Only one month ago, I could not be called a soccer fan. In fact, any type of sport would probably be the last thing you would think about if you truly knew me. But, like so many others, I got hooked on the World Cup. It started with a friendly work pool, and has now developed into an unhealthy obsession, best demonstrated by the simple fact that I own two games based on the 2006 FIFA World Cup. With the entire planet’s population infected with World Cup fever, what better time to look at EA’s two soccer titles for the XBOX 360?

Much like the egg and the chicken, FIFA 06 came before FIFA World Cup. When EA named FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup, I’m sure they had no idea how appropriate a name it would be. FIFA 06 was like a stepping stone on the way to developing a much better game, FIFA World Cup. It is amazing what a few extra months development time can do for a game. The big question remains, though, did EA give FIFA World Cup extra time, or did they deprive FIFA 06 the time it would have needed to be the game it should have been?