Game Reviews

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

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2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

Every time England flounces out of the World Cup or Euros at the knock-out stage, the press back at home say the same old thing – we play too many games.

The argument is that Gerrard, Lampard, and co. get a wee bit tired from running about for 90 minutes once, or sometimes even twice, a week. So tired, that they can't help but think of the relaxing summer holidays they could be having if only they weren't having to kick a ball about in some foreign country.

As you might be able to tell, I've never really subscribed to this view, but in terms of FIFA it may well have some substance.

EA was never going to let this World Cup pass by without an official game on every format under the sun. But with the publisher's mobile efforts arguably only just beginning to find their feet, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (yes, that is the full title) may well have come along just a little (though unavoidably) too soon.

Spot the difference

That's because, while this is still very much FIFA – in fact, anyone watching over your shoulder would be hard pressed to spot the difference between this and the last outing, which came along only half a year ago – the changes that have been put in place have muddled with a set-up that wasn't exactly on totally solid ground in the first place.

All the options you might expect are here, at least at a cursory level. You can play a quick friendly, or indulge in something with a little more length - both the tournament itself and the qualification stages are up for grabs.

However, when it comes to the latter, the full run-through is strangely absent. Rather than playing both home and away, each team is only played once, making the whole thing a short and especially unrealistic experience.

On the positive side, there's a new Free Kick Challenge mode aimed specifically at the sort of casual fans who only really get interested in footy around World Cup time. This mode places you in a series of increasingly demanding free kick situations, and asks you to score a certain number within 30 seconds.

It's a promising idea, but the implementation of the 30 second timer seems a little harsh and unnecessary. Things get tough enough with the introduction of opposing walls and awkward shooting positions, so a system that rewards swiftly taken kicks rather than penalising slow ones might have been a better solution.

Unlucky strike

But it's on the field itself where 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa runs into most trouble. The basic controls are straightforward enough, with '5' passing the ball when in possession, '0' shooting when in range, and the same two buttons handling tackling when off the ball, but the run of play has been altered.

It seems much harder to pass your way through than in the standard game – many chances actually coming from gaps opening up in the defence due to some rather rudimentary AI - and the offside rule seems to have been dealt with in a rather dodgy fashion, some clear offsides slipping under the radar.

Indeed, some of the best goals come from simply lumping the ball up to the front and smashing it in, the question of whether the player is onside or not seemingly cast aside.

Lacking match fitness

Tackles, too, are pot luck. Those made within the box seem to result in a penalty almost every time, while 90 per cent of those made in general play – whether reckless or made from behind – fail to trouble the referee.

Finally, the game suffered from slowdown on our Sony Ericsson C510 when the players got packed together.

All these elements combine to result in a game that surely resembles the forthcoming FIFA 11 in some kind of beta testing stage. It feels very much like the development team tossed a few ideas into the pot and tried them out on the old engine before running out of time and having to ship the game early. As such, it's not exactly a compelling purchase.

Sad to say, EA would do well to retract the changes its made here – FIFA was far closer to football perfection the last time around.

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

A step back from the franchise's previous outing, the appearance of the national teams isn't enough to save 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa from being something of a stunted attempt to upgrade play
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Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.