I had intended that I would just give my 360 games one more little play before boxing them up to sell. I assumed that, as with 2006, I'd probably play this version of FIFA a couple of times before moving on, but instead I have been playing it for months.
The game, rather unsurprisingly, offers you the chance to replay the tournament from a decade ago and live it out as you would have liked, or even go back to the qualification years and bring a different team to the tournament. This game debuted (in this W.C format) the be-the-pro option, renamed as "Captain Your Country", allowing to take an individual player from selection, right up to lifting the trophy.
I shifted to playing this from Fifa '18 and despite being recognisable, it's a starkly different game. Even on the easiest setting, it wasn't an easy game to get to grips with. There didn't seem to be any obvious tricks, such as overpowered volleys, or spamming the through ball button to regularly score or create chances - so it was in that sense, much more realistic. Working down the wings and crossing seemed to be profitable, but not with every team I played as, again - realism. Heavy touches, weight to the players, a lucky bobble of the ball, were all things that contributed to the feeling that this was a genuine simulation.
Graphically, the game is really starting to get there in this version. Players are recognisable on the pitch, not just in the cut scenes. There are cut scenes for the managers, although there's only really the one bent knees (ah that was close) reaction animation. The sound quickly becomes as grating as ever and there's nothing particularly memorable in the tunes selected to provide the South African ambiance.
I honestly couldn't have predicted just how much time I'd spend with a ten year old version of a game released every year, but I really enjoyed revisiting it, and was - in a way - sad for how obsessed with speed and goals that Fifa would become.
The game, rather unsurprisingly, offers you the chance to replay the tournament from a decade ago and live it out as you would have liked, or even go back to the qualification years and bring a different team to the tournament. This game debuted (in this W.C format) the be-the-pro option, renamed as "Captain Your Country", allowing to take an individual player from selection, right up to lifting the trophy.
I shifted to playing this from Fifa '18 and despite being recognisable, it's a starkly different game. Even on the easiest setting, it wasn't an easy game to get to grips with. There didn't seem to be any obvious tricks, such as overpowered volleys, or spamming the through ball button to regularly score or create chances - so it was in that sense, much more realistic. Working down the wings and crossing seemed to be profitable, but not with every team I played as, again - realism. Heavy touches, weight to the players, a lucky bobble of the ball, were all things that contributed to the feeling that this was a genuine simulation.
Graphically, the game is really starting to get there in this version. Players are recognisable on the pitch, not just in the cut scenes. There are cut scenes for the managers, although there's only really the one bent knees (ah that was close) reaction animation. The sound quickly becomes as grating as ever and there's nothing particularly memorable in the tunes selected to provide the South African ambiance.
I honestly couldn't have predicted just how much time I'd spend with a ten year old version of a game released every year, but I really enjoyed revisiting it, and was - in a way - sad for how obsessed with speed and goals that Fifa would become.
