Customer Reviews
Absolutely Superb!! - By: Mr. S. Dennis, 29 Mar 2007 
NOTE: For anyone thinking of buying this on the strength of the trailer (top of the screen) it's worth pointing out straight away that is clearly NOT the PC version of the game. Amazon need to remove thisin my opinion as it is misleading. I am guessing that it is PS2 footage because (a) it has better graphics & is smoother than the PC version (b) there's a lot of other fancy stuff that the PC version certainly DOES NOT have eg: flames shooting out of the top of the stadium during the team line-up.
I bought this game last summer & absolutely love it. I've spent many many happy hours playing this game (never viewed as wasted time, its always well used!). I wasn't sure I would find a game I loved as much as World Cup 98, but I did & its better than I had hoped. The playability is excellent, likenessin the players is very good, the chants are really good & I love the sound of the ball clattering onto the posts or cross bar!!
The controls are basically the same, however, there are additional keys (if playing on keyboard) which once you get used to & master, really add to the enjoyment. It took me a little while but now its no trouble performing a dummy step-over, a turn or some other fancy trick. It doesn't always workin getting past the opposition, but it looks good!
For me, the key thingin any football game is playability. There's no pointin having fancy graphics & clever moves if the game is hard to get used to & difficult to play. 2006 FIFA World Cup has great playability & I can't really think of many criticisms apart from possibly the darkness of some of the pitches & the utterly pointless features you can unlock like "Slow Motion". Who the hell wants to play the gamein slow motion?!?
I also didn't really see the point of being able to unlock classic players & kits. Pointless. Yeah, you could moan about the repetitive commentary, but jeez, come on people, remember its only a computer game, its not real!! I found Clive Tyldsley & Andy Townsend a lot less annoying than Motty & Chris Waddle on World Cup 98!
I do like the fact that you can play right from the start of qualifying. This means you can qualify as Wales or Scotland or even Kazahkstan if you wanted to! I think this opens the game out to a much wider audience as I'm sure the Scots & the Welsh football gamers are sick to death of having to play as England (if they wanted to play as England that is!).
I also like the various objectives you can complete within the game. Again this varies the game play as I found myself getting obsessed with completing them which although is a bit sad, it made the whole game a bit more interesting & varied. I have found that the Global Challenges are absolutely solid though. You really need to be a really skilled player to complete even just a few of them, let alone complete a gold medal objective! Needless to say I am still struggling & have only completed about 3 of them to gold medal standard, but again, at least its maintaining my interestin the game overall.
Bring back Mottie and Ally! - By: The Domster, 25 Sep 2006 
This game is good but has certain flaws as well as good points.
Good things:
*You can win the World Cup with England
*Player graphics very good [You might even recognise Zat Knight}.
*Loads of players.
*Stadiums look cool.
*Classic players to unlock.
*Global Challenge is great when working properly.
*Commentary even mentions Bobby Moore.
Not so good things:
-Most of the time commentary annoying. e.g. Andy Townsend saying:
"40 years ago, Clive, England won the World Cup. It seems a long time ago now but how memorable was it?" Bring back Mottie & Ally!!!
-EA Trax not that good. Why aren't footie songs on it?
-Pitches look dark.
Overall it's a rather good game but can't wait until FIFA 07 comes out.
Not EA's best football game. - By: VX, 16 Jul 2006 
It's fun to play once you Get the hang of it. I have bought most of the FIFA football games since France 98 (which impressed me on the PS1)and personally dont think this is EA sports best football game. Heres why:
GRAPHICS: 3/5: Not impressed. I thought that FIFA 2005 & FIFA 2006 graphics were actually quite good, but compared to this they are alot more impressive -in my opinion. Also... whats with the shadows on the stadiums? In most cases the shadows dominate the pitch that much that they appear to be black rather than green. I dont mind shadows but this game is definitely overkill. Graphics wise - not impressed - especially for a PC game.
SOUND/MUSIC: 3/5 - As another reviewer commented, the commentary is too repetetive, especially regarding englands victoryin 66. It is mentionedin just about every game you play with England & soon begins to get on your nerves. But it can be muted, as can the music - which isnt all that bad.
CONTROLS & GAMEPLAY: 4/5 - Same controls as fifa 2006, aswell as very similar set pieces. Easy to pick up. I find the main problem with the controls is that sometimes the game kicks the ballin the opposite direction to what you pressed, for example, if i pass the ball right, it ends up going left or backwards. Also I noticed that when passing the ball to the top of the pitch it doesnt quite seem to make it & usually ends upin the hands of the other team. Maybe its a problem with my gamepad, but either ways its annoying.
Also, one of the things that annoys me most about this game is the tackling, its tedious at best - & sometimes you just want to put down the controller & let the other team continue to do brazillian style tactics around you as you look onin amazement - & this is the same on all difficulty levels. VERY ANNOYING.
OPTIONS: 4/5 - The game options are simple & easy to get to grips with. One reviewer commented on how bad the menusin the game are, but personally I find them to be easy to use & very usefull. You can customise your squad & create your own players which is very goodin my opinion. The game also allows you the chance to start right from the qualifying stages OR get straight into the main tournement - an option I would like to seein future FIFA games. Game options vary widely which is the main reason it gets a 3-4 star rating from me.
OVERALL: 3.5/5 - Could be a lot better. Personally I prefer the feel of FIFA 2005 & FIFA 2006 to this game, but it will keep me busy for a while.
A girl's point of view - By: Political Manoeuvre, 15 Jul 2006 I'm not a huge fan of sports games, I've played my share of football games, some good some bad. I really got into the World Cup this year & decided to get the game...I've just finished my exams & I was bored...
The game (as one reviewer said) is very addictive & whole days have been wasted playing this game. The controls are a little confusing but once you get the hang of them they're not that hard...The graphics are the best I have seen on any football game, & the commentary is rather good for canned responses! For die hard sports games fans this will be an average & easy game. For me, I find it fun, addictive & fun...If stress inducing at times!
Now I just have to lead Portugal to the finals & hey, maybe life will imitate art!
EA Games - By: Charlie, 22 Jun 2006 Yet another average game from EA sports.
I have to admit that when I first bought the game I was looking forward to playing it.
But after a while I became apparent that the game wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.
The graphics are by no means the best & the feel of the game is terrible, the only reason I have given it a 3 star, is because of the gameplay, it is very addictive.
