2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Review

It's that time again: the time for all the world to be glued to their television sets and witness something that comes just once every four years - the football World Cup. The only video game you can truly associate with such a momentous and global event is EA's FIFA World Cup game.

Following from EA's ludicrously successful FIFA series, the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil title is blessed with colour, emotion and dazzling displays of football prowess throughout. The atmosphere and soul of Rio and the many other host cities of the Brazilian World Cup is captured well, with the stadia looking unanimously immaculate throughout the country. Rare glimpses of the crowd in between goals show fans wearing sometimes stereotypical attire such as berets on the French supporters showing emotion that's sometimes a little O.T.T.. Shots to the countries where fans are gathered around jumbo screens is a nice touch but the dramatic drop in framerate on these occasions helps to highlight the lack of polish this game has.

As is becoming tradition with EA games, World Cup 2014 is buggy in more ways than one. The training system put in place throughout the main World Cup mode doesn't shine as it should with the camera being the main distraction much like it is in the main game. I don't know how they have done it but it flies and whizzes around like a lost pigeon more often than not, rarely tracking the ball near the far touchlines of the pitch making the majority of the action focused on a small portion of the screen, occasionally behind the HUD of player names and the scoreboard; frustrating is putting it mildly.

Gameplay is very similar to that of FIFA 14, which is to be expected. Passing feels much crisper however and it seems that for one reason or another players are less likely to strike wayward attempts to get the balls to teammates than in '14.

The same can be said for game modes with a couple new additions (to some extent) and will keep the most keen and patient players entertained throughout the real world tournament. The 'Story of Finals' mode will give players the chance to relive the highlights of the World Cup by means of playing out scenarios which actually took place throughout the event in the real world, as well as the opportunity to create some new history too. Look forward to softening the blow of England's exit in a few weeks time when the tournament gets underway.

Captain Your Country is a semi-original idea, akin to that of the Become a Legend mode in FIFA 14. 'CYC' throws you onto the international scene with the target of making your chosen country's World Cup squad three years from the start of your campaign, with the eventual goal of becoming your country's captain and winning the glorious World Cup trophy at the end. It's a long road from starlet to stardom but is staggered well with aforementioned training sessions between full matches to help enhance your fledgling attributes. You can also gauge your progress by how players around you are doing too, working together and helping each other climb from B-Team games to everything-at-stake A-Team internationals. I'm humbled in knowing that I'm currently a higher rated player than Tom Cleverley.

The market for this iteration of the official World Cup game is of course big enough to warrant an entire full-price copy of the game but as is a common occurrence with EA and FIFA's mid-season international titles, you aren't really getting an awful lot more for your money. I feel the game could have been bundled as DLC for a fraction of the current price, as was the case with FIFA's Euro 2012. Tournament modes are available on FIFA 14 and offer a very similar format of play if that's what you want out of this game but if you are looking for the complete atmospheric package with Brazilian tunes, incredible looking stadiums and the opportunity to take San Marino to World Cup glory then you probably won't hesitate on buying 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. If you want a bargain buy with value for money and you already own a copy of FIFA 14, then stick with what you've got and wait on tenterhooks until the inevitable disappointment of England's short and bitter demise on the biggest international football stage. Afterwards, sob and stumble back to your local videogame store and pick up a copy once it's an eighth of the price it was just a couple weeks before and do your best to restore some national pride by taking a photo of Steven Gerrard holding the World Cup aloft, slapping on a nostalgic filter and posting it online accompanied with the hashtag #WhatCouldHaveBeen. Yeah, that'll make the pain go away for another four years.