The FIFA series has made some great leaps over the last few years, especially with the outstanding FIFA Soccer 2010. 2010 FIFA World Cup has some tweaks as well as a few shortcomings when compared to FIFA 2010, but it still remains a standout title for the football fans. Every aspect of the game is focused on the upcoming World Cup, from the slick menus to the crazed fans as well as the ability to take any of the 199 teams to victory. If you want to get straight down to business, you can start off right in the World Cup, or if you want to simulate the qualifying matches that lead to the Cup, go right ahead. There’s something satisfying about playing through the qualifying matches that lead up to the trip to South Africa, but it unfortunately feels just like a string of matches, lacking tourneys and any real sort of life. It’s still a fun piece taking your team through the ranks, but up until the actual World Cup matches, it lacks excitement. Another downfall of the experience is the Captain Your Country mode which replaces the Be a Pro mode from the previous years of FIFA.
In it, you take control of a single player and lead him to be captain of your team, but it lacks the intimacy found in the Be a Pro mode as the camera is pulled out over the field instead of completely focused on your player of choice, this mode also cannot be played in the career, which draws even more form its initial appeal. Captain Your Country isn’t a failure by any means, it just doesn’t come close to the strongly implemented Be a Pro mode in previous years. The gameplay aspects are all mostly fine-tuned from FIFA 2010 including a tweak on the Penalty Kick system that makes penalties less of a guessing game and more of an even match. Given more options and knowing how to fully control PK situations makes it players feel more comfortable when one of these game changing situations arises. As mentioned previously, the game is all about the process of obtaining the coveted World Cup but it feels more so a yearly FIFA game than a gamer that is fully centered on the Cup. Also, the game lacks much of the customization present in previous FIFA titles mainly noticeable with the gameplay sliders.
The lack of this customization is only sometimes noticeable thanks to the strong AI and excellent controls. On the topic of controls, a two-button control scheme has been added to the options, opening up the game even further for casual players to join in. It wasn’t my forte, but it definitely opens up the game for those who may not indulge in football games. Digging even deeper into the game, there is some robust multiplayer options with the addition of the Battle of Nations online mode. Battle of Nations allows players to choose a team to play online in a simulated World Cup. Victories will be tallied for each team, so you and other players on Live who select the same team will push that specific team to the top or bottom of the leaderboard. The lesser known team will net you more points if you lead them to a win, which ushers players to go out of their comfort zone and back an underdog team while playing online. You also have the options to play your typical ranked matches and such, which work just as well as ever.
The game looks just as great, if not a tad bit better than FIFA 2010 with only a few minor hiccups such as a dropped framerate here and there as well as a few load times that are randomly thrown in when zooming in on specific fans or people on the sidelines. The presentation found throughout however is typically excellent, with great intros to be found with each game, rabid fans sporting their colors and a pair of announcers that are actually interesting to listen to as opposed to the typical, drab announcing. 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is a great addition to the series, and while it doesn’t quite take any leaps or bounds ahead of the previous year of FIFA it is entertaining nonetheless. While the World Cup is mostly well represented here, the lack of life within the qualifying matches and the shallow customization keep the game from being outstanding. However, if you are itching for more FIFA I can’t really think of a reason to miss out on this one, it’s got the great gameplay innovations from FIFA 2010 and should keep rabid fans busy until FIFA Soccer 2011.
