FIFA 06: Road to the FIFA World Cup

The shining spot for Fifa ‘06 for the Xbox 360 is very easy to spot, that diamond in the rough is the graphics. On first glance this game will look like any other game in the Fifa series, with its overhead camera and long view perspective. Yes the game does look much better from this view, but it really is hard to get the whole picture of how great this game looks from this angle. Once the camera cuts in for a close up shot of a celebration or a mean slide tackle that results in the opposing player flying ten feet through the air before slamming into the wet grass, causing dew and mud to fly up off the ground, you really get the feeling that this game belongs on a next generation system such as the Xbox 360, at least in terms of looks.

As far as detail goes this game takes the cake for me so far in how extensively game developers have gotten into putting as much detail as possible into the real world as the hardware can humanly handle. The stadiums are rendered beautifully and the crowd is what we have come to expect in next-gen crowds – it’s OK I guess.

The player models are very well done, taking a cue from the likes of NBA Live and Madden, they are realistic looking and having been to Europe myself, do a good job of portraying what 90% of the soccer players out there look like. The Germans look very German and the Africa teams look very, well African. Only the hair of the player models is iffy, and I think EA may have rushed this game to launch and not spent nearly the time they should have on the hair of these players. I have one word for you if you want to see what the 360 is capable of at this stage of the overall game, grass. Not the kind you can smoke, but the kind you can stand on and mow. The grass in Fifa '06 is easily the best looking grass playing field we have seen in any game to date and may not be surpassed until Fifa '07; hear that Konami, I am calling you out! Long story short, the graphics for Fifa ‘06 are the one positive thing this game has going for it, job well done visually.

The audio is a plus for Fifa ‘06 as well, if it can be called that. What I mean is that the grunts sound like grunts, kicking the ball sounds just like what kicking a ball would sound like, and the crowd is loud and annoying; just like in real life. They scream and yell and have custom chants that are unique to some teams which is nice, it brings you into the game and creates a sense of camaraderie which consequently makes you care whether you win or lose. Only if the gameplay didn’t stop you from having any control over the “win” factor… The music is mundane but fits the genre of the game and is easily replaced with your own custom soundtrack thanks to the Xbox 360’s networking and hard-drive capabilities. There is not really much to say about the sound of Fifa ‘06 except that they did a good job, as good as is possible for this sport in a videogame.

Final Word

All in all the single word to sum up the first soccer game on the Xbox 360, Fifa '06 is “blah”. It gets the job done in terms of visuals and audio, you just cannot beat that grass hands down. But the gameplay and lackluster features will drag this game through the dirt and back, unless you are a hardcore Fifa fan pick this up at the local rental store just to see the grass and take out a few Frenchman just for kicks. Wait for Fifa ‘07 to come out, I have a feeling that one will be much more featured and have the finished feeling that we have come to know from the Madden titles.