2010 FIFA world cup south africa Review

Hello and welcome to my first ever review on GSA. It is, of course, about "2010 FIFA World Cup™ South Africa" from Electronic Arts.
I shall give you an insight into what to expect if you are thinking about either buying or renting this game.
Wish me luck!


GAME MODES
With every FIFA game you have plenty of things to do both offline and online.
These range from messing about in free roam honing your skills to being a pro in the "Captain Your Country" mode. If any of you have played EA's previous football title, FIFA 10, then its very similar to that but with an international feel.
In "2010 FIFA World Cup™ South Africa" you start off as a newcomer who has caught the bosses eye and over a season you must show him you are improving.
You start out in your chosen country's second team. I'd picked England so I was playing with the likes of Carlton Cole and Gabby Agbonglahor, football players who were also pushing for a place on the first England team.
Competing against real players adds to the realism of the game. The single player mode will easily keep you going for a few months.
There is an online World Cup in which you pick a team, start in the group stages and try to beat the best Xbox Live has to offer.
There is even a scenario mode with over 50 challenges from past World Cups where you are given the chance to try and rewrite the outcome of games gone by.
I also read somewhere that EA will be keeping team and player statistics up to date during the whole 2010 tournament which can only be a good thing.




SO HOW DOES IT LOOK AND SOUND
Well with every FIFA title they seem to take things to the next level. This game is no exception.
The sound on this game is amazing - you could close your eyes and feel like you were at the World Cup in any one of the 10 officially licensed stadiums, it's that good. It really does bring the carnival atmosphere to your ears.
You'll also notice the little things, I scored with Rooney in the semi finals and a few minutes later you could hear 40 thousand fans all chanting Rooney's name. It just makes the game that much more special.
There was no real update on graphics from the past EA FIFA title but this is not a bad thing as FIFA is, at the moment, the best football title on the 360.
Saying that, it is the World Cup and everything seems a lot more colourful. Cutaways to fans decked out in your teams chosen colours once again add to the all round carnival atmosphere. All in all it looks the part.


LONGEVITY
This title will easily keep you going before and during the World Cup but as with every other cup footy release we all know where it will end up - in that big bargain basket in the sky.
But then that could be seen as a good thing - a lower price means more gamers picking it up and using it online so it wont, all of sudden, just go dead.
It's a shame these games can sometimes be looked at as a stop gap for the big footy releases as some of them are used to test out new ideas.
In this case its the new pen system. I'll be honest it's not to my taste but speaking to other gamers who have a history of playing FIFA titles they find it a lot better than the previous system, so it's each to their own I think.
And as stated earlier EA do keep all the statistics bang up to date so this will easily keep you going for a fair few months.


ACHIEVEMENTS
Out of the 44 achievements available 31 can be done offline if you want to avoid Live hooligans. There isn't a single missable achievement so many of them will just come by playing through the game. A number of the achievements can be boosted with a friend or even exploited with the help of another controller.

But don't think that this game is too easy! Only by 1) winning the entire Word Cup for 125 gamerscore points, 2) beating all 32 qualifying teams for 125 gamerscore points or by 3) being a successful captain in the Captain Campaign for 100 gamerscore points can you hope to max out this title. There are six secret achievements, one of which is viral which means you will not be able to get it unless you play online and "catch" it from someone who already has it.


FINAL THOUGHTS
I'll be honest here, this is my second draft of this review as first time round I kinda jumped the gun and slated it but after giving it a chance the bugger grew on me!
So if you love your footy and if you want England to win a World Cup, and if we are brutally honest... it's only going to happen here.
Would I pay the full asking price of £39.99? No, I probably would not.
Would I buy it if the price drops a little? You're damn right I would Mr!!!
All in all its a top notch title and if you love the World Cup as much as I do then this is a game you will want in your collection.


OVERALL VIEWS
gameplay 7.0
sound 9.0
longevity 6.0

Overall Score 8.0

Can I just say a big thank you to GSA Admin Kent Hammer who helped me out loads.
I know I was a pain in the bum pal, but thanks.
Also my thanks to Lefty for helping me turn this into a full official review.

No probs mate.

I know you gave it your best shot and that's what counts

Good review mate. May think about this one.

I moved you up into the official section now mate

Nice review mate, I have been wanting to pick this up

has anyone else tried the new scenerio mode yet?

Its great fun and challenging, seems like you have to play on legend or world class aswell.

I tried to beat Uruguay with Ghana when level in extra time, ended up winning on sudden death penalties!