FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 – Review

Another FIFA game, you say? How many do we need, you cry? Well “yes,” and “I’m not sure!” would be the answers I’d table. It seems like many developers these days will take any opportunity to bring out yet another game in a successful franchise. And why not? If gamers are continually buying them then the problem lies with easily placated consumers rather than those publishers that produce their line-ups based upon prior sales.

2006 FIFA World Cup is the official game of the upcoming football tournament and, unsurprisingly, sees you control your chosen team toward the attainment of the legendary World Cup, one of football’s biggest and most desired trophies. If you’re a FIFA fan of old, you’ll find yourself down on the pitch with the minimum of required practice, because very little has changed. The practice sections of the game are eerie due to the obvious lack of crowd noise, as only a coach and other players coax you on within a surrounding empty stadium. The screen is set up in the now usual manner, with the angled down view of the pitch only skewed at the bottom by left and right team names either side of a mini-pitch radar view. Controls are fairly fluid, but you will have to work hard for those all-important goals. The game modes include Global Challenge, Penalty Shootout (which appears to have been tweaked slightly, if I’m not mistaken) and Practice as well as the actual World Cup. You can play a half-length game, adjust the game speed, and select your difficulty from four possible levels. Overall, it’s very much the same old gameplay but a little more tweaked and beautiful than before. There is also a lot more depth to it than in previous editions, so it’s fun to play—even if your own national team didn’t qualify (ahem, Scotland).

The graphics in 2006 FIFA World Cup are extremely well done, and everything is very crisp and clear. Gone are the ghouls of the previous FIFA title on the Xbox 360 (FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup). The zoom-in from orbit all the way to the stadium is a joy to behold and a very sweet visual addition. Player character models are extremely well produced and animation is also of a high standard, with the players moving in a thoroughly realistic manner. The stadium crowd is made up of the usual generically repetitious spectators randomly waving cloned flags, though this is rarely noticed during gameplay situations. Substitutions and other close-up cut scenes are nicely animated, with the imposed background blur giving it a touch of TV realism, and stadiums are all really well re-created. Though I’m just not sure that Michael Owen looks anything like he does in this particular game—and neither does Marvin Andrews. Oh, well.

The sound in 2006 FIFA World Cup is a strange thing. The music will probably come as quite a shock to some gamers since it contains a number of Latino-styled, Caribbean, and neo rock tunes—which have seemingly re-emerged over this last year or so. In-game sound consists of the usual spoken commentary, which eventually repeats across different games, and at times it doesn’t really mesh with what’s actually occurring during the course of a single game. The crowd noise certainly adds to the atmosphere and doesn’t seem as loop-recorded as with some other FIFA titles, though it does occasionally dip in and out, which makes it seem a little less realistic. You will also get really bored of listening to the commentary and, personally, sometimes I just wanted to switch it off completely.

When it comes to females and football, there’s really no point in even mentioning it in the gaming world. I’d ask Mia Hamm or Birgit Prince (star players from the female game) to go kick the developers in the shins for me—but it’d be a shameful waste of their considerable abilities. Suffice to say, there are no playable female teams in 2006 FIFA World Cup. Is this ‘still’ annoying? Well, yeah, a little. Just once it would be nice to play in an all-female team, but it’s highly unlikely to ever happen, which is just a sad state of play in the world of game development and the larger realm of professional sports. Though clearly understandable in this particular instance, given that this game is based on the actual World Cup, chances are we won’t see a FIFA Women’s World Cup game, which, for those interested, is taking place next year (2007) and will be held in China with 16 competing nations.

If it’s innovation you’re after, 2006 FIFA World Cup probably isn’t going to be the game for you; though it could be argued there is only so much to be achieved with a standard football title. Although 2006 FIFA World Cup feels as though it plays better than the previous offering on the Xbox 360, it’s still a FIFA game and therefore quite similar to its predecessors in many ways—especially in terms of looks and gameplay. Player A.I. also seems to have improved since the previous title, which is a welcome addition, though it still isn’t without a few problems. It does feel like there’s more to master this time around and the responsiveness feels better too, so there’s more impetus to actually continue playing. All-in-all, 2006 FIFA World Cup is a good enough football game that is certainly fun to play with your mates. There’s plenty on offer here to keep you interested until the actual World Cup begins in June.

Review by Tracy

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