When it comes to features, it’s again difficult to choose a clear winner. While FIFA 06 has a manager mode, FIFA World Cup has all of the excitement that makes the World Cup what it is. One thing that both games are grossly lacking is a tutorial mode. Even soccer fans would be lost in the depth of both games. FIFA 06 more so than World Cup, since the realism requires even more knowledge of soccer. It should come as no surprise to anyone that most of the people who buy sports games are fans of games more than they are fans of sports. And most diehard gamers are not what you would call athletic types. Therefore, a tutorial would have definitely been helpful. Aside from the basic knowledge of soccer that I was lacking, I had no idea how to do any of fancy moves and plays that EA spent so much time adding. In FIFA 06, while the computer’s team was juggling the ball like the pros, my team was stumbling around like amateurs, fouling with sliding tackles more often than not. If I didn’t have a boss and a deadline, I might have given up on the game before I figured out how to play well enough to make it a fun experience.

Overall, while both games can be fun, it’s obvious that World Cup is the clear winner. If you are an extremely hardcore soccer fan, you might appreciate the realism and difficulty of FIFA 06. For all us normal folk, World Cup’s simple and addictive gameplay is the better choice. If you haven’t watched the World Cup, there is no better time than now, especially since it comes around only once ever four years! See you in Germany…