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FIFA World Cup 2006 Germany |
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Written by Ben Hartland
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Sunday, 11 June 2006 |
EA fans are being “treated” with not one but two FIFA games for this years update. Football (soccer) fever has hit everyone yet again so EA have released another Fifa game just in the time for the world cup. What is different in this version?
EA’s style of realism is clearly here just like any other FIFA game. Official rights of the kits, teams, locations and poor representation of all the players are back. The visuals are acceptable however the majority of the time I can find the character models close up to be ‘blocky’ in places. The cowards are also still in 2-D which is also disappointing as developers are perfectly capable of getting more out of the current generation. The franchise mode from FIFA 06, which saw the player being able to not only just play the matches but manage the teams, that aspect of 06 has been just discarded for 2006 Germany which is a shame because it gave you more to do and added a strategic side to the game. Now the game is just matches which are never FIFA’s strong point. World cup mode is where you work your way through the world cup and like any career mode in other football games you need to work your way to the final. This mode is the main reason for this edition of FIFA being released, there is plenty of matches to play through which gives more for you to do on your own.  Speaking of playing on your own there is also global challenge mode. Which is basically a mission or challenge mode with set matches for example, you will play as the England team and your opposition is Germany. England is losing 1-0, so your goal is to score a goal to equalise with Germany within the 15 minutes time limit. Your rewards for playing the game will earn points to spend in the shop for stuff like ‘classic players’, boots, footballs, ‘classic kits’ and AI options…… this part of the game is typical EA style because the games focus just as much on how your player looks which is fine. However games that require you to BUY higher difficulties don’t give you the same feel as actually progressing through the difficulties yourself and playing through the gradually. The gameplay mechanics will feel similar to anyone who has played a FIFA game before in fact… it’s the same. Passing between players can still have you passing between players and then suddenly your player passes to no one or even worse the opposition. The controls are simplistic but don’t feel like football, but a football game. Getting online will be simple for anyone who has signed up with an EA game before. If not you is either going to have to pay, or provide your e-mail address to get plenty of spam in your inbox! Once you’re past this step, you go into a lobby to look for other players of a similar skill level. However there aren’t enough players for this system to work properly so it’s advised to just go into rooms with the most players. Online suffers from the same occasional lag that you’ll experience in the game you wont notice any change. At the end of the day, this is another FIFA game and another ok but not great game. Football fans will appreciate how it looks. However gamers will get frustrated by poor controls that aren’t realistic. If you want a game to play will waiting for matches this summer, grab a Playstation 2, find a second hand copy of pro evolution soccer 5 and enjoy real football. Score: 5.8/10 |
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