Luckily, you can practice the new system before you have to use it in anger - a good idea if you want to avoid the full England 19 experience. The last thing World Cup 2010 needed to do was fix what wasn't broken or go for a more casual, lightweight approach.Īrguably the biggest thing to change is a new penalty system, which transforms the bit that always puts England out of the cup into a mini-game of timing and accuracy that takes a little getting used to.

With its 360 degree control system and a new emphasis on speed and drama, FIFA 10 played a fantastic, genuinely exciting game of football. The defence feels less vulnerable in the midfield, and AI all-around seems a bit sharper, but in the end we're not talking anything radical or surprising.

The goalies seem a little tighter and less prone to being drawn out, and obvious shots on goal bear even less fruit than they did in last year's model. World Cup 2010 feels slightly faster and, if anything, offers a more fluid passing game than FIFA 10. Before you start complaining, however, bear in mind that this still makes it the best-looking football game on the market.

Despite some new animations, a few lighting enhancements and revised player models, World Cup 2010 looks very much like FIFA 10, and we doubt most players would be able to tell the two apart through a quick A/B comparison. Of course, there's not a whole lot in terms of style and gameplay to differentiate between this and FIFA 10. With World Cup 2010, you get an even stronger package. With Euro 2008 EA Sports seemed to have realised that there was more to a tournament tie-in game than just gutting the last FIFA and throwing in the right stadiums, teams and fixtures. If, however, you just want a game that captures the magic of the tournament, and brings a little of the action in South Africa back into your home, then World Cup 2010 is a triumph. If you're looking for radical reinvention of the game, or a new direction, then you're not going to get it here. If you're expecting a big advance on FIFA 10 - a game that most people recognise as the defining football game of this console generation - then you may be disappointed by World Cup 2010. You see, it all depends on what you expect from a World Cup game. In a world where even FIFA's annual releases come with a sense of built-in obsolescence, it's a challenge to recommend that people who have only just shelled out on the last FIFA buy another football game that has so much in common with its predecessor. (Pocket-lint) - World Cup tie-ins - a mug's game? From the wretched World Cup Carnival in 1986 through to EA's last World Cup effort 20 years later, it's hard to think of one that has really been worth buying.

Fifa world cup 2010