2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil
Overview -
This summer in June, 32 of the world's best soccer teams are descending on Brazil, home of the beautiful game, to determine a champion. And like every time before, EA sports has released a special World Cup edition of its annual FIFA Soccer game to commemorate the occasion. Promising 203 national teams, 7,469 players, 19 officially licensed managers, and the 12 World Cup venues, '2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil' would seem like must-own for soccer fans. The game is even billed as having a Road to the FIFA World Cup mode for fans looking to really get into the lead-up to the World Cup as well as the actual congregation. That said, this is a game only for the 360 and PS3, with no mention of the Xbox One and PS4. And that's likely because it's only been a few months since 'FIFA 14' hit those platforms.
Video Review
The graphics look good and the stadiums are gorgeous. Because they were limited to just the World Cup venues, EA has really gone all-out with the detail. When the pre-game introductions start you can really get a good look at these majestic stadiums rendered down to the tiniest detail. The players and animations are copied directly from their 'FIFA 14' counterparts so on a whole they are excellent.
The only downside is the abominable frame rate which to be fair is not nearly as much of an issue in the default camera mode. However, I have yet to meet a competitive 'FIFA' player who doesn't use the same camera that I do so it's a bit of a mixed bag.
Audio Review
The soundtrack for the game features an entirely different mix then that one in 'FIFA 14.' New music was added with many songs infused with a Brazilian-themed performed by such artists as Tinie Tempah and Switchfoot.
Additionally, "We Are One (Ole Ola)" by Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte, the official song of the 2014 World Cup is used in the game's opening cut-scene. Like I said, EA does not skimp on the licensing and when money is no object.....
The one major change is the inclusion of EA Sports Talk Radio. It features game-related commentary by Andy Goldstein, Ian Darke and "The Men in Blazers" (Michael Davies and Roger Bennett) and is culled from over 50 hours of recorded audio. The commentary dynamically adapts to your campaign and is a significant upgrade on the old commentary in 'FIFA 14.' Unfortunately, this feature only works in the three campaign modes "Road to the FIFA World Cup", "Road to Rio de Janeiro" and "Captain your Country".
As a soccer game, '2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil' is passable if you have no other reference to judge it on. The 'FIFA' engine is fun and arcadey without being outlandish and the presentation as always is top notch. The faults lay in the fact that its predecessor is a much more polished and content laden game. 'FIFA 14' has a lot of the top national teams that 99% of the gamers out there will choose in '2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil' plus all the club teams and the popular Ultimate Team card game. If you are hosting a 'FIFA' watching party and need something to warm up your crowd this could do the trick. At the very least its pre-match introduction videos gave me the same sense of anticipation as the real games, which is really all the game was meant to do.
