As I mentioned in my last post, the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (yes, that’s the full title) demo came out last week on Xbox Live and PSN. After a solid few matches I have to say I’m impressed but not quite as impressed as I’d have hoped to have been – even if this is an incremental upgrade and not FIFA 11.
The demo lets you play a 4 minute `Group Stage’ match between Italy and Spain in Durban. Right off the bat the expected EA Sports flash and fanfare is present but again it’s the little details (or lack thereof) that make the difference. The stadium looks fantastic, the confetti looks great, but why would the World Cup trophy itself be pitch-side before a group match? Likewise, even though they’ve been slightly modified, the substitution animations/sequences are still utter crap. The goal celebration sequences are also still completely inconsistent with what happened just before the ball went in – if you score, run to the touchline and skip the user-controlled celebration; the cut-scene may show you standing still in the 18 yard box celebrating.
The better the graphics become, the more jarring the lack of consistency and little details and becomes. Fortunately/Unfortunately, those graphics are very good. It may be my imagination but the faces in World Cup appear improved from FIFA 10 and very close to the awesome faces in PES 2010. There also appear to be a few new animations – I saw a Torres scuffed shot that looked great.
On the pitch the game definitely seems a tad faster – not something I’m a big fan of but definitely not a game breaker. Control and responsiveness are both tightened up and players bring the ball down a lot quicker. Shooting also seems a bit improved and you can fire low and hard shots more frequently. Crosses are still a bit ‘floaty’ like in FIFA 10 but obviously not as bad as those in FIFA 09 and 08. The game still allows you to bypass midfield a bit too easy and it can often become end to end unless you make a conscious effort to hold on to the ball.
Overall, I enjoyed the demo and looking forward to some of the other features they’ve listed for the final game. According to the demo the final build will have 199 National Teams and full Qualifying. One of my favourite modes from the last World Cup game – the Scenario Mode is back with real-life scenarios from qualifying for South Africa 2010 and also scenarios from the 2006 Finals. EA Sports also state that the game will have a ‘free live service [that] will deliver new scenarios during the 2010 FIFA World Cup’. The Captain Your Country mode (Be A Pro/Be A Legend) present in Euro 2008 is also back and there will be an online World Cup.
It’s a lot of features and some minor gameplay tweaks – is it worth $60 ($70 in Canada....even though the dollar is on par......)? Well, that’s a good question. Since 2010 World Cup provides many teams, game modes, stadiums and some (minor) gameplay tweaks I’m not too fussed to pay full price for it but I can definitely see why some would be upset at the pricing.
The game comes out April 27th and I’ll be posting day one impressions.....or at least trying to! ;)
Lavan
Monday, April 12, 2010
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