2006 was such a fantastic year in football (the non-American kind for us Yanks) that EA found a way to put out not one, but TWO FIFA games! Lucky us!
Well, for those of us that picked up the even-less-than-disappointing FIFA 06: RTFWC, it felt a lot like playing half a game. You get all the way to the end and are rewarded by... a list of players that will be playing in the World Cup. That isn't on the disc. That you won't be playing. Unless you buy this disc. So, much like Matrix Reloaded, we end up waiting several months for Matrix Revolutions (2006 FIFA World Cup) to come out. So does it deliver?
Well... it's better than RTFWC, primarily because you actually get to play in the World Cup and take the pixelated trophy off to... well, no, you don't even get to take it to your locker room because there isn't one, but you get the idea. You actually get to win the Cup. (As an aside, has anyone ever questioned the fact that the World Cup has the world part down, but isn't really a cup? Just wondering.)
The game looks good (for being 4 years old now), and the play is decent. It's better than RTFWC, but no, there's no comparison between EA's output and the superior Pro Evolution, and it definitely isn't as good as the later FIFA offerings. So for those of us hunting through the bargain racks to pick up old achievements, is it even worth that?
...no. Whereas FIFA 06: RTFWC at least had a decently easy 1000GS sitting there on its rotting corpse, EA decided to torture all of us with 2006 FIFA World Cup. There are 5 achievements, 4 of which are simple (qualify for the Cup, win the Cup, beat Germany, play a scenario). These won't take you long, especially with the difficulty turned down.
It's the other half of the points that are a killer. EA (like many of its games near the 360 launch) kept its achievements condensed, and created one massive bitch of a 500GS achievement by requiring you to complete all of the different historical scenarios that are presented. Some of these are easy: you have a lead... now hold it. Some of them are hard: down by 1 late... win the game. Some of them are damn near impossible, and are the type that make people claw their eyes out, like beating Solomon Islands by 7 with Australia, or a Brazil-Sweden game. You can't change the difficulty on these, so getting through this gauntlet is quite a feat.
And yes, if you get that achievement, I'd say it's worth your trophy case.
In short, by now there are much better football (soccer) games out there. The only reason you're probably even considering this is for the achievements, so buyer beware. This isn't Avatar, and don't let that 1.6 ratio fool you. It feels higher.
I'd give it 3 stars for presentation and gameplay, but I'm knocking it down for that one large achievement. If you like a challenge for your gamerscore, here's one for you.
2.0