2010 FIFA World Cup

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is the official video game for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, published by EA Sports.

The game was announced on 26 January 2010 during a GameSpot interview with Simon Humber, one of the producers of the game, and released April 27, 2010 in North America.199 of the 204 teams that took part in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification are included in the game.

A playable demo was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on 8 April 2010.It includes Italy and Spain as the playable teams, and features the new two-button control method intended to make the game accessible to players who are new to the FIFA series, and the ability to upload video replays to EA Football World

Gameplay

Players choose a team from the 199 nations available and compete against the computer or against other players through online gaming services PlayStation Network or Xbox Live. All 10 official World Cup stadiums are available for play.

EA has announced that there will be gameplay improvements over FIFA 10, such as a higher rate of player fatigue for matches at higher altitudes, with an advantage to a home team who plays at a higher altitude against an away team who does not. EA has also announced that players can get injured outside of international matches.

EA has also announced that the "Captain Your Country" mode will return,[9] and that FIFA 10 owners can import their Virtual Pro for this purpose, and then earn CYC Accomplishments and attribute boosts. The game's penalty kicks have been changed in order for their outcome to better reflect the player's own composure, and the game's online multiplayer lobby system has been limited to unranked head to head matches.As in 2006 FIFA World Cup a "scenario" mode is included with 55 playable scenarios from past World Cup matches. In addition, scenarios from the 2010 World Cup are playable with an online update
The included teams were confirmed by Electronic Arts on 17 February 2010. The game contains 199 of the 204 national teams that took part in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification process. Electronic Arts stated that they have included every team that FIFA have permitted them to use, with some others not being allowed for "various reasons".The five teams that were in the draw for World Cup qualifying but are not included in the game are African teams Central African Republic, Eritrea, and São Tomé and Príncipe, and Asian teams Bhutan and Guam. All five withdrew from the qualifying stage before it began. Additionally, the game does not feature Brunei, Laos, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines who did not participate in World Cup qualifying.

The game includes all 10 venues used at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as well as stadiums from each qualifying region and a range of "generic"

Soundtrack

The 2010 FIFA World Cup soundtrack comprises 28 tracks by artists from 21 countries. According to Electronic Arts it is intended to be a soundtrack that "celebrates the cultural vibrancy of the first FIFA World Cup to be held in Africa".[3] The headline track is "Wavin' Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Mix)" by K'naan.[6]

"International" – Baaba Maal (Senegal)
"Kiyakiya" – Babatunde Olatunji (Nigeria)
"Saga" – Basement Jaxx feat. Santigold (England/United States)
"Restless" – Buraka Som Sistema (Portugal)
"Dipso Calypso" – Buscemi feat. Lady Cath (Belgium/Canada)
"Wild & Raw" – Fedde le Grand feat. Stereo MCs (Netherlands/England)
"Drumming Song" – Florence and the Machine (England)
"The World Is All There Is" – Fool's Gold (United States)
"Papua New Guinea" – The Future Sound of London (England)
"Oh Yeah" – Gang of Instrumentals (South Africa)
"Your Side" – John Forté (United States)
"Ones Who Fly Twos Who Die" – Jonathan Boulet (Australia)
"Winner" – Kid British (England)
"Wavin' Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Mix)" – K'naan (Somalia/Canada)



"Last Rhythm" – Last Rhythm (Italy)
"The Instrumento" – Latin Bitman (Chile)
"Não é Proibido" – Marisa Monte (Brazil)
"Say Hey (I Love You)" – Michael Franti & Spearhead feat. Cherine Anderson (United States/Jamaica)
"Atomizer (Pathaan's Dhol Mix)" – MIDIval Punditz (India)
"In Search of" – Miike Snow (Sweden)
"Strong Will Continue" – Nas & Damian Marley (United States/Jamaica)
"Africa Soccer Fever" – Rocky Dawuni (Ghana)
"Rocksteady" – Rox (England)
"Emoriô" – Sérgio Mendes (Brazil)
"Bring Night" – Sia (Australia)
"Fragment Eight" – The Kenneth Bager Experience (Denmark)
"Warm Heart of Africa" (So Shifty Remix) – The Very Best feat. Ezra Koenig (Malawi/France/United States)
"Percussion Gun" – White Rabbits (United States)

2006 FIFA World Cup

2006 FIFA World Cup is the official video game for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, published by EA Sports. 2006 FIFA World Cup was released simultaneously on the GameCube, PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Xbox 360 on April 24, 2006. In Europe it was simultaneously released on April 28, 2006. It was also released on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS handheld systems at the same time as the console versions. This was the last game released for the Xbox in Japan. As with some other PlayStation Portable games it was released later on May 22, 2006. In Europe, this version was released May 19, 2006. There are nine region-specific covers that feature a major player from each region.

Microsoft bundled the game with the Xbox 360 in Japan and Europe. It was also bundled with the pre-release order version introduced in India during the days when World Cup fever gripped the nation. In this featured bundle, there was a limited edition faceplate included from Adidas packaged inside

Gameplay

The game allows players to participate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany by taking control of one of 127 national teams. Since the release of the game 2002 FIFA World Cup, the menus have been redesigned and have more options. It even includes a satellite map when choosing countries to play in a Friendly. Online support is provided for ranked and unranked matches on PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Xbox 360. The online service provides lobbies, leaderboards and a global challenge mode where the player can play through over forty historical World Cup scenarios, and even change the history.

By playing online and in single-player mode, spending points for the virtual store are earned, where players can purchase uniforms, historical players, various footballs, boots, and gameplay options. As with the previous World Cup video game, matches in World Cup mode are played in the same order as at the World Cup in Germany

Reception

Both IGN and GameSpot rated several versions of the game before its release in North America. The ratings below are the ratings achieved for that particular platform with IGN rankings first, then GameSpot.

2002 FIFA World Cup

2002 FIFA World Cup is the official World Cup video game published by EA Sports.

An amalgamation between the game engines of FIFA 2002 and FIFA 2003, the game still incorporates the power bar for shots and crosses but with a steeper learning curve and customisation of the chances of being penalised by the match referee. Some kits are licensed, along with player likeness and the stadia of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Unlike the previous games in the FIFA series, the game had an original soundtrack performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. It was released for Windows, PlayStation, PlayStation 2,

Reception

2002 FIFA World Cup received fairly positive reviews. Gamespot gave the GameCube version 7.4, while IGN gave it a 8.2/10. Gamerankings gave it 80%.

Lawsuit

Bayern Munich and German international goalkeeper Oliver Kahn successfully sued Electronic Arts for their inclusion of him in the game without his prior consent despite EA reaching an agreement with FIFPro, the body that represents all FIFA players. As a result, EA was banned from selling copies of the game in Germany and was forced to financially compensate Kahn

World Cup 98

World Cup 98 was the first official FIFA World Cup game developed by EA Sports after obtaining the rights from FIFA in 1997. Unlike the previous World Cup games, which were in 2D and showed a bird's-eye view, World Cup 98 was the first in the franchise to use a 3D engine, utilising DirectX for the PC version. Accurate national team kits (except for the goalkeepers who were issued a generic kit) were introduced complete with kit manufacturer logos and official merchandise. The game engine is based on that of FIFA: Road to World Cup 98, though it features some minor gameplay improvements to areas such as ingame strategy changing and player positioning. The playable teams in the friendly mode also included several nations that did not qualify for the finals. World Cup 98 was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy.

The main feature of the game is the World Cup tournament itself, where the player may use either the actual groups used in the finals, or groups composed of a random selection of the included teams. Each match takes place in a recreation of the venue it was played in the actual tournament. As in the real tournament, group games do not go to extra time or a penalty shootout but knockout matches do.

The game was released prior to the actual World Cup, therefore results between CPU teams are not based on results from the actual tournament. At the end of each match, a caption shows the man of the match award, and if applicable a clean sheet caption. At the end of the "World Cup" game mode, captions show the winner of the Golden Boot for most goals scored during the tournament and winner of the FIFA Fair Play Award, two awards which are given in the real World Cup.

It is also possible to play friendly matches between any of the teams that are included in the game. At the end of a drawn game the player can choose to finish the match as a draw, play extra time with the golden goal rule, or take part in a penalty shootout.

As in FIFA 98, national squads can be customised to reflect the actual tournament's players by including players from a reserves pool in the "customise" option.

The "World Cup Classics" mode allows the player to play eight classic World Cup Final matches from Italy versus West Germany in 1982, West Germany versus Netherlands in 1974, Brazil v Italy in 1970, England versus West Germany in 1966, West Germany versus Hungary in 1954, Uruguay versus Brazil in 1950, Italy versus Hungary in 1938, and Uruguay versus Argentina in 1930. The 1982 match is unlocked by winning the "World Cup" mode, and by completing each unlocked game, the next one is unlocked in the order shown above. "World Cup Classics" mode features accurate period team kits (except for the goalies), hairstyles, and names, and commentary for this mode only was provided by Kenneth Wolstenholme, the BBC's commentator during the 1966 and 1970 World Cups. For the 1966, 1954 and 1950 World Cup Final matches in this mode, the graphics are in black and white, as they were shown on television at the time. The 1938 and 1930 matches are shown using sepia tone graphics. In matches that took place prior to the introduction of substitutions, it is not possible to change a player during the match.

Commentary and music

The UK version of the game features commentary from John Motson and Chris Waddle, with matches introduced by the voice of Des Lynam and voice-overs in the team schedules from Gary Lineker.

As with Electronic Arts' main FIFA Series, France 98 features several licenced songs; "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba is the title song of the game, with "Terminal Intensity" by The Wizard of Oh, "Soul Beat Runna" by Boymerang, "Absurd" by Fluke and others, are also used in the menus.
Reception

The game received mostly positive reviews. PC Guide's July 1998 issue named World Cup 98 as the winner of a group test involving other PC football games around at the same time, ahead of competitors such as Actua Soccer 2, Three Lions and Sensible Soccer 98. The magazine describes the game as "Simply the best football game in the world".[1] MobyGames scores the game 3.9/5 whilst Gamespot awards the game 8.8/10.

FIFA Online 2

FIFA Online 2 is a free to play downloadable massively multiplayer online football game jointly developed by EA Singapore and Neowiz Games, published by Electronic Arts and is distributed and localized by numerous distributors around Asia. Originally released in South Korea in 2006 using the FIFA 06 engine, the game was upgraded soon to the FIFA 07 engine, where it is still used today. FIFA Online 2 is free to play but it earns its revenue by selling virtual cash which are used to purchase items such as uniform cards to get players for your team and stats boosts.

A sequel to the game, titled FIFA Online, was announced on January 30th, 2010.
Gameplay Features

Gameplay is largely the same from FIFA 07, because since it is to be an online game, details might be hard for some users due to slow internet connection. In addition, with visual modifications to the kits, which have been updated to the kits of the current real-life season to keep up with the times.

Once logged in, one can create a team based on the certain approved teams EA has gotten permission to. Though there are no Malaysia Super League teams in the game.

In FIFA Online 2, you can either play through a season or to play against other online players. Playing matches earns you LP, which is the in-game currency used to buy players.