2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Hands On Preview

09 Feb 2010 at 14:14:28 by Andy Alderson

We’re gathered at the home of Chelsea, Stamford Bridge, for EA’s 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and, despite our presence, the journalist to ground staff ratio is pretty low. Much lower, in fact, than it would be a week later following the revelations that John Terry had put in a particularly reckless challenge on his best mate’s missus. 

But blissfully unaware of what is to come, EA Sports takes us through a presentation on its clumsily-titled World Cup game that, strangely enough, focuses mostly on presentation. EA’s Simon Humber explains that authenticity is one of the primary aims in World Cup and, accordingly, we’re shown scenes of the “carnival atmosphere” that will undoubtedly become the cliché of choice for commentators this summer. For instance, each team in the game will have their own 3D crowd sequences, displayed during games in an effort to recreate the TV cameramen who scan the crowds looking for people dressed like escaped mental patients. Unfortunately, the fans we see look disappointingly un-mental, but the crowds are definitely a nice touch. As are the official FIFA match graphics, the very same ones we’ll see on the tellybox this summer. 

Other new additions are mid-match shots of the managers (we see Capello and a particularly rotund Maradonna) and some dramatically enhanced player likenesses. The Peter Crouch of FIFA 10, for example, is now much more realistic, although sadly no longer looks like Plug from the Bash Street Kids.

Even the pitches have received some major attention, with much more textured playing surfaces on offer. It’s clear that Humber’s team are intent on making World Cup the most authentic FIFA title yet. As such, it’ll feature all 199 teams in the competition, all ten official stadia and will allow players to begin their campaign in qualification and progress all the way up to the knockout phase and into the finals. To highlight this, as a little treat for us at the end of the presentation, Humber shows us England defeating Germany on penalties, winning the final and John Terry and co, joyously lifting the World Cup. Obviously, they’re going to have to airbrush out the captain’s armband.

This focus on authenticity extends to World Cup’s gameplay too, with the most notable change being the way in which altitude affects the game. For one, the ball will take a slightly flatter trajectory in the air and will fly straighter due to less air resistance. This is good news for those of us who like to have a dig from 30 yards, although Humber stresses that you shouldn’t expect to score from the halfway line. Altitude also plays a role in player energy levels as the decreased levels of oxygen at altitude mean that players can tire more quickly meaning you’ll need to keep a close eye on your team’s fitness.

The gameplay tweaks don’t end there however and, like in its UEFA game, it seems EA will use World Cup as a training ground for the developers to tighten the core FIFA gameplay. There are over 100 gameplay enhancements, Humber explains, ranging from goalkeeping to tactics and we’re shown examples on screen. Two of the main fixes were made in response to community feedback regarding goalkeepers being too easy to lob and lofted through-balls being clumsily controlled on the chest by players who should be trying to get clear of the defence.

We’re also told that players will trap the ball better and release it a little quicker in order to impove the flow of gameplay. From our all-too-brief hands on time with World Cup it’s clear these changes are subtle and unlikely to be fairly evaluated until we’ve spent more time with the game – after all, FIFA doesn’t tend to reveal all its foibles until you’ve put a fair few hours into it. Nevertheless, be it the placebo effect or not, it did seem that Humber’s claim of a smoother, more fluid game of football was on the money and we certainly noticed some improved AI, which has apparently been enhanced to reflect real world international tactics. It wasn’t so easy to trick full backs with a crafty lofty throughball for one, which unfortunately scuppered my masterplan. Generally, World Cup feels quicker, smoother and tighter than its predecessors but FIFA fans should not be expecting a sea change.

Whether this will be enough to convince some of the sceptics that World Cup warrants a full price release is uncertain, although when we put this question to EA’s Peter Moore later he smiles confidently and whispers “time will tell.”

OK, he didn’t whisper it.

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