2006 FIFA World Cup (PSP)

The PSP is a surprisingly good place to experience the World Cup

A few weeks ago it was hard to feel all that excited about the World Cup, at least in England. Our star player had an injury that seemed like it would at least limit his involvement in the tournament and the England manager had chosen a squad missing big name players. We had EA's 2006 FIFA World Cup to live out our dreams, but now things look altogether more positive. Mr Rooney appears to be on the road to recovery and World Cup glory is on the cards once more. Not ones to cash in, EA chose to release the PSP version of 2006 FIFA World Cup a few weeks after the home console versions, and it couldn't have arrived at a time when the country was more excited about the national team's chances.

EA Sports is no stranger to the licensed World Cup video game and a new FIFA title is released each and every year, so if anyone was to create the ultimate video game to mark the occasion, EA would probably be top of the list. The FIFA games have had their critics, but even die-hard Pro Evolution Soccer fans can't argue that the series has made good strides in recent years, even surpassing the great PES in many ways.
With that being said, if you're determined to hate the FIFA series it's highly unlikely that you'll enjoy FIFA World Cup, particularly on the PSP.

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While the increased control over players' movements, a first touch system and player run commands all find their way into this PSP game, everything's a little less intuitive than it is in the console games. The new shooting system that uses a power meter for height, judging strength on the player's skill and position when striking the ball, is a step in the right direction for the series, and it's hard to see how any additional controls could be mapped to the PSP's button set. What is disappointing is the lack of the PES-like control scheme that was an option in the home console versions of the game. You're restricted to the classic FIFA control set-up, which will take some getting used to if you're a Pro Evo player.

Being a 2006 FIFA World Cup licensed video game, you don't get any club teams or the lengthy single-player modes that the yearly FIFA games include, but as a celebration of the World Cup there's plenty to enjoy. The World Cup mode is the obvious first choice, which lets you start from the beginning and guide your team through qualification, or lets you jump straight in to the finals. This is all presented with the typical EA flair, with well designed menus and a feeling that you're not simply playing in a run of the mill organised tournament.

In an attempt to reward you for almost everything you do in the game, you're given points for certain achievements in games.

Aside from the World Cup mode and Play now options, the other major game mode is the Global Challenge. The idea here is to take part in famous matches and achieve a certain result, perhaps rewriting history along the way. It certainly adds some value to the package, but it's not presented that well. The major negative is the lack of real era players from the matches played in the past. Beckham, Owen, Gerrard and co certainly weren't playing for England in the 1990 World Cup, and it ruins the authenticity.

In an attempt to reward you for almost everything you do in the game, you're given points for certain achievements in games. Whether it's simply winning a game by a single goal or going a whole match without being given a yellow card, points are added to your total which can then be used to buy items from the store. These include new footballs, classic team kits and Destination Germany videos. Sadly, the unlockable classic players don't appear to have been included in the PSP version of the game. Each objective achieved is recorded in your profile, and it's something to continue playing for, long after you've won the World Cup.

Online play is available, but sadly seems to suffer from some pretty severe lag problems. Even when playing against an opponent who a good internet connection, in-game performance was extremely poor, with juddering every few seconds. Games were still playable, but it's a far cry from the online experience that I'd hoped for. While the online play is limited to two players, up to four can play over a local wireless connection. You will of course all need a copy of the game, which makes it a rather unlikely scenario.

Still, EA Sports are kings when it comes to presentation, and they certainly haven't disappointed in this area. The menus show a level of polish that's sorely missing from the Pro Evo series, and the on-pitch action looks great. The official World Cup stadiums look superb and the big name players look about as good as you can expect from a PSP title. The level of detail has been cut down significantly over the home console versions, but on the sharp PSP screen the game still looks impressive. There's some slowdown from time to time, but it's nothing that Pro Evo doesn't also suffer from.

While not console quality, the visuals look smart on the PSP

The expected EA Pocket Trax are of course here, and there's a decent mix of tunes, with a few being very catchy. Crowds go bananas at times, and your nation's national anthem is played in the traditional manner, bringing a real sense of life to proceedings. Commentary once again fails to match the presentation levels exhibited in other areas of the game, with the duo's comments often having little to do with what's happening on the pitch.

2006 FIFA World Cup is a perfectly playable football title that happens to include a fair amount of content for a game based on a single tournament. Gameplay still lags behind the mighty Pro Evolution Soccer in a few areas, but the 'first touch' and 'off the ball' systems continue to impress. It's also great to see a handheld game that doesn't play like a horribly cut down console game. Presentation is great as expected, making this the perfect title to celebrate the World Cup with, even if it's not the perfect footy game.