Many would describe football as the greatest drama known to the sporting world, watched by millions with a script so unimaginable it might just be true. Emulating the influence of football is a mammoth task. From the roar and atmosphere of the stadium, to a single blade of grass on the surface of the pitch, everything has to be picture perfect to create that kind of cohesive environment for football to exist. EA Sports is no alien to living and breathing “the beautiful game.” They’ve hand crafted FIFA titles since 1993 and know the sheer complexity and difficulty of reciprocating the setting football creates.
FIFA 15 produces a level of detail never before seen in the franchise, the gravity of emotion; the artistry of play is all inclusive, building an experience unlike no other FIFA title. The gracefulness of a half volley, the infuriation from a missed opportunity all expressed in singularity with both yourself and your player on screen. It’s all very surreal, the blades of grass shredded to pieces as you drop the hardest interception of 2014 or the immense joy of banging in a 40 yard screamer. It’s football, it’s drama, it’s exactly what FIFA should be.
The new ignite engine produced by EA is fully utilized to take full potential from next generation consoles, meaning FIFA 15 is most certainly the first “next-gen” FIFA title. The result of ignite is a gameplay experience which is second to none and certainly something more refined compared to the previous instalment. FIFA 14 had the ideas but its lack of experience on next generation platforms let it roll with poor execution, with play being sluggish, buggy and often just un-enjoyable. The latest instalment was tepid at first, but after roughly a day of play it dawned on me that this is the biggest jump in improvement on FIFA that we have seen since 2012, which is a big statement to make.
The concession of play is vast, and it offers new elements of player control in collaboration with new animations to shake up tactics and general play. All components of the title have taken a full re-draft; the biggest one for me is to see the actual player statistics reflected on pitch. I often found that stats of the player didn’t change the outcome of dynamic play in the franchises predecessors.
Here in FIFA 15 the story is incredibly different: you can really witness your tactics and understanding of players taking a toll on the flow of play. Speaking of play, might I add that it is awesome. Seriously, everything exceeds expectations! Evolution is key for a title like this to adapt and stay fresh and while toying around with the game, it was impressive to see that they had upped the ante quite substantially. First of all, all bugs that landed in the first instalment on next-gen are now non-existent. Secondly, upgraded and new animations are now in effect and finally the control system for players has been remastered to create a more accurate more versatile type of game. All-in-all we are presented with a title which truly tries to showcase football at its finest.
Undoubtedly the show must go on when it comes to game modes for FIFA 15, which sees nothing new being added but we have the same old but epic and, in my opinion best mode, Ultimate Team. Ultimate team or “UT” comprises of you building your own dream team with the goal (no pun intended) of winning all the titles you can and landing yourself in the first division. As usual you are presented with a sub-par team to kick off with (seriously, I’m too good at these puns) and you can climb your way up the ladder earning currency to progress through all divisions or, alternatively you can purchase “FIFA points” to open packs of randomly generated players.
As usual, the market on FIFA 15 is thriving and you can even trade your way to the top by earning masses of in-game currency or “FUT coins” to purchase players with. It’s an addictive, frustrating and enjoyable experience once you get going, it’s so expansive and fun they have even ported the mode over to the latest Madden titles. Undeniably for me, second best of the modes falls to Pro Clubs, which covers you and a group of friends forming your own club. You control just a single player in any position, assign a captain and as with UT, work your way through the ranks. I can’t describe the amount of hours I have thrown into working for a Pro Clubs trophy, quite a lot I imagine.
Whether it’s smashing in goals against a buddy on the sofa, making cheeky lobs online or competing in the most prestigious of E-Sports events, FIFA as a drama and as a competition is unrivalled. I found myself shouting at my screen or pumping my fist in happiness from time to time. The amazing thing is, it’s all instinctive, the compelling essence of competition and rivalry exists in all of us and when you finally get to throw down your skills on “the battlefield” you will never feel more obliged to give it your all and react when the dice finally falls.
It’s this that keeps me coming back to play, the douche bag that is in me, the guy that wants to score screamers and shush you whilst I brag on twitter how I just scored a screamer. It sounds terrible, I know, but any FIFA player reading this now knows that is the real deal. What makes me chuckle is that EA recognises this, so much so that they effortlessly throw in more ways for players to emote and celebrate. It’s a douche move, but damn do I love it. New people over at your house? FIFA time. Just been introduced to someone? FIFA time. At a party? FIFA time. It’s that kind of game and despite its occasional flaws, it’s spectacular.
FIFA though, without saying, comes with its issues. Glitches happen and as always the curse of the developers ‘fix one thing, break 20 others’ will always be there but so far, nothing has really bothered me. It’s hard to constantly spit out a title of FIFA‘s standards, it reminds me of the concept “damned If we do and damned if we don’t.” The idea that too much change is unsettling and not enough change is criticised.
I always feel as though all it can do is improve and offer new ways to play and be unique, that’s how FIFA Street came to be. We find that FIFA titles just spew out similar details and the be all and end all is exactly what we played before. But, for once, since FIFA 12 was made, I feel as though the goal of improvement was the game-plan with FIFA 15 and this idea is what hits the spot and truly surprised me about the game.
So how does FIFA stack up in 2014? Is it the most amazing thing in the world? Hell no. Is it the worst game I have ever played? Not whilst Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is still here. What FIFA 15 is, is progression. Flat-out improving everything, fine-tuning and the word refinement, which keeps popping in my head.
What it crafts is something I haven’t felt for some while, a FIFA title I generally looked forward too and a FIFA title I am thoroughly enjoying. Perfection? Nah, but I appreciate what has come to pass. I feel as though older players will applaud the new title and new players will take away the same enjoyment I have. Regardless, it’s FIFA, the same infuriating, controller smashing, fist pumping and shushing action we enjoy year in, year out, only this time, with far more innovation.