Re: FIFA 06 - Road to FIFA World Cup (Xbox 360)
I have to say i partly agree with Mattster, although his obsession over long grass makes him sound like a lawnmower salesman!!!
Some of his points are very valid. I grant that some of the close-ups of the faces are very impressive, but the lighting is pretty hideous. Just check out the Return of the Living Dead referee... even Michael Jackson doesn't look THAT pale!!! The players also look plasticky too. OK... they added some "sweat" effects, but Ronaldhino's arm looks positively SHINY.
More importantly, there are major problems in terms of realism regarding in-game player forms. You have to look at the player's body as a whole.. does the player look NATURAL? To me, FIFA has always looked as if the players' head & limbs were attached to the body like you stick lego together... doesn't anyone see how unnatural the running looks? In WE, with it's lower resolution gfx, they players feel WHOLE, and they show proper balance in their form... which makes the players look more realistic (despite the poorer textures). Check the direction of gaze in FIFA games too... the AI is such that they seem to be running without being aware of the player with the ball, which makes the illusion of reality less convincing...
To conclude, it feels like this with FIFA gfx...
1) Stick photo-realistic head onto body
2) Stick arms onto body
3) Stick legs onto body
4) Stick player 1 on screen
5) Stick player 2 on screen
As a former art student, it takes more than hi-resolution gfx to make the gfx REALISTIC... realism is more about players' forms appearing natural, displaying balance, with players appearing to display awareness of the situation around them...
.... that's why WE is better...
PS... and the grass is shorter
