First of all there’s the menu design. It’s still the same old EA layout and it has all of the flaws and usability issues which I hate to my very core. But isn’t it nice to see a bit of colour and vibrancy in a FIFA game for once? The earthy orange colour palette, with the FIFA.com styling and the cheerful World Cup mascot Zakumi all make for excellent viewing.

There’s also another brilliant addition to the menu design which is the use of the World Map for team selection. Combined with the free analogue cursor it makes team selection an utter joy as you swish between continents with L1 and R1 for backup. It’s so much more intuitive from a usability perspective that I find it crazy something similar wasn’t implemented for FIFA 11?

Now on to the thorny issue of game modes of which there are many to choose from. The standard assault at World Cup glory is well represented as you’d expect covering everything from qualification to the finals. But the stand out game mode for me is probably the “Story of the Finals” World Cup Scenario Mode which was at its peak when the tournament was happening live in South Africa.

Within just a few days of the matches being played you’d have the latest selection of real World Cup scenarios available for download to relive on your console. Going back over them in the last few days has brought the tournament in South Africa back to life, reminding me of the many twists and turns World Cup 2010 had to offer. Personally I love this mode purely because it offers something a little different to the usual FIFA fare and fans of FIFA 08 I’m sure will nod in approval.

The biggest change to the game modes came in the online space though with skill point ranked matches thrown out in favour of a league based “three points for a win” system more akin to the real football world. There were ten online leagues to advance through with promotion and relegation always within sight. There were also cup competitions at the end of each season to give those stuck in mid-table mediocrity a chance at glory before their next online campaign. It was engaging, exciting and when there’s silverware at stake, things change.

This radical online overhaul was a bold move by EA not only because the skill point system was so ingrained in the FIFA psyche but because the server side match making had to be flawless to partner it. Not only that but it forced a change of mindset rather than gamers just blindly trying to accumulating skill points for no reason. People don’t care about being docked skill points or having a high DNF but what they do care about is winning cups and league titles. That’s the kind of positive reinforcement we want to see EA using to tackle things rage quitting and Online Leagues were a big step in the right direction. If this doesn’t come back bigger and better for FIFA 12 I’ll be shocked and probably mortified, this is too good a system for EA to let pass them by.

The gameplay however is spliced with both good and bad elements. The good is that to me the gameplay feels a lot more methodical than FIFA 11 and the AI especially is much better at getting forward and creating chances. It also seems to have inherited some the impressive Euro 08 AI where teams will react very differently when playing matches in home and away legs. It’s a little more subtle than Euro 08 which isn’t a necessarily a good thing but it is there all the same. EA need to pick up where Euro 08’s team AI started and run with it for FIFA 12.

Sadly there are a few gameplay elements which leave FIFA World Cup 2010 almost unplayable for me at times. The main one is the defensive lines which are utterly abysmal. The back four don’t seem to have any awareness for each other or their own positioning. They’re constantly being sucked in to midfield when there’s already ample cover and the centre backs track every single run in behind from the strikers. Whilst that’s great for pressing and tackling back, it plays everyone onside and leaves gaping holes for the opposition to easily exploit. There’s very little you can do to prevent it either it just happens around you leaving the defender you’re controlling utterly helpless.

One thing physics wise I think EA can take from World Cup 2010 though is the shooting. FIFA 11’s shooting is largely regarded as better this year with the extra variation in trajectory and added unpredictability things we all asked for. But what shooting has lost from World Cup 2010 is raw pace. When you hit shots in World Cup 2010 they stay hit and can crash in to the net with amazing ferocity at times, it feels brilliant. If EA could combine the trajectory and physics improvements from FIFA 11 but keep that top end pace from World Cup 2010 they’ll have shooting absolutely nailed.

Verdict

In some ways it was easy for EA to be brave with some of FIFA World Cups 2010’s design choices because it isn’t a core FIFA release. If some of the more radical ideas hadn’t worked then the main FIFA title would have remained unscathed.  But the most radical changes like Online Leagues, Scenario Mode and the new penalty system did work and with great success, so why not carry them all forward?

It’s also important to remember that FIFA World Cup 2010 had a transfer update, boot updates, kit updates, ball updates, unlockable teams and of course the 55 real World Cup Scenarios to download. It was well supported and well looked after, something which the main FIFA titles have failed at spectacularly.

It has its issues (which I’ve mentioned) but there’s no doubt in my mind that FIFA World Cup 2010 is the most complete and cohesive FIFA title EA have ever delivered. FIFA World Cup 2010 wasn’t just evolutionary, it was revolutionary but sadly that design bravado is something EA seem to have lost in transition to FIFA 11.

FIFA World Cup 2010 is bold, innovative and above all else brave and for me it’s the best next-gen FIFA we’ve ever seen, not quite a master piece but as close as EA has ever come.

I’ve been back and played FIFA World Cup 2010 a lot recently and I’ve had a blast. The game has a few issues which hamper the experience a little but in terms of overall enjoyment I really can’t knock it so far. With the game flying around on the internet at the moment for as little as £10 it also represents very good value as well.

If there’s enough interest we’ll go back and do a proper FIFA 2010 World Cup review (as myself and Tom weren’t around at the time) and try to find out what FIFA can learn from this game, if anything and if it’s really as good as people say it is.

So, what do you think of FIFA World Cup 2010? Do you love it, hate it or just don’t care about World Cup games? Or is it in fact the best FIFA game we’ve seen this generation?

The service shutdown on the 8th of February will affect the following games:

• FIFA 07 for Xbox 360
• FIFA 08 for PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
• FIFA 09 for PC, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
• FIFA 09 Ultimate Team for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
• FIFA Street 3 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
• EA SPORTS™ FIFA Manager 10 for PC
• 2010 FIFA World Cup™ for PlayStation Portable and Wii
• 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Demo for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
• UEFA EURO 2008™ for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

On their Service Updates page EA list the closures as accounting for a tiny percentage of online traffic to their servers.

The EA SPORTS™ games scheduled for shutdown in February 2011 represent roughly 1% of all peak online players across all EA titles. Despite some people’s perception, there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping these older games up and running. We would rather our hard-working engineering and IT staff focus on keeping a positive experience for the other 99% of customers playing our more popular games. These decisions to retire games is never easy. The development teams and operational staff pour their hearts into these games almost as much as the customers playing them and it is hard to see one retired. We hope you have gotten many hours of enjoyment out of the games and we appreciate your ongoing patronage.

There hasn’t been a lot of notice given, so if you’re still playing those games online or have any outstanding Achievements/Trophies you want to mop up, you had better make the most of the next month.

Enjoy guys and gals!

Worry no longer! We have the codes to unlock world cup colorways of both the Predator X and the Adipure III, worn by Lampard and David Silva respectively. Not to mention the code for the all new Adidas Adizero F50, worn by no other than Messi.

Hit the jump to grab the codes and update your game.

YouTube – Unlock adiPure Cleats for EA World Cup’10

Adidas adiPure III TRX – Black/Sun
CODE: HHDO-PWPM-IXZQ-OJOZ

Important: Enter the Codes without (-), only the letters !!!

YouTube – Unlock Predator Cleats for EA World Cup’10

Adidas Predator_X – Black/Sun
CODE: OCEG-ZCUH-XOBS-BNFU

YouTube – Unlock F50 Cleats for EA World Cup’10

Adidas F50 adizero – Chameleon
CODE: VOKM-NEZT-JOQP-ULUT

Adidas F50 adizero – Black/Sun/Sun
CODE: SGFS-TZPP-XCHH-MJMH

Adidas F50 adizero – Sun/Black/Gold
CODE: YOZC-CVIF-JGKQ-JWTW

Read on to see today’s scenarios, but remember; as all of these use the latest squad file, make sure you have downloaded the latest squad file before attempting to play them or the game will freeze.

Match Day 2:
South Korea v Greece
Score 2-0
Match Time: 52nd Minute
Minimum difficulty: Professional
Story: “South Korea’s Park Ji-Sung has just scored the 2nd goal of the match and Korea now leads 2-0. Can Greece come out of their defensive shell and win this game?”

Argentina v Nigeria
Score 0 – 0
Match Time: Match Kick-off
Minimum Difficulty: Semi-Pro
Match type: Be a Pro as Lionel Messi
Story:
“Argentina and Nigeria Kick-off in Ellis Park and Lionel Messi is ready to establish himself in the tournament. Can the holder of the Ballon d’Or add a World Cup and Golden Boot to his long list of accolades?”

England v USA
Score 1 – 1
Match Time: 79th Minute
Minimum Difficulty: World Class
Story:
“Fabio Capello has just decided to make his final substitution of the match bringing on Peter Crouch for Emile Heskey. Is this the tactical decision that will find a victory for the Three Lions?”

Match Day 1:
South Africa v Mexico
Score 1 – 1
Match time: 79th Minute
Minimum Difficulty: World Class
Story:
“Marquez has just scored for Mexico to rally back from a 1-0 deficit. South Africa carry the hopes of the nation in the first match. Can the hosts find a winner in the final 12 minutes?”

Uruguay v France
Score 0 – 0
Match Time 81st Minute
Minimum Difficulty: Semi-Pro
Story:
“Uruguay are down to 10 men after Lodeiro receives his 2nd yellow card for a tough challenge on Sagna. Can they hold on against a very good French side who are pressing for a win?”

Important Note: All Story of Finals Scenarios will require the latest Squads update. Please ensure that you’ve downloaded the update before playing any new scenarios.

There’s also news on scenario mode and even the upcoming addition of the official football the Adidas Jabulani.

Both should be available by the time the days end. Keep an eye on the boards for further updates!

In the blog Dan asks the fans their thoughts, so feel free to get some feedback to him through our boards or on the PSM3 website.

Spain’s path to FIFA World Cup glory included a quarter-final 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Italy after an absorbing 1-1 draw, and a 2-1 win over Argentina in the semi-final. In the World Cup final Spain faced off against Brazil and after 90 minutes… Spain reached sporting immortality as the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Champions with a 3-1 victory.

For more details, view the story by clicking here.