Game review: 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa - PlayStation 3 (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Game review: 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa - PlayStation 3

3:43pm Tuesday 27th April 2010

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Electronic Arts produced its first football game in the long-running Fifa series in 1993.

Back then Graham Taylor was national team boss and England were in the middle of dismally failing to qualify for the USA World Cup.

It was a very long time ago in football terms.

It was also an age ago in the development of football video games when you consider how far things have come from the days of the Sega Mega Drive to today’s PlayStation 3.

Throughout this time EA Sports has year after year produced increasingly high-quality football titles.

Given this pedigree stretching almost two decades, it’s no wonder the king of sports games has done such a fantastic job on its 2010 Fifa World Cup release.

In short, the official companion game to the forthcoming South Africa tournament is the most advanced and realistic football simulation yet seen.

Walk into the room while someone has the game on, glance at the TV and you may mistakenly believe you are watching an actual football match – this game is just that lifelike.

Coming out six months after Fifa 10, this is not really a sequel but more of a spin-off with a stronger international flavour than the main game. It also provides a clear indication of what fans might expect from Fifa 11 later this year.

Armchair players won’t spot any huge differences from Fifa 10 to 2010 World Cup, but subtle upgrades enhance the footballing experience to new levels.

In-game player likenesses have never been so accurate. Player models of Rooney, Terry et al are very authentic, although Peter Crouch looks oddly ginger. Managers make it into the game too during cutscenes when the ball is out of play, and Fabio Capello is very recognisable, albeit perhaps younger and fresher looking than his real-life self.

On the pitch it’s the players’ movements and actions which give the game such believable style.

The play always looks credible and slick, with everything you’d expect in a proper football match, including tackles, crosses, flicks and deflections.

Players are neither too lightweight not too lumpy. They are suitably sturdy, while moving freely and smoothly around. Animations are top-notch.

Individual players’ height and speed has been captured very nicely and performances are generally faithful to true life, although Emile Heskey has been turned into something of a goal machine.

They may seem like very minor points but the fantastic pitch textures and the way the ball pings about so reliably really add to the game’s credibility.

In keeping with the setting for this summer’s World Cup, the game has a great African vibe to it. Everything from the music between matches to the menu screens is nicely themed. As usual with EA games, overall presentation is highly polished, although this one packs extra colour and flair.

For the football, an excellent job has been done of conveying that big tournament carnival atmosphere.

Confetti, streamers and pyrotechnics help build up the excitement in the stadiums which all look superb.

Sound in the game is first class, which helps crank up the realism. There are some great crowd effects, and even the commentary isn’t too nails-down-a-blackboard like it can be in Fifa games. Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend do a decent job, although I doubt Townsend would be anyone’s first choice for co-commentator in the game.

The game includes all 199 nations which entered the 2010 World Cup.

England will be most people’s choice to play as but if you fancy trying your luck as Burkina Faso or Tajikistan then go for it.

Once the game loads up you can jump straight into a quick match, picking two teams then choosing your half length, kits, stadium, ball and other settings. There are a raft of customisation options throughout the game.

If you’re in for the long haul you can set off on an entire World Cup journey, playing through the qualifying rounds before hopefully getting to the finals in South Africa.

If you want to speed things up you can jump straight to the final stages.

The Captain Your Country mode is similar to the Be A Pro mode from previous EA Fifa titles. This flips the game on its head by giving you control of just one player during matches instead of the whole team.

One of highlights in 2010 Fifa World Cup is the new Story of Qualifying mode. This sets up various scenarios from the actual qualifying campaign and allows you to play through the remaining minutes of the matches, seeing if you can rewrite history by changing the eventual results. It includes England’s away win against Croatia and Ireland's infamous play-off defeat to France.

There are also online modes if you want to test your skills in internet multiplayer action.

Overall, 2010 Fifa World Cup is the real deal. It’s the Lionel Messi of football sims – a multitalented superstar at the top of its game. It’s a football game of true international class.

While it’s an easy game to recommend, owners of Fifa 10 will have to ask themselves whether some extra bells and whistles along with the World Cup theme are worth paying for.

If you don’t own Fifa 10 you’ll need to decide how much you want this World Cup game. It’s going to have a short shelf life as it will start to feel out-of-date as soon as the tournament finishes in July. Plus it’s likely to be surpassed by Fifa 11 when that comes along in a few months.

Even with these notes of caution, I’d still say 2010 Fifa World Cup is an unmissable game for football fans.

It’s your chance to enjoy some fantasy football, scoring the winning World Cup goal for England, ending 44 years of hurt – before it all inevitably goes wrong in the real thing this summer.

Verdict: 9 out of 10 – Truly sexy football – the beautiful game has never before looked or played so well in video game form as it does in 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa.

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