TheFamilyGuy 04-25-2006, 04:35 PM

Rating: ()

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: EA Canada

Decription:
Soccer fans worldwide can now take part in the excitement that is 2006 FIFA World Cup™, the only official videogame of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Immerse yourself in the world’s greatest sports tournament as you lead your nation from the qualification rounds all the way to the World Cup Finals in Germany to lift the World Cup trophy. You’ll experience a full range of emotions along the way—from the elation of beating rival nations to the despair of having your World Cup dreams shattered in a crucial penalty shootout. This is your ticket to all the pageantry and passion of the greatest show on Earth. (description from Ebgames.com)


The Critics


90- GamePro
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"2006 FIFA World Cup isn't just flash without substance, as the gameplay cleverly combines enough depth to satisfy hardcore fans while balancing the action to allow anyone to pick up and play, even if you don't know anything about soccer. The control feels natural and responsive, but the Xbox 360 version features somewhat larger players on the feild than the PS2 - something gamers without big screens may wish to consider. Occasionally, the opposing computer controlled teams seem to organize and respond faster than your squad mates, which can be frustrating in tight matches while juggling control between a team full of players. Still, the solid gameplay and fluid control make for hours of gripe-free playing and excellent multiplayer matchups (complete with online competitions and rankings). In all, 2006 FIFA World Cup is a no brainer-buy for soccer fans and is at least worth a rental for everyone else."
» Read Full Review


84- IGN
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"2006 FIFA World Cup is a delightful celebration of the Super Bowl of soccer with the official German stadiums, all the teams you could want and a variety of game modes. It's chalk-full of World Cup atmosphere, from the roar of the crowd to a rainstorm of confetti to actual video-tours of each German stadium to 127 national anthems. Of course, the lack of a true manager mode hurts the longevity of a title that should hold value until 2008, or even beyond. But EA put together its most solid soccer gameplay experience yet and the deepest World Cup title of all time. Still, it's hard to argue that the gameplay, an obvious imitation of Winning Eleven, is better, but with star players and a nifty new shooting mechanism, it would be hard to argue it's worse. While the game is priced at a frugal $29.99 elsewhere, it's hard to justify the $59.99 price-point on the Xbox 360. But, and it might not be saying much, World Cup is still the best soccer title on the 360."
» Read Full Review


83- Teamxbox
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"Yes, 2006 FIFA World Cup is a full-price title, and yes it shares a good bit with last year’s Xbox 360 launch title, but there’s a lot of extra love coming from EA Canada. 2006 FIFA World Cup is a synergistic title that is virtually complete from stem to stern. There’s good gameplay, excellent modes, palpable pageantry, above average graphics and audio, and even sweet navigation screens. The lack of online tournaments is the biggest detriment to 2006 FIFA World Cup, especially since this is a title based on, er, a tournament. The folks at EA Canada are smart enough to figure out tourneys online, but I’m unsure of when the higher-ups will realize that this should be a default feature in next gen fare."
» Read Full Review

82- Gamespot
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"With very little in the way of competition, 2006 FIFA World Cup is undoubtedly the best football game available for the Xbox 360 at this point. Since the PS2 and Xbox games suffer from obnoxious slowdown, this game doesn't feel like a poor relation alongside its namesakes, though opting for the Xbox 360 game does mean that you'll miss out on a few features and gameplay refinements. If you're in the market for a World Cup game or simply for an Xbox 360 football game that doesn't suck, 2006 FIFA World Cup is the way to go. If you can live without all of the excellent World Cup presentation and 480p HD visuals, though, then you're still better off with last year's FIFA 06 on the PS2 or Xbox."
» Read Full Review


70- GamesRadar
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"Lastly, if you're still smarting from how Italy and Brazil went to penalty kicks in '94 or seeking revenge for the Netherlands' (or is it Holland's?) devastating 1978 loss to Argentina - and you know you are - there are 40 historical matchups to be rewound and played again, albeit with current players. Just be careful not to get a broken bottle smashed over your head if the "wrong" team loses."
» Read Full Review


60- Gamespy
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"2006 FIFA World Cup is a fun experience for single player or on-the-couch trash talking. While it's not the deepest game, it's got enough in the way of modes, including the fairly tough Global Challenge Mode, to keep players going until the next FIFA installment next fall. Also, it's not terrible for armchair multiplayer, and the now-muted visuals and excellent presentation lend themselves to the package. However, there is no way that this game can be recommended for Xbox Live. With stuttering performance, freezing screens, and five out of six attempted games dropping, it's an intolerably bad package. Players looking for a solid online game would be better suited picking up either the current-gen versions of this title and sacrificing graphics and better controls or going for the now-backwards compatible Winning Eleven 9. Either way, this game stands as a testament that the path to a truly next-generation experience isn't necessarily going to be as easy as some would have you think."
» Read Full Review


50- 1up
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"All of the things EA did right with FIFA World Cup 2006 are overshadowed by the simple truth that what should be the most fun part of the game -- having exciting scoring chances -- is completely negated by shoddy game performance near the nets."
» Read Full Review




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I am surprised that this game was given a favorable review....

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i suppose everyone must be in the world cup mood to give it favorable reviews

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The first next-gen try was horrid

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yeah it looked pretty bad to me

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