Dissection: FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa

For a long time the problem with World Cup-themed games was that were pretty much FIFA with a different coat of paint and with no club sides. I’ve often thought that what these games should be are outlets for EA’s creativity and a chance to experiment with the structure of FIFA. With FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa, they seem to be on the right track.

The first thing you’ll notice is that there is a new coat of paint – and boy does it look glorious. World Cup 2010 is brimming with colour from the menus to the pre-game streamers that stay on the pitch, every real-life stadium is reproduced with relative accuracy and they’ve even gone to the trouble of enlisting Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend – who will be covering the cup in real life – to provide commentary.


Not content to just showcase the top 30 nations, World Cup 2010 gives the spotlight to many of the “lesser” countries – you can read their international stats, listen to national anthems and learn trivia in loading screens. It’s a great inclusive and festive feel which is what the World Cup is all about.

The Story of Qualifying and Captain Your Country modes have returned from Euro 2008 but with some streamlining. Story of Qualifying seems to be less about using a minnow to beat a powerhouse and more about replicating history, while the AI in Captain Your Country – where you control only your created player - is much improved from Euro 08’. No more will you watch helplessly as you concede goal after goal thanks to brain-dead defenders.


This isn’t just about local play either as EA have made some interesting changes to it’s online features to fit in with the World Cup format. The FIFA Online World Cup has players choosing their country and competing against others to earn points for the overall world leader board.There’s a great incentive to use weaker sides like Luxembourg as wins earn you more points than if you were using a top side like Italy or France. Even regular ranked matches are now played for points, with three for a win and one for a draw. Earning enough promotes the player up a division, which I found to be a neat way of ranking players.

By now I’m sure people reading this would be asking themselves why I’m halfway through the review and haven’t mentioned a single thing about how it actually plays. Well, truth be told there really isn’t much difference from FIFA 10 beyond a few tweaks – you can still play the same style of game and do fine.


Beyond making chip and finesse shots more difficult (they were too easy in FIFA 10), penalties have been given an overhaul. Instead of just aiming and shooting, you have to line up your composure bar and then time your directional push. It takes getting used to but it’s a welcome change to the pot-luck systems of past FIFA titles. The game seems to have aimed for the casual crowd, with EA implementing the two button control scheme seen in the Wii version where you only control passing and shooting.

Graphically, you’d be hard-pressed to see a difference from FIFA 10 beyond the colour palette. More cinematic celebrations are nice, but the all too constant FMV cut to a teams coach gesticulating can begin to grate – especially while playing online.

One interesting feature not seen in any football game to date is the effects of altitude. In World Cup 2010, every stadium has a different altitude just like the real world. While it won’t show you the oxygen increasing in the players blood cells, what it does do is alter the way the ball moves in the air. In some stadiums the ball will hold up in the air a bit more and in others it will be quicker. It’s a novel addition that doesn’t affect the game as much as you’d think – but it’s something I’d like to see fleshed out further in future FIFA titles along with pitch deformation.


A big thing that holds back World Cup 2010 is it’s lack of things to do. There’s not much you can do about the lack of club sides, but the reality is that EA have invested a large amount of time into the online modes – some of which are time sensitive in relation to the real-life World Cup and when it ends, they become defunct - with only some new scenarios during the World Cup to keep players busy. There is also a lack of extras – where are the classic World Cup winning sides to play as? Why isn’t there a library of videos to watch from past tournaments? Additions like these would have made for a more well-rounded package. Thankfully, the game is not full-priced.

So whether World Cup 2010 is a must buy comes down to the fact of how much you love football – if you’re counting down the days to June 11th (like me) or you want to finally play as Benin to honour your background then by all means this is for you. But if you already own FIFA 10 and only play the occasional match then you won’t quite be swayed by the alterations made to the game and ultimately I’d struggle to recommend it to you.


What they got right –

Technocolour Dreamteam: World Cup 2010 is an immensely vibrant game, with a colour palette tthat captures the festivity of the world games big event.

Don’t forget the little guy: Every team that participated in World Cup qualification is here along with their national anthems and a variety of trivia.

Voices in our heads: Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend do a great job providing commentary every match – a great palette cleanser after hearing the same commentators month after month in FIFA 10.

Feeling Dizzy?: While the implementation of altitude doesn’t change the game, it is an encouraging sign that EA are trying new things.

We’re all in this together: The Online World Cup mode allows people to band together to have their nation top the leader boards.


What they got wrong –

What to do: The unavoidable lack of club teams leaves with less options than usual and the online modes are only useful until the World Cup is played.

Not a pretty face: As hilarious as it is to see Raymond Domenech squirm on the side line in real life, there’s no need to see it constantly pop up here.