While it may not be as polished as FIFA, it certainly stands on its own, delivering a playable game of soccer.
World Tour Soccer 2006 is a no nonsense game of soccer. It plays pretty much like FIFA, even sharing the same control scheme. If you've played the most recent editions of FIFA, you'll feel right at home, since the offensive controls are mapped to the same buttons FIFA uses for shooting, lobbing, passing, and doing a through pass. On defense, you can attempt normal tackles and slide tackles, just like in FIFA. There is also a deliberate dive button, which is good for a few laughs when used improperly. As in with many other sports games, the game does have some sort of off the ball control.
The graphics aren't anything spectacular, but they're sufficient. The game offers time of day and weather options, so you can choose to play during sunny or rainy days in the good number of real life stadiums that are modeled in the game. Player models are decent, and there are plenty of cutscenes during the course of a match. The framerate is smooth and the animation is fluid, so the action follows suit. Of course you're not going to match the graphics of FIFA on a high end PC, but remember, this is a PS2 game. Peter Drury and Chris Kamara provide the commentary.
In addition to exhibition matches the game offers five different modes, but not all of them are worth playing. The Cup mode offers not only a World Tournament, but also cups from different regions of the world. Season mode lets you choose to play a season from the many leagues all over the world. The League mode allows you to play a league with Timewarp teams, Superteams, or create a custom league. The career mode starts you out with a lowly rated school team, and it's up to you to manage them as they progress. Challenge mode awards you points for playing smart football, and subtracts points for sloppy play, and gives you a score at the end of the game.
Only the Cup, Season, and League modes are worth your while though. It's no fun to start with a unskilled team in Career mode, and Challenge mode is inferior to the same mode found in World Tour Soccer for the PSP. In this game, you don't see the points as they are awarded, nor do you see a running total. Instead, you only see your score once the match is over. There is only one scenario you can play in the Challenge mode, unlike in the PSP version, which rewards you with increasingly difficult challenges. The focus of the Challenge mode in World Tour Soccer 2006 seems more to get a high score and compare your performance with other players, rather than unlocking anything.
Speaking of unlockables, there are additional pitches, Timewarp teams, and alternate sets of sounds you can unlock.
World Tour Soccer 2006 may not offer substantial frills and extras, but if all you're looking for is a good playing soccer game, you'll find it in this game.