faster pace mean that World Cup is distinct from FIFA 10 without abandoning its best features. The referees have also calmed down, rarely blowing for harmless shoulder barges as they did in FIFA 10. Passing may prove divisive - there seems to be more "error" than before - but then aerial passing is now a practical aspect of attack, which is welcome. Goalkeepers stand their ground rather than charging suicidally out of goal, and there are myriad interesting deflections to contend with, so it's harder to pass your way through midfield. Most importantly, it tweaks things on the pitch. As a World Cup game, it's defined to some extent by what it doesn't have (300 domestic clubs, most obviously), but EA Sports has compensated by drawing up several interesting and varied game modes, and uses the legendary status of World Cup shoot-outs as an excuse to rethink penalties. EA Sports' FIFA games are the best football titles out there at the moment, but with updates already arriving annually, spin-off games specific to international tournaments are a bit like the Premier League's aborted "39th game" plan - an idea that seems to suit the stakeholders primarily, with only token concern for the fans.Ģ010 FIFA World Cup South Africa hopes to change that. The World Cup may only come around once every four years, but when it comes to the associated videogame there's usually a sense of over-familiarity.