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2006 FIFA World Cup
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| Price: | $28.99 |
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Product Description
Soccer fans worldwide can now take part in the excitement that is 2006 FIFA World Cup™, the only offi cial videogame of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Immerse yourself in the world’s greatest sports tournament as you lead your nation from the qualifi cation 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.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #7195 in Video Games
- Brand: Electronic Arts
- Released on: 2006-04-24
- ESRB Rating: Everyone
- Platform: Windows XP
- Format: CD-ROM
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .53" h x 5.75" w x 7.75" l, .30 pounds
Features
- Control one of the 32 teams that qualified for the World Cup finals, or one of the 95 other teams that didn't make the final cut
- Begin in a region's qualifying rounds, or jump straight to the last 32 teams using real, or randomly generated, group information
- Two dozen unlockable star players, such as David Beckham, can be inserted onto the bench of their respective national teams
- Try to match, or better, memorable team performances from World Cup history in 40 different scenarios
- Play online or get some friends over for an exciting and option-rich FIFA Lounge session
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Product Description
Do you like the idea of not just watching but actually participating in the biggest, most-followed single event in the entire world? In 2006 FIFA World Cup, you are at the center of the action with the potential of re-writing history so that your favorite team wins. With thrilling gameplay, top-notch graphics, exciting crowds, and a great set of options, 2006 FIFA World Cup will have you bouncing out of your seat in excitement.
 This game is packed with thrilling play, top-notch graphics, and exciting crowds. View larger. |
 There are two dozen famous players that can be unlocked and added to their national team's roster. View larger. |
 Every supporter in the crowd is armed with streamers, confetti, and balloons. View larger. |
2006 FIFA World Cup defaults to the semi-pro difficulty, the level at which you will probably quite handily cut through the competition's AI (artificial intelligence) like a hot knife through butter. But the World Cup mode is where most people start, and although its default settings have you assume control of one of the 32 teams that qualified for the finals, it also includes the 95 other teams that didn't make the final cut. You can now begin in the qualifying rounds in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania, or jump straight to the final 32 teams using real or randomly generated group information. If you are a veteran soccer player looking for a truly punishing challenge, the unlockable Perfect difficulty level will give you the game of your life.
The player animations in 2006 FIFA World Cup are excellent, and the controls are fully customizable. Although every player on the pitch has a handful of skill moves at his disposal, you'll find that good use of the intuitive first-touch controls, along with passes, through balls, and dummies, are your most reliable means of besting your opponents. The most notable improvements in this version of World Cup soccer are its new star players feature, the new shooting mechanism, and the penalty shootout.
Denoted by a star above their heads, there are two dozen unlockable players that can be inserted onto the bench of their respective national teams and can take over the game in a variety of ways. There are play-making passers like David Beckham, dribblers like Ronaldinho, speedsters like Michael Owen, and shooters like Alessandro Del Piero. Just like in real life, if you are able to play to your stars' strengths, you'll greatly increase your chances of winning. Penalty kicks are also more fun than ever. Opposing goalies can now dance, jump, and move left and right to get into the heads of the penalty kicker. As a kicker, your goal is to hit a small bar on a shot meter, which, if done successfully, allows you to power the ball into the selected corner with ease. However, if you take too long the goalie and the crowd will get to you, forcing the controller to shake and the bar on the shot meter to dance.
The overall presentation throughout the World Cup mode, and throughout the entire game, is amazing. Before each match, a camera positioned somewhere in orbit around the Earth zooms in on the appropriate German stadium, and you'll be treated to flybys of the grounds where almost every supporter in the crowd is armed with streamers, confetti, and balloons. You can choose to listen to one of the game's many licensed songs, which come from an eclectic soundtrack spanning 14 countries. Good pre-match commentary replete with World Cup trivia and anecdotes is the icing on the cake, and as your players line up on the pitch before kickoff, you feel the excitement of the moment. The UK announcing duo of Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend raise the bar in terms of soccer commentary. Combined with the chants and roar of the crowd, you will find yourself sucked in to a intensely immersive, emotional soccer experience, especially when leading your favorite team in the finals.
Another great feature is 2006 FIFA World Cup's global challenge mode, where you are tasked with matching or bettering memorable team performances from World Cup history in 40 different scenarios. For example, you might be required to jump into a game with only 30 minutes remaining and win by the same margin as the real-life victors, simultaneously trying to achieve bonus objectives such as keeping a clean sheet, or not having any players booked. And when you feel like pitting your 2006 FIFA World Cup skills against a human opponent instead of the AI, you can play online or to get some friends over for a FIFA Lounge session. Like its predecessor, 2006 FIFA World Cup requires you to either pay a small fee, or submit your e-mail address before you can play online.
2006 FIFA World Cup's Lounge mode supports up to eight players, although it can certainly be enjoyed by just two or three. Like the Lounge mode in its earlier iteration, 2006 FIFA World Cup's Lounge keeps track of your performances against all of the other participants, giving you a different options for determining who gets to play next. The Lounge mode also retains the "cheap shots" feature, which lets you level the playing field against opponents by using cheats you've earned during previous performances. As another fun option, the Lounge mode has a new risk-style map feature that allows you to take control of countries on the map by winning games with, or against, them.
The closest thing yet to experiencing the excitement and emotion involved in World Cup soccer, and at a fraction of the ticket price, 2006 FIFA World Cup is just too good to pass up.
Customer Reviews
Best Soccer Yet From EA
All is forgiven. While I was lukewarm about FIFA 06, this latest title is absolutely EA's finest soccer effort yet. Every one of the items that irritated me about FIFA 06 have been ameliorated, if not outright eliminated in 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Game speed is just about right. Passing and shooting are intuitive and fluid, if a bit clumsy on occassion. Shortcomings in ball physics, while present, are almost never distracting. Matches end with realistic scorelines (on Slow speed, that is).
Graphics are sumptuous in the extreme. I always regard an EA World Cup or Euro game as a souvenir of the tournament, and this year's edition doesn't disappoint. In fact, it probably presents the most compelling pagentry of all the previous efforts combined.
Several challenge modes keep the game fresh with unlockable rewards. You'll probably never complete all the objectives available.
Best of all, you can qualify for the tournament from your region, much like Euro 2004 (another excellent EA soccer title). It all brings back memories of EA's Road to the World Cup 98, a flawed but very fun game. Well, the fun is back.
Lace up your boots!
Best FIFA game I've played
I must admit I haven't played a whole lot of the current batch of football (soccer for the Americans) games. I have played a few FIFA games though, so this review only compares to the past FIFA titles.
Graphics are a step up from previous titles. It's nice to have the players somewhat recognisable. Sounds are good and don't have the repetitive quality of the older titles. The commentary is good - it's never quite as detailed as I'd like, but you can't expect perfection from a set of canned responses. I find the number of control buttons to be a bit over the top - I'd like it to be a bit simpler. Also, the menu screens are a bit unintuitive, but that may be the fault of my controller, which is an older type with no dual analog sticks.
Gameplay is the best yet, and in this the game comes closer to real football than any FIFA game I've played in the past. Fatigue is still not adequately modelled and the game runs too fast even on the slow settings, but I suppose many arcade fans would dislike it if the pace of the game slowed to more realistic levels. I would like at least the option of having it be more real though. Midfield play is nice, and you can do well by blocking opportunities. Controlling the ball is nicely done, and passing seems more realistic than it has been in older titles. Play in the penalty box is nice and realistic, and players who shoot from too far out are not going to be rewarded, which is a good thing.
Altogether a good step up from previous titles. Some minor quibbles, but nothing to stop me enjoying the game big time.
YOU WON'T REGRET THIS ONE
I have pretty much all the EA games and most of them provide more frustration than they are worth. Just take basketball with the repetative comments and obnoxious AI, and NHL 2006 with the bugs that kill all the fun, like scoring 95% of the time on a wraparound and still loosing because AI scores on 100% of puck possessions. Football games have always been good, but this one hit the sweet spot. I liked Fifa 2004 and LOVED Euro 2004, but was a little dissapointed by Fifa 2006. The gameplay and the graphics were better, but just not what you'd expected after 2 years. The players looked blurry and unfinished.
If you are a football fan and liked the previous EA games at all, you will love this one. The graphics are great. The players look awsome; they are clear and look realistic and very well done. I'm sure in a year or two we'll look back at it unimpressed, but now it's as good as it gets. The stadiums are amazing. You get more camera angles showing players celebrating, play highlights and even angles from the crowd. The crowd is well done. The play is generally the same as Fifa 2006, except for small details. Passing and shooting is a little diffent, but it's more in the feel and after a couple minutes you don't even notice it. In any case, it's made the game better. The menues are well done and look great. I haven't had the chance yet to explore all the features, but from what I've seen they look really fun. The game is really fun. It's hard, but if you are a decent player they AI will not rip you to pieces like in some other games, you actually get to compete. I immediatelly went to the hardest setting and did ok, winning 2 of my first 3 games. That's the whole point of this thing, fun. I work all day and when I come home and decide to play on the computer, that's what I want to do - play, not pull my hair out get a heart attack. Those of you who will surely complain because people always complain, shut the f up. This is not a simulator, it's a game. If you want something more realistic, get off your fat asses and play outside. Everybody else, have fun and play hard.
