Feature: World Cup Soccer Roundup Subscribe to this RSS feed
To help you find the game best suited to your tastes (and your budget) here's a rundown of the biggest and best games available for this summer's soccer season.
The World Cup is upon us, and as the world turns its eyes toward Germany for the year's biggest international athletic spectacle, we take a closer look at the latest soccer titles to hit consoles in recognition of the ultimate showdown in Earth's most popular sport. To help you find the game best suited to your tastes (and your budget) here's a rundown of the biggest and best games available for this summer's soccer season.
FIFA World Cup 2006 - "The MVP"
Platform(s): Xbox 360/Playstation 2/Xbox/GameCube/PSPDeveloper: EA Sports
Publisher: Electronic Arts
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Price: $29.99 ($59.99 for Xbox 360)
World Cup 2006 is not only the best soccer game yet, it's also one of the best sports games on any system. The jaw-dropping graphics set a new standard for sports games and the enveloping atmosphere and plethora of authentic, fully licensed international teams, players, stadiums, and song tracks makes World Cup 2006 the most complete soccer game available. The Xbox 360 version is the strongest of the console versions and is a sight to behold, but both the PS2 and Xbox versions are still well ahead of the competition in terms of sheer aesthetic presentation. World Cup 2006 is not just a beautiful game; its also damn fun to play. Controlling your team is a breeze, and the impressive number of game options and unlockable features guarantees that you'll have plenty to do after you capture the Cup. Whether you're a serious soccer fan or a curious sports gamer, FIFA World Cup 2006 is the game to play this season.
Pros: The best graphics of any sports game to date, fully licensed rosters for every major international team, plenty of extras, a variety of game modes, and unbeatable gameplay.
Cons: The price of the superior Xbox 360 version (which is $20 more than the others).
Winning Eleven 9 International - "The Veteran"
Platform(s): Xbox/Playstation 2/PSPDeveloper: Konami
Publisher: Konami
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Price: $39.99
A long-standing (and very popular) soccer franchise, Winning Eleven has a high level of established credibility to match its excellent gameplay. With a set of new moves and improved realism, this installment is the best to date. Though arguably not quite as enjoyable as the dominant FIFA series, the Winning Eleven franchise commands a legion of diehard (EA loathing) fans who appreciate the solid graphic presentation, responsive control, and solid (albeit spartan) gameplay. Although the game has licenses for 57 national teams and 138 European club teams, Winning Eleven is not a fully licensed title, and some major teams are absent from the roster. Still, the game offers plenty of playing options (including a full career mode and practice-style minigames) and enjoyable multiplayer matches in addition to just being a very pretty game. Though it might lack the flash and pomp of the FIFA series, Winning Eleven 9 is still a very competent soccer title with enough excitement to please diehard fans and series newcomers alike.
Pros: The first game in the long-standing Winning Eleven franchise to support full online gameplay.
Cons: Many of the major teams are not fully licensed (resulting in lame generic stand-ins).
FIFA 06 - "The Blue Chip"
Platform(s): Xbox/Playstation 2/PSPDeveloper: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Price: $39.99
As a major member of the exclusive EA stable of marquee titles, you can bet that each new addition to the FIFA series is going to be an improvement to an already winning soccer game formula. With the official FIFA license (covering 21 professional leagues and more than 10,000 real international players), beautiful graphics, outstandingly fluid gameplay, and stellar play-by-play commentary, this game offers the most complete pro soccer gaming experience available. From the tight and obedient camera to the surprisingly accurate character models, FIFA 06 is an impeccably good-looking game with a wide variety of excellent single and multiplayer game modes (plus competitive online play). The top notch presentation extends to everything from the style and ease of the menus to the color and detail of the pitch. And with cool features like a 15 year career mode and an eight-player multiplayer option, FIFA 06 has everything you need to satisfy your soccer gaming cravings - and do it in style.
Pros: Beautiful graphics, stellar presentation, and the much coveted official FIFA license make this game a major winner.
Cons: As good as it is, FIFA 06 is already obsolete now that EA's own awesome FIFA World Cup is available.
World Tour Soccer 2006 - "The Slow Kid"
Platform(s): Playstation 2Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Price: $29.99
Easily the least exciting game of the bunch, World Tour Soccer 2006 combines lackluster presentation, weak graphics and jerky controls into an unsightly amalgamation of mostly unlicensed soccer gaming. Nearly every aspect of this game looks and feels tired and outdated, while the unrealistic gameplay feels more like an arcade experience than a professional soccer game. The ability to insert your own face onto a customized character via Sony's Eye Toy is a cool feature, but considering the game's tremendous shortcomings this option feels more like a clever gimmick than a viable addition. With only a few distinct game modes to balance out the embarrassing bad music, there aren't cool features that make this soccer game competitive against the other terrific titles available. Widely panned by critics and gamers alike, World Tour Soccer 2006 can easily be found taking up space in bargain bins across the country. Really, there just isn't any need to pick up this game when there are so many better options.
Pros: Not many, but using the cool Eye Toy to map your face onto your customized player provides a few minutes of coolness.
Cons: Ugly, uninspired graphics and bland presentation make for an extremely stale and sleep-inducing soccer experience.
Football Manager 2006 - "The Odd Bits"
Platform(s): Xbox 360/PSPDeveloper: Sports Interactive
Publisher: SEGA
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Price: 34.99 Pounds (about $70 US dollars)
The latest installment in SEGA's line of soccer management games, Football Manager 2006 gives gamers a look at their favorite sport from the other side of the pitch. Available only in Europe (or as a costly import), Football Manager 2006 is not a soccer game in the usual sense. In this odd title, you assume the role of a major professional team manager as you prepare your club for matches and make challenging coaching decisions (like coping with injuries, deciding which players to trade, and building a powerful sports dynasty). In many ways, the strangely successful Football Manger franchise (and other competing games of this peculiar genre) has more in common with EA's new NFL Head Coach title than with the FIFA series, as the on field action is limited to cycling through menus and making coaching decisions from your clipboard. For this reason, it's understandable why SEGA has never released any of these games for an American audience (where gamers are far less enthusiastic about soccer).
Pros: Cool online capabilities let you download updated rosters and compete against other gamers.
Cons: You don't actually play soccer so much as you spend time bossing others around.
