2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: PS3 Review

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil : PS3 Review

Released by EA
Platform: PS3

Footy fever is about to strike with the launch of the 2014 World Cup next month.

But in the gaming world, it's already game over thanks to the release of 2014 FIFA World Cup, for the older generation consoles only.

There's something simple about football games and the 2014 FIFA World Cup does not really dally away from the formula as the brightly coloured menus and titles fire up. If anything, the opening screens give the game more of a feel of a festival, a bright and colourful explosion of footy and fun.

And the game has encompassed all that is Brazil's footballing destination with the majority of the stadium being incorporated into the various matches and with chances for you to play in all of them. It's almost as if the developers have decided that interest will be piqued in this title, thanks to global interests in it all - and so because of that, it's a more mass marketed appeal.

That said, it feels like the first football title that I've enjoyed in quite a while, thanks to the ease of play, and simplicity of which to control the players on the field. It ranges from a simple two button technique to a more complex on field, but it all makes for smoother gameplay, ease of passing and crucially, an ease of goal-scoring.

Career mode lets you play through the qualifiers and into the world cup itself, and it's this which is the most fun. The All Whites may not have actually qualified, but you can still play as the team. Elsewhere, you get to play mini games as you try to score penalties from the spot and improve your ball skills.

There's also a speediness to the games themselves which makes the whole thing feel more fluid than before and means you don't have to hunker down for endurance of the game or carefully count the moments on the clock until the whistle blows and you can celebrate a narrow victory.

All in all, 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil will give some life to those casually dropping into the football world and dipping their toes in because of the beautiful game's global presence - just be grateful that EA have spent some time ensuring this product matches the standards and isn't a rushed job and is one which feels like the beautiful game will continue to live on.

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