FIFA 14

FIFA 14 Review 

  Many gamers look forward to the annual addition to the FIFA series, and EA has not disappointed, recently having rolled out FIFA 14. For the last few years, the  franchise has been on top of the chart due to realism, detail and gameplay. While the closest competitor, the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise, comes close due to the detail it gives to every aspect of the game, overall, FIFA has reigned supreme.

With FIFA 14, a whole new chapter has come up, and this time around, it seems like the game developers have worked quite hard at tweaking the game to focus more on realism. The new installation, however, doesn't bring much in the way of new features. So what has changed? What can you expect? How is the gameplay? We decided to take a look.

The first thing you notice is the revamped menu system inside the game, now featuring groups of mixed panels that you can switch between. While this may seem a bit difficult to handle in the beginning, the result actually makes it easier for users to navigate between menus. There hasn’t been a major revamp of the game modes, meaning that all the usual suspects are back in this installment, including Ultimate Team, Career mode, multiplayer and the standard quick play.

The game modes are the same as before, but are still just as much fun to play

Ultimate Team mode is more or less the same. The aim of the mode is to pick your team based on chemistry, essentially making a playing unit that is not just centered on ability and player stats. It is hard to establish a connection with a randomly assembled team, though. Career mode, in our books, gets more points, and the new installment comes with quite a few tweaks for the same. While scouting for players was earlier a tedious task, the updated interface makes the process a lot easier and allows for more time being spent in gameplay as opposed to menu surfing. You can also play co-op seasons over multiplayer, but the real changes can be seen in the gameplay itself.

EA has definitely put a lot of effort in making the gameplay feel more real. This has been a constant part of FIFA’s overall development over the past few years. The major difference that we could pinpoint between this franchise and Konami’s PES series is the delicate balance it maintains to keep each match grounded in realism. PES, on the other hand, has always been bogged down by slightly unrealistic gameplay. The team line-up is as expansive as ever, with even the lowest divisions being clearly detailed. Realism in terms of player details seems to range, though. While some players come with accurate facial builds, others seem to be slightly off the mark.

FIFA 14 isn’t earth shatteringly different from the earlier installments. The tweaks in the latest installment, though, come out when you get down to playing a match. Every detail has been worked on from how the player runs, jumps, makes a pass or even the stance that individual players take on the field. A lot of the match is really slow and complicated. This could amount in a certain degree of frustration for users who want intense gameplay throughout the match. They won’t get it here, unfortunately.

The detail given to the gameplay is pretty impressive

This is more than made up for in the portions of the match where the gameplay does pick up. Expect your game to suddenly kickstart into a higher gear, where players will have to pull off precise attacks or fast paced counters. Matches no longer oscillate around players running from one side of the field to the other. Instead the match works around almost surgical incisions, with the tempo ebbing and flowing like how you would expect a real match to pan out.
The slow pace in some parts of the game can be chalked up to EA’s new Precision Movements mechanics. This essentially allows players to move more realistically. While it amounts to brilliant player roundups, the movement feels a bit slower than before. Users who want to sprint with the ball now have to deal with longer stopping distances. The new mechanics also results in lesser balance, which is noticeable when you are shooting or trying to set up a cross play. Shooting and passing now completely depend on how the gamers balance their players or position their feet while setting up the move.

It also means that there is a great deal more focus on the methodology behind each executed move. This could be a welcome tweak for FIFA purists. A lot more attention will have be given to conditions surrounding each player, including the distance between the goal posts, positions of rival players and the overall field setup. Users will no longer be able to rely on crazy passes and cross plays from the middle of the field to achieve their goals (although it is possible, as we found out in a memorable goal score). The new system also makes successful attacks feel really satisfying.

Setting up your play has never needed more precision

The best part about the game is the ability for players to adjust and improvise their gameplay. This amounts to unorthodox touches, passes and shots that can be customised for the defender the user is up against. This is a definite advantage while squaring up against the opposition. Individual players have different moves that they can execute. When you sum it up, the gameplay definitely does become exciting.

The AI of the game has been worked on, adding to the game's tempo. Instead of aimlessly running around, players now try to occupy free space in the field and the opposition’s defenders will respond by trying to get into the same space. When you build up to a sustained attack, the entire team moves forward, stepping up the pressure on the opposition and also hedging them into their own defensive area. While this definitely makes attacking a better experience, we sometimes found half our team playing like they were strikers.

This was one of the few unrealistic moments in the game, as a real football match will never see a defender moving beyond the defensive area. Another disadvantage of this was that there seems to be no real way to get your attacking players to get back to their positions unless you stop the attack altogether.

It gets a bit frustrating when all your players begin attacking

The speed of each game has been the cornerstone of every FIFA installment. The latest edition not only strives to maintain that but also works to revamp the overall balance that the gameplay gets. While the speed has been reduced, there is a lot more importance given to game control and improvisation. This may be a bit frustrating for many gamers, but others might be able to cash in to build a much better experience.

Overall, the game is definitely a lot more difficult to play than the earlier installments. Gone are the days when you could kick back and while away half an hour of your life playing a quick FIFA match. The difficulty in building attacks might put off a few users, but if you plan to stick with the game for the rest of the year, the varied and challenging gameplay will definitely keep you hooked.

Platform tested: PlayStation 3