FIFA 06: Road to the World Cup Review

Great graphics? Check. Missing features? Check. Higher pricetag? Check. Yep, this is an EA Sports Xbox 360 launch title. Perhaps it is the CAG in me, but I really don’t understand EA’s reasoning with their Xbox 360 launch titles. Sure, you had to rush them out for the launch, but charging more money for inferior versions of games you have already released on current gen systems just doesn’t make sense. FIFA 06 plays just fine, but at $60 it is a pretty poor value.

Gameplay

Unlike some of EA’s other launch titles, the gameplay in FIFA remains intact and is just as good as it was on the Xbox. You have precise controls and a ton of moves at your fingertips and the AI is just as tough as ever. A nice touch is that you can change formations and strategies on the fly to try and get around a tough defense which really adds a nice sense of strategy to the game and it is very satisfying when everything works out just the way you planned it. Simply put, this is a fun soccer game. For more detailed analysis of the gameplay, check out our review of FIFA 06 on the Xbox.

Features

Unfortunately, FIFA 06 on the 360 fails miserably in the features department. It carries the full title of FIFA 06: Road to the World Cup so I can understand why the focus is on international teams and the World Cup itself rather than just giving us every team and every player under the sun. If you want more teams and players, pick up FIFA 06 on the Xbox. But the problem is that this game carries a $60 price tag while the current gen version can be found for less than $50 and has a whole lot more features. The value just isn’t here.

Instead what you get is a friendly match mode, tournament, practice, and the Road to the World Cup where you play through qualifying rounds and eventually the World Cup itself. There is a bare bones online mode available as well and while it functions just fine it isn’t anything to brag about. The most impressive feature of the game is that you can kick the ball around on the menu screens and while the game loads.

Graphics and Sound

You can’t deny that FIFA 06: Road to the World Cup looks like a next-gen title, though, and it is clear that most of the time and attention of the developers went towards the graphics. The stadiums and crowds look amazing. The grass is very defined and realistic looking. And the players are ridiculously detailed and have been given tons of new animations that really bring the game to life. This game looks great.

The sound is also very good. Martin Tyler and Andy Gray provide the commentary and they do a great job of providing interesting information while still keeping up with the action. The great globe trotting soundtrack is back for this version of the game as well.

Bottom Line

Ultimately, it all comes down to value and FIFA 06: Road to the World Cup just doesn’t offer enough stuff to make it worth buying. At $30, this game would be highly recommended. But at a full $60, it just isn’t worth it. The gameplay is solid and it looks gorgeous, but you only get a handful of stripped down modes and a tiny fraction of the teams and players available in the current-gen versions of FIFA 06. Rent it if you are dying to see David Beckham in all of his next-gen glory, but don’t buy it.