For more on 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, check out our full 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil review. Or, for more of the best Playstation 3 games for a 7 year old, why not try our Family Game Finder
2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, as you may have guessed from its cunning name, is the official tie-in game of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. With 203 national teams, 7,469 players, 19 licensed managers, all 12 world cup stadiums and one officially licensed Sepp Blatter, it's a game that aims to be a perfect companion piece to all the drama that takes place on the pitch - in more ways than one.
Depending on your console, up to four people on Xbox 360 or up to seven on PS3 can join in the fun on one machine, as you team up, or play against each other on the road to the world cup. With a variety of modes on offer, including the standard World Cup and Road to the World Cup modes, one of which lets you bypass qualifying to drop straight in to the tournament itself, the most innovative here is the "Story of..." mode, that challenges you to take control of a team half way through a match, or with only a few minutes to spare. Based on matches that actually took place, you'll be asked to recreate, or rewrite history, as you're plonked into a game at a crucial point. Better yet, as soon as the tournament starts, a brand new mode, called Story of the Finals will unlock, which will regularly be updated with challenges that similarly ask you to recreate or rewrite the heartache or the excitement of the World Cup finals. With challenges based on matches going live in the hours after the match itself, it's a great way to get involved with the competition.
In terms of accessibility, a lot will depend on your child's previous FIFA experience, and how much of a football fan they are. While modes like two button mode, which distil FIFA's complex controls down into two, context-sensitive buttons - one for passing, and one for shooting effectively - there are still some things that may confuse younger children. Whether it's the strange lag between pressing the button and having your player actually do it on screen, the way you have to hold the button for a split second to put enough power on your shot (something that's easy for younger kids to over-do), or even the game's menus, which aren't the easiest to find your way around, despite having minimal reading and a two button control mode, this is one perhaps aimed at older kids.
It's also worth remembering that while the Story of the Finals/Qualifying modes let you choose which difficulty you play on, it unfortunately won't let you play on the two difficulties below the game's "normal" setting, known as Semi-Pro - so if your child can only manage the game on easy, they may not be able to get the most out of those two modes. Every other mode in the game lets you play on a difficulty of your choosing from the full range available, however - it's just Story of the Finals/Qualifying that locks you out.
Capturing World Cup fever, there's nothing for parents to worry about here - no swearing, violence, or sex.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Playstation 3
