The biggest event in sports is almost upon us. For the 5 billion people not living in the United States, that event it is the World Cup. Every four years, much like the Olympics, the world sort of stops what it is doing to watch. Some countries even stop Civil Wars while the World Cup is happening. It is that important and transcendent. EA puts out a World Cup version of its soccer/football game every four years which centers around the aforementioned event. Is this just a FIFA 10 clone or is it a standalone title worth another purchase?

The question above can be answered yes for both scenarios. This is indeed a FIFA 10 clone, but that is not a bad thing at all. FIFA 10 was excellent and this plays almost identical. The controls and gameplay are mirrored here and gamers who have put time into FIFA 10 will just pick right up. There are some very noticeable changes that make this feel like it is not just a roster swap. The Penalty Kick mode has changed vastly. In league play, PKs only happen when there is a penalty, which is not too often. World Cups have been decided by PKs. Several of them. You now control the goalie with the RS and the shot is now aimed as you run up to the ball, leaving you until the last second to decide. I do recommended doing the PK tutorial the first time around. There is also a Captain Your Country mode which is single player career stuff. It is definitely worth checking out if leading your country to glory is what you want.

One issue about the World Cup games is that there are no club teams here. This is not at all unexpected, but you sometimes wish they were. Every single sanctioned country in FIFA is present. All of them, with anthems. If you are one of the dozens of people who live in Andorra, you are represented. The number of stadiums is limited to only ones in the World Cup which is also expected, but some of the more renown venues would have been sweet. Old Trafford anyone? Besides some minor graphical glitches, the game really shines. If you know your international soccer, the coaches are spot on as are some of the games more known players. Diego Maradona looks identical to what he looks like on TV, when he isn’t in rehab.

The game looks great, plays great, so should you buy it? If you can get past the limitations that the World Cup presents i.e. venues, teams, etc., then you absolutely should. This is a once in every four year event, so it is not like EA is trotting out multiple soccer games every year. You can import players from FIFA 10 for the single player modes and the online multiplayer is fun. Only issue there is that everyone is either Brazil, England or Spain, but that is like any online sport game. Take someone down with Qatar, and you have accomplished something awesome. I am still waiting to win the World Cup with the USA. I hear the sheer spectacle of it is worth the price of the game itself.

[A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes.]