2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Review (X360)

On additional note on game modes is that in addition to normal online games on Xbox Live, you can also participate in the Online World Cup. Here you choose a country to represent (but are free to actually play as any team you want) and then play random matches against people in a tournament to earn points for your chosen country. It is all well and good, except for a few problems. Since you can play as any team you want, people only ever choose the same handful of teams (Brazil, England, Italy, France, Spain) so it loses its luster fairly quickly. The idea behind the mode is to use lesser teams in order to earn more points for your country, but when you are playing as a half star team against five star teams you don't really ever have much of a chance to actually win.

Graphically, this game is gorgeous. The stadiums look fantastic and little touches like confetti on the field, fireworks, and different fans in the crowd decked out in their nations colors really add a lot to the experience. The players look great as well with authentic kits and easily recognizable faces. Animation has always been a strong point in FIFA, and this game is no different.

The sound is also very well done. The soundtrack is the same style of World music EA usually uses in FIFA games but with an African flair. The music here really stands out and is pretty awesome all around. Commentary is provided by Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend and they do an excellent job. Part of the thrill of qualifying and the final is that their commentary is specific to whatever country you are playing as. Whether you are Brazil or Italy and are expected to win another World Cup or someone like the United States where just getting out of the first round is a big deal (just wait till you win the Cup with the U.S., things go crazy!), everything is unique for each team. The play-by-play occasionally repeats itself, but for the most part it is very well done. I also have to give a shout out to those semi-annoying horns the folks in South Africa like to use during games. The vuvuzela are present and accounted for in 2010 FIFA World Cup, which is pretty awesome.

All in all, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is a great game of soccer that does a fine job of representing the biggest sporting event in the world. It certainly looks and sounds the part of what we expect the World Cup in South Africa to be like, and the game just has a different feel than other soccer games because everything somehow feels more important. There is more urgency and excitement here. Value does come into question here as it is a full priced release despite having far less teams and features than FIFA 10 offers, but it also provides a completely different atmosphere and unique set of thrills that really do set it apart. FIFA 10 is all about club teams. This game is all about the National teams. Depending on your interest level, 2010 FIFA World Cup just might have more value for you despite the bullet points on the back of the two games not exactly matching up. I know I personally prefer the offerings here. In the end, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is an excellent game that fans of the beautiful game will definitely enjoy. I highly recommend it for a purchase.

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