2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (Xbox 360) review
The World Cup, which is tournament held once every four years, is the biggest prize is world football, and now you have the chance to take your country into the prestigious competition in an attempt to win it all.
As you might have guessed 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is all about the upcoming World Cup in Brazil and just like Brazil’s build up the World Cup the game has its problems. While in the case of the real World Cup it is stadium construction being behind schedule in the video game version it is the game’s terrible frame rate which loves to drop to nearly zero when the camera either zooms out or when you or the opposing team decides to play a long ball. While you can technically fix the frame rate by switching from the default “tele” camera angle to the “broadcast” camera angle you really shouldn’t be forced to do so.
Looking past the frame rate issue 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is basically a scaled down version of last year’s FIFA 14. All the teams are replaced with national sides and the number of game modes are substantially reduced, with the game now having three major game modes. The game’s main mode is the “2014 FIFA World Cup” mode, which allows you to take control of one of the thirty-two qualified nations. The two other major modes are “Road to the FIFA World Cup” and “Story of Qualifying”. In “Road to the FIFA World Cup” you can take control of nearly any FIFA nation and attempt to qualify and play in the World Cup, which means for those who wanted to see Ireland in this year’s World Cup can make it happen in the digital world. In “Story of Qualifying” you can attempt to re-create some of the most memorable moments of the qualification campaign.

In terms of the on the field action don’t expect to see any major changes. The game still pays the same way as FIFA 14, so if you played that you will be at home in 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Despite the lack of any major change I still found playing fun, because personally I haven’t really cared for all the advanced moves they throw in or pay attention to any of relatively new features. I still play the game the same way I did back during the early FIFA game like FIFA: Road to World Cup 98. I guess I’m kind of casual when it comes to my playing of the game. While I did find playing fun, I couldn’t help, but be put off by the game’s at time laughable physics. The worst offender I found for the physics was the goalkeeper who when walking into another player who usually fall over lose the ball and concede a goal.
If you are looking for an eye graphical catching experience 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil will not disappoint. Crowds are far better rendered than any previous FIFA game on the Xbox 360, and the stadium and crowd shots are incredibly lively looking with rich colours giving you the feeling you are at a party. However the eye catching colours and graphics do seem to be the reason for frame rate issues as the game seems to struggle when the camera shows the football and the stadium at the same time.
When it comes to audio I found the game to be a bit annoying. Now I am a football fan, but the constant chatter of the commentators during matches, and the downtime segments that featured chats between Andy Goldstein and Ian Darke on EA Sports Talk Radio were for the most part annoying to me. I’m sure if you were football mad you would like listening to them talk, but it just wasn’t for me.

Conclusion
Should you buy 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil? Rent
2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is a competent football game and for those who can’t wait for the World Cup in June the game is a good buy. However, the game does have frame rate issues.
Pros/cons
+ Gives you the feeling you are at World Cup
+ Easy to pick up and play
– Constant frame rate drops
– Commentators and pundits can become annoying very quickly
Developer | Publisher | Genre | Rating | Platform | Time played | Release date |
EA Canada | EA Sports | Sports | 3+ | PS3, Xbox 360 (reviewed) | – | April 17, 2014 |
For more information on 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, visit http://www.easports.com/2014-fifa-world-cup.
Author: Ash Meehan
Hi, I’m the creator of SG Gaming Info. When I’m not working on my writing or creating content for this site’s YouTube channel, I like to relax and enjoy character driven story games.