You might as well watch the tele cause that is all you'll be doing with this broken game!
Got to give EA some credit, they made a great looking football game. Unfortunately, that’s all there is too it; a great looking football game. While I wait for PDZ, DOA4, and Kameo to arrive to my house from Gamestop, (sorry EB, but you charge too much for APO shipping) I have been playing a lot of FIFA: Road to the World cup, and Geometry Wars, and Bejewelled 2, and Wik: Fable of Souls, and Hexic HD, and many other arcade games. So really I’ve been looking forward to earning some points while I wait for the real games.
The whole reason I bought FIFA was to have a game to show my Dad how awesome the system was. He got it for us for Christmas, and I wanted to show him the next-gen features Sadly, PGR was not on the shelf when I went to the store, but FIFA was my second since I had seen all the videos and trailers. The sad thing is this game does not deliver on many levels. First off, let’s talk about the gameplay.
Win Cup Qualifier
Yup, that’s right, the gameplay sucks. For a football game, it’s hyper realistic and unbeatable. Not worth the sweat and frustration that is needed just to make a goal. I am not sure of this but I am sure my control stick is coming loose thanks to this one game. I would love to say the characters handle like a dream, but each character moves with so much realism that it works against the player. The game is hard, and to make matters worse, the computer player is a mind reader on its easiest setting. That’s right; you might as well hang up the towel if the CPU gets the ball, because all you really want to do is button mash.
The controls are great, when no one is trying to tackle you, and with no defense, players are often left empty handed as soon as they enter defensive territory on the pitch. It ain’t an easy road to hoe, but a goal could be made a player on sheer luck rather than skill. Against another human though, the game might actually be fun, but how many of us will have some one else play the other side with us just to get achievements. Which brings me to my next point: the game’s achievement system is broken. I have completed several created tournaments and I have failed to receive one achievement from the game. It could be user error, or just negligence on my part, but these achievements are ridiculous. They are the equivalent to “get 200GS for completing the game”. It’s absolutely outrageous and absurd, hrumph!
A Game of Chance
Sure, they made the game for the skillful, but this game isn’t geared toward the casual player WHO ULTIMATLY BUYS THE GAME! The point of making achievements is to have players actually achieved them. I have checked out players who have this game and the majority of them have not earned a single achievement for this game. Some even have discouraged renting this. I want to say that the online mode is probably the best, and with no online co-op so you could at least win once in a blu-ray-disc-moon would have been nice, but the game is seriously flawed.
The Good
Now its time for me to talk about the good parts of the game….I have written something just for the occasion. Eh, hemmmm!
“FIFA: Road to the World Cup 06, is one of the best looking Xbox 360 games to grace the system to date. With outstanding visuals and landmark sound, the game offers the player an expirence that matches live broadcast TV. The game looks and plays like a real football game and is sure to impress both casual and hardcore players with its graphics and the amazing soundtrack. Its 90 minutes of fun!”
That’s enough of the marketing line I am willing to stomach….in short, the game sucks, avoid it, and don’t rent it unless you got some Italian friends, like I do, and you got nothing else to watch on tele.
This game should receive a four, but to be fair….(EA tried, something) a five would be alright. I will not buy this game next year.