Review: 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

By Shane Willoughby of thegamingliberty.com

It’s incredibly difficult for any Irishman to talk about the forthcoming World Cup in South Africa without making reference, in some way, to Thierry Henry and the night he infamously broke our hearts with his big cheating hand!

So while he jets off to South Africa with the hope that he might get his grubby guilt-ridden digits all over another World Cup trophy, the best that we Irish can hope for is getting our mitts on a remote control so we can change over to Sky Sports HD to watch the tournament with our mates. It’s not exactly the same as actually being there but hey, it will have to do for now. There’s always 2014 right? So if Ireland’s world cup story has been defined by ‘hands’ up to this point, we suggest that you should put a controller in between them and play 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa because it’s an excellent play.

EA have been cashing in on tournaments for well over a decade now, since World Cup 1998 in fact, but have never really provided a game that is appropriately worthy of the tournament it is attempting to portray and capture on your home console. The plethora of World Cup and European Championship themed titles that EA have released to coincide with each respective tournament have always been more flash than substance, a kind of unassuming cash in to bulk up some development funds for their annual stalwart autumn FIFA release perhaps? But as we know, the entire FIFA franchise has reformed itself in the last couple of additions and is once again the industry’s leading football simulator.

As Konami’s Pro Evolution franchise continues to underwhelm this generation, FIFA changed tact and capitalised on its dwindling rival and in FIFA 10 EA produced arguably the greatest football game of all time. FIFA World Cup 2010 inherits the bulk of FIFA 10’s comprehensive stylised gameplay and aesthetical tweaks as well as implementing a couple of interesting changes that gives us, you would think, an insight into what we can expect from FIFA 2011. But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t FIFA 10.5, but instead is an appropriately meritable game of its own devices that perfectly encapsulates all the magic of the World Cup.

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa perfects FIFA 10’s gameplay to the point that it deserves to be treated as a standalone title and not just a kind of FIFA 10 special edition revamp with a World Cup logo slapped on the side to justify a €50 purchase. The game’s core gameplay principles generally feel tighter and probably play better than FIFA 10. Sure, the difference isn’t THAT tangible but it’s there all the same. Passing, dribbling and shooting have been spliced with a little something extra nice this time out and it makes for a much more durable, sustainable and fluid game. General player movement is ‘as you were’ from FIFA 10 but ultimately complements the added fluidity and authenticity of the piece. Free kicks and penalties have been reworked to great effect.

It’s a kaleidoscopic simmering indulgence of colour and culture and a great advert for the tournament. This is a football game made for the fans.

The game boasts an impressive roster of intuitive and varied gameplay modes, all of which provide a genuinely objective football experience that’s lined with as much drama, upset, passion and glory as you have come to expect of the game we all love to love.  “Story of Qualifying” has to the be the stand out mode and allows you to actually trawl back through the qualifying group stages and seek redemption for all the last minute equalisers and hand balls that ultimately probably cost your country a place in the finals in South Africa.

If you enjoyed FIFA’s 10 ‘Be A Pro’ mode then ‘Captain Your Country’ allows you make your solo playing experience a fight to earn the right to get the captain’s armband of your respective nation. Speaking of nations, there are 199 international countries included in the game, all of whom appear to be gloriously and painstakingly recreated, from each player’s boots and kits to their haircuts – nothing was pushed under the rug by the game’s developers.

Aesthetically the game just shines. It’s a kaleidoscopic simmering indulgence of colour and culture and a great advert for the tournament. This is a football game made for the fans, and it never feels like a commissioned work to complement the tournament. Even if it came packaged without its allegiance to the 2010 World Cup, the game would still stand out.

And even after all this, there’s a world of infinite matchmaking to be found in the game’s comprehensive online modes. Sure, lag is an issue at times (particularly in 2010 FIFA World Cup Online) but you can’t hold that against the game that much because lag and football games seem to go hand in hand. No one has perfectly ‘figured it out’ yet.

EA’s 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa should be a mandatory companion to this summer’s tournament, as mandatory as a cold tallboy at half time, and the plethora of boos and hisses that better accompany Mr. Va Va Voom every time he kicks the ball for the French. More than just FIFA 10 with ‘World Cup’ plastered all over it, World Cup 2010 is an excellent football game in its own right that you will continue to pick up and play even after the tournament ends and we have to go back to our normal lives.

Format: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, PSP, iPhone OS

TheGamingLiberty.com is Ireland’s Premier Videogame Website.

 

 

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