IGN Review
Closing Comments
2006 FIFA World Cup is a delightful celebration of the Super Bowl of soccer with the official German stadiums, all the teams you could want and a variety of game modes. It's chalk-full of World Cup atmosphere, from the roar of the crowd to a rainstorm of confetti to actual video-tours of each German stadium to 127 national anthems. Of course, the lack of a true manager mode hurts the longevity of a title that should hold value until 2008, or even beyond. But EA put together its most solid soccer gameplay experience yet and the deepest World Cup title of all time. Still, it's hard to argue that the gameplay, an obvious imitation of Winning Eleven, is better, but with star players and a nifty new shooting mechanism, it would be hard to argue it's worse. While the game is priced at a frugal $29.99 elsewhere, it's hard to justify the $59.99 price-point on the Xbox 360. But, and it might not be saying much, World Cup is still the best soccer title on the 360.
9.0 Presentation
Every national anthem, facts about each country, every World Cup stadium -- EA nailed the international spectacle that is the World Cup.
7.0 Graphics
The cutscenes and replays look terrific, as do player animations, but regular gameplay is only decent, visually. That's videogame soccer for you.
8.0 Sound
Excellent work in the audio booth and with a responsive, riotous crowd. We're not sure which country will appreciate the song list, but it's probably not this one.
8.5 Gameplay
Yes it's a good imitation of Winning Eleven, but FIFA does manage to innovate with star players, shooting and PKs. Imitator or not, this is a fun soccer game to play.
6.0 Lasting Appeal
World Cup games are traditionally shallow and, while this is the deepest World Cup game yet, there should be more bang for your buck with some kind of manager mode.
8.4 Impressive