A review copy of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil was kindly provided by Betfair.
In a few short weeks the FIFA World Cup kicks-off in Brazil and of course that means EA has graced us with the customary FIFA spin-off to capture the spirit of football’s most prestigious prize. With returning modes such Captain Your Country and a host of new features, such as being able to take your national team from the world cup qualifiers, straight on through to capturing the glory in 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, will this instalment be worthy of you time and cash? Let’s find out.
With this being an official World Cup game, it of course comes with all its official presentation. Before each and every World Cup match you will be presented with the pre-match analysis via the EA Sports Talk radio, which doesn’t sound too dissimilar to that of Talk Sport, it certainly adds extra authenticity and big match feel with the underdog analysis, which soon turns into blind England bias in the later stages. Then as the big match begins you are greeting to all the official Brazilian World Cup animations, as the camera flies around the outside of one of the 12 officially licensed stadiums before the teams make their way on to the pitch with their national anthems prior to kick-off. While presentation has often been good in recent FIFA instalments, you can’t quite beat an officially licensed game of either the World Cup or European Championships and get the patriotic juices flowing
As you might also expect with any FIFA game the visuals are always of a high standard, whether it’s the pre-match presentation, right on through to the action on the pitch, EA Sports certainly know how to make their football games look the part. Each of the 203 national team in 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil are officially licensed from team kits to many of the players on the pitch. Though not all the players have their official likenesses, but the vast majority of key players do. Obviously the teams players that are participating in the real life World Cup has had a little more attention to detail, as the majority of players are instantly recognisable on the pitch from their facial features, to their body language and posture on the pitch.
A nice touch that has made its way into this instalment is not only the fans from within the stadium, but also those outside and from around the world. While fans inside the stadium will be kitted out in their football jerseys, hats and flags, now and again you will see the fans from their representing country at home. Just as you would see a crowd gathered at Trafalgar Square with a beer in hand watching the game on the giant screen. It’s a nice touch that certainly helps capture the atmosphere and tension of the World Cup.
The visuals are not the only authentic feature in 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil; the in-game audio has also been given the all-star treatment. The soundtrack featured in this game would easily captures the spirit of Brazil with its samba themed soundtrack that gives you that sunny Brazilian World Cup feeling. There are simply too many tracks to mention in this game, but in case you are interested, you can check out the tracklist here.
EA say that 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil has more the 15 hours worth of commentary and while I can’t comment on the exact number of hours from personal experience, the commentary for the English language is second to none. Representing the UK, we have ITV’s Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend, which to be honest when I am playing FIFA 14, this commentary pairing are my choice of hearing, so it’s nice to see them as the default pairing in this FIFA spin-off.
2014 FWCB is said to have new skills, tricks, animations, pinpoint passing, improved movement and more, which I have no doubts that it does. Though in saying that, it still very much feels like FIFA 14 on the PS3, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all many gamers will want the FIFA 14 gameplay that they know and love with a few minor tweaks here and there, all with the official FIFA WC license and this is certainly what they have in this instalment.
Prior to the games releases much was said about the new set piece tactics that would be included in the game. I don’t know if I was expecting too much, as a big part of me was hoping that this game would adopt a similar set piece mechanic to that of PES’14. Essentially in the 2014 FWCB you take any set piece the same way as you do in FIFA 14, but now you have more instructions to give to the off ball players to perform off the training ground like movements. So example when taking a corner you can order your players in the penalty box to crowd the goalkeeper, move to the near post and make a run to the edge of the box to perform a Paul Scholes like spectacular volley…well you hope so anyway. While the new set piece tactics were not quite the improvement that I had hoped, it’s still welcomed none the less and is something that will surely carry over to FIFA 15 later in the year.
Another subtle improvement that has been made is with the official adidas ball that is used in the real 2014 FIFA World Cup. EA Sports have worked with adidas in an attempt to have the in-game ball physics to be as realistic as possible, now while this has not made any drastic improvements; I have noticed the ball has been moving a little more freely with its curl and swerve. Heck I even scored a stunning free-kick with Leighton Baines on my first attempt, so there must have been some improvements made as I am ridiculously hopeless with set pieces in FIFA 14.
Carrying on with the topic of set pieces and subtle changes, slight improvements have also been noticeably made when taking penalty kicks. The improvement was first noticed when I had scuffed a penalty with Frank Lampard only to thankfully find that Wayne Rooney had rushed into the penalty box to put the ball into the back of the net via the save from the opposing goalkeeper. So in 2014 FWCB players on the edge of the box are far more alert then before and will look for an opportunity to convert any rebound chances from the goalkeeper or via the woodwork. It’s also worth noting that goalkeepers also have new animations that include the famous Bruce Grobbelaar wobbly knees.
One of my favourite features in recent FIFA games and especially with FIFA 14 are the addictive skill games that you can partake before a match or via the in-game menu. Many a times did I find myself often playing these pre-match skill games longer then the football match itself. Well now those skill games have more of a purpose than ever before in 2014 FWCB. Before starting the big tournament you will have to select your 23 man squad, once you’ve selected your players you’re stuck with them.
So now if you have selected a young up and comer such as Everton’s Ross Barkley who might not quite be good enough in-game to warrant a starting line-up place, he just might do later on as the tournament progresses. In 2014 FWCB you have the adidas micoach training; this is basically a set of various training sessions that you can select during the tournament and before each game. Depending on what training session your choose, whether it be shooting, defending, pace or dribbling, your players attributes will enhance. So while the young talent that is Ross Barkley might start off with a 79 rating, by the time the World Cup nears its close, he could very well be an 82 rating or higher. The adidas micoach training is just a way to glorify the addictive skill games, but it adds a little more depth and purpose to squad selection throughout the World Cup campaign.
It will also be wise not to stick to the same starting eleven throughout the World Cup as your players will grow tired and this could affect their performance in the later stages. So for arguments sake you win your first two group games in the World Cup tournament and qualification to the next knock-out stages is guaranteed, then it might be wise to have a new starting eleven for the third game to rest your players for the last 16 knock-outs. From selecting your 23 man squad, training sessions and squad rotation, good squad management is certainly key in 2014 FWCB if you want success at this game, especially when playing on the higher difficulty settings.
There’s plenty to keep you busy in this game, just as with recent FIFA games, despite it being a bite-sized version of FIFA 14. You of course have the customary quick exhibition match option, the 2014 FIFA World Cup itself in which you jump straight into the main tournament. Road To The FIFA World Cup which will have you playthrough the qualifying groups in attempt to get to the main stages, Captain Your Country which will have you take control of your created player as you lead your national team to glory all in aid of lifting the World Cup trophy.
A personal favourite of mine, which was my most played mode in the last FIFA World Cup game, is the Story of Qualifying. Here you will be set a challenge that would re-write the history books. For example did you national team miss out of the World Cup because your star striker failed to convert that one chance in the dying moments of injury time? In this mode you just might have the opportunity to change that and more.
Long after the main mode of 2014 FWCB is done and dusted, Story of Qualifying will likely be the mode that you return to. There is another mode that I can’t play just yet, as it activates when the World Cup officially starts and that’s the Story of Finals. The Story of Finals will update through the course of the real World Cup itself and in-game challenges will adjust based on what happens on the day to day basis of the World Cup happenings in Brazil.
Value of any game essentially comes down to the individual gamer’s needs and enjoyment from that game. Every year we are greeted with our yearly update of the FIFA series; being a big footie fan myself I welcome and understand this. With games based on big tournaments such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, it’s a four year wait inbetween (not counting the European Championships). Now some might argue that the game will last your four years until the next World Cup comes around.
If that was so, then you would be playing a game with very outdated players, kits, visuals and match engine. Realistically games like this are all about the novelty of the tournament it represents and as a result for most gamers they have a very short life span. A few weeks before the World Cup starts, right up until shortly after, these games are hot property as you want to create the atmosphere of the tournament and live the dream from your home console.
But several weeks after the World Cup has finished that novelty will quickly wear off and so too will the value of the game. Upon release the standard FIFA game will pretty much hold its price until the football season comes to a close. Games such as the 2014 FWCB will release with a maximum RRP just like the standard FIFA game, but once that World Cup has been and gone, its price will certainly not hold. Don’t get me wrong 2014 FWCB is a very enjoyable game and out of the entire big tournament FIFA spin-offs in recent years, this possibly captures the spirit of the tournament better then most.
Beneath its official presentation and glossy exterior, this is really just a bite sized version of FIFA 14 with a novelty that will quickly wear thin. For that reason alone I can’t really find much of a reason to justify its £40 price tag on release. I know the UEFA 2012 European Championships add-on had its fair share of problems, but for me having this kind of game as a DLC was a step in the right direction for EA and the FIFA series, especially as it was half the price of a retail game.
In a nutshell 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is quite possibly the best tournament FIFA game that you will likely play until the next one, but unless you are desperate to play this officially licensed World Cup game, I would strongly recommend waiting it out until the real life tournament is over with as like the ones before it, its price will quickly plummet faster than David Moyes reign as the manager of Manchester United. On that note, the World Cup is nearly here…so come on ENGLAND!