World Cup 98 (video game)

World Cup 98
World Cup 98
Developer(s)	EA Canada; Tiertex Design Studios (Game Boy)
Publisher(s)	EA Sports; THQ (Game Boy)
Series	FIFA World Cup
Platform(s)	Game Boy, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Windows
Release	March 13, 1998 PlayStation; Windows; Nintendo 64; Game Boy; ;
Genre(s)	Football/Soccer
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

World Cup 98 was the first official FIFA World Cup game developed by EA Sports after obtaining the rights from FIFA in 1997. Unlike the previous World Cup games, which were in 2D and showed a bird's-eye view, World Cup 98 was the first in the franchise to use a 3D engine, utilising DirectX for the PC version. Accurate national team kits (except for the goalkeepers who were issued a generic kit) were introduced complete with kit manufacturer logos and official merchandise. The game engine is based on that of FIFA: Road to World Cup 98, though it features some minor gameplay improvements to areas such as ingame strategy changing and player positioning. The playable teams in the friendly mode also included several nations that did not qualify for the finals. World Cup 98 was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy.

Game modes

In-game screenshot of a match between Argentina and Brazil

The main feature of the game is the World Cup tournament itself, where the player may use either the actual groups used in the finals, or groups composed of a random selection of the included teams. Each match takes place in a recreation of the venue it was played in the actual tournament. As in the real tournament, group games do not go to extra time or a penalty shootout but knockout matches do.

The game was released prior to the actual World Cup, therefore results between CPU teams are not based on results from the actual tournament. At the end of each match, a caption shows the man of the match award, and if applicable a clean sheet caption. At the end of the "World Cup" game mode, captions show the winner of the Golden Boot for most goals scored during the tournament and winner of the FIFA Fair Play Award, two awards which are given in the real World Cup.

It is also possible to play friendly matches between any of the teams that are included in the game. At the end of a drawn game the player can choose to finish the match as a draw, play extra time with the golden goal rule, or take part in a penalty shootout.

As in FIFA 98, national squads can be customised to reflect the actual tournament's players by including players from a reserves pool in the "customise" option.

The "World Cup Classics" mode allows the player to play fifteen classic FIFA World Cup matches from United States of America in 1994, Italy in 1990, Mexico in 1986, Spain in 1982, Argentina in 1978, West Germany in 1974, Mexico in 1970, England in 1966, Chile in 1962, Sweden in 1958, Switzerland in 1954, Brazil in 1950, France in 1938, Italy in 1934 and Uruguay in 1930. The 1982 match is unlocked by winning the "World Cup" mode, and by completing each unlocked game, the next one is unlocked in the order shown above. "World Cup Classics" mode features accurate period team kits (except for the goalies), hairstyles and names, and commentary for this mode only was provided by Kenneth Wolstenholme, the BBC's commentator during the 1966 and 1970 FIFA World Cup. For the 1966, 1954 and 1950 World Cup Final matches in this mode, the graphics are in black and white, as they were shown on television at the time. The 1938 and 1930 matches are shown using sepia tone graphics. In matches that took place prior to the introduction of substitutions, it is not possible to change a player during the match.

Teams

The game features every team that qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup:

Brazil
Argentina
Paraguay
Colombia
Chile
Mexico
United States
Jamaica
Japan
South Korea
Saudi Arabia
Iran
Tunisia
Morocco
South Africa
Nigeria
Cameroon
Denmark
Croatia
Norway
Italy
France
Belgium
Netherlands
Austria
Spain
England
Scotland
Bulgaria
Yugoslavia
Romania
Germany

As well as eight others who did not:

Canada
Portugal
Republic of Ireland
Sweden
Russia
Greece
China
Australia

Commentary and music

The UK version of the game features commentary from John Motson and Chris Waddle, with matches introduced by the voice of Des Lynam and voice-overs in the team schedules from Gary Lineker.

As with Electronic Arts' main FIFA Series, France 98 features several licenced songs; "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba is the title song of the game, with "Terminal Intensity" by The Wizard of Oh, "Soul Beat Runna" by Boymerang, "Absurd" by Fluke and others, are also used in the menus.

Reception

The game was a bestseller in the UK.^[1] The game received mostly positive reviews. PC Guide's July 1998 issue named World Cup 98 as the winner of a group test involving other PC football games around at the same time, ahead of competitors such as Actua Soccer 2, Three Lions and Sensible Soccer 98. The magazine describes the game as "Simply the best football game in the world".^[2] MobyGames scores the game 3.9/5 whilst Gamespot awards the game 8.8/10.

References

^ Gallup UK Playstation sales chart, December 1998, published in Official UK PlayStation Magazine issue 35
^ James, Chris (July 1998). "Football's Coming Home". PC Guide Volume Four Issue Four. Future Publishing. pp. 53–57.

External links

Preceded by World Cup USA '94	FIFA World Cup Official Licenced Video Game 1998	Succeeded by 2002 FIFA World Cup

Preceded by Gran Turismo	UK number-one PlayStation game November-December 1998	Succeeded by Colin McRae Rally

[1] Gallup UK Playstation sales chart, December 1998, published in Official UK PlayStation Magazine issue 35

[2] James, Chris (July 1998). "Football's Coming Home". PC Guide Volume Four Issue Four. Future Publishing. pp. 53–57.

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