2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil review: different enough from all the other kids with their pumped-up kicks

FIFA games have been around since the age of dinosaurs, and 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil doesn’t bring anything huge to the table, but does it need to?

Released as a complement to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which kicks-off June 12, 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil was released on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, while FIFA 14, the previous iteration in the series, was released on both those consoles as well as on the Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC.

This might seem strange to some, but it appears that EA Sports, the developer behind the series, intends to reach a large number of audiences worldwide with this title, and that they feel this game will be played more widely by people on previous gen consoles.

While that does not explain why the game could not have been on both past and present gen consoles, we can only assume it had something to do with them trying to get this release out in time for the actual FIFA soccer championship.

Gameplay

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil plays almost identically to its predecessors, and it’s such an age-old control system that it would make as much sense for me to talk in depth about it as it would be for me to tell you how to perform a jump in Super Mario.

Nevertheless, you don’t have to fix what ain’t broke, and it’s that very control system that has captivated fans worldwide. EA Sports seem to understand that the control system, although good in design, may prove too complex for beginners, and as such they have included two more simple control settings.

The problem with those settings is, however, that you won’t be allowed to use those simpler controls in the online arena, so if you’re interested in mounting a global soccer conquest then it’s probably better to throw yourself off the deep end and learn the harder, classic controls from the start.

There have been minor tweaks to mechanics, such as an improved dribbling and passing system, improved ball physics, and new penalty kicks, but casual players probably won’t even notice these changes, and professional players will take them in and adapt to them within a negligible period of time.

Gameplay Modes

2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil features some key modes not found in the earlier iterations of the game that are worth mentioning because they tie into the theme pretty well.