As always, FIFA's greatest strength is its accessibility. Even if you don't know the first thing about soccer, it's remarkably easy to learn the basics thanks to the Skill Games that pop up during the loading screens and the tutorials. The Men in Blazers podcast likes to call FIFA the "secret hand behind soccer's growth in America" in the way that it can take a total newcomer and make them fall in love with the sport. I know that's been the case for me - I didn't know the first thing about soccer when I picked up FIFA 10, but now I have season ticket to the San Jose Earthquakes. FIFA is infectious like that.
Structurally, it's pretty much identical to FIFA 14. The single-player campaign remains dominated by Career mode, where you can take either a player or a manager through several seasons, hoping to take your team to league and tournament success, or build a fantastic national and international career.
It's still basically a combination of the old Be a Pro and Be a Manager modes, where you roll through the season playing matches, dodging or accepting loan and transfer requests and getting the odd rollicking for your behaviour on the pitch, and as before, you can choose whether to play matches from the viewpoint of just the one player or play with the whole team. The latter will be most people's choice, but playing in just the one position can be interesting, really making you think about where you need to be and what you need to do to make the most of every opportunity, while creating opportunities for others.
How fitting that on the day I review FIFA 15, I am retweeted by my eight-year-old self's footballing hero, Gary Lineker. His exploits in the 1990 World Cup (defecating himself on the pitch notwithstanding) kickstarted a life-long love affair with football, and his own game Gary Lineker's Hot Shot on the Amiga began a search for my own perfect football game, a search that continues nearly a quarter of a century later.
Much like Celtic and Rangers, FIFA's once mighty footballing rival PES has? been on its knees over recent seasons, but had something of a return to? form last year, with this term's next-gen edition rumored to see the? series regain even more ground. This can only be a good thing because as? great as FIFA 15 is, its improvements are ultimately minor over last year's? effort and there's a nagging sense that it needs some competition?
EA Sports says the new feature is designed to: Help FUT gamers understand the value of the players in their Club. Make high-rated players more attainable for all FUT gamers and ensure a level playing field. Further restrict illegitimate coin transfers on the Transfer Market. The publisher adds: "Although the new FUT item Price Ranges will differ from current prices, their relative value to other player items on the Transfer Market will remain consistent in order to maintain a level playing field for everyone."
The modes through which FIFA 15 serves all of this do not differ greatly from previous editions. Playing as a manager or as a single professional is still largely the same experience. Player fatigue still has little palpable effect from game to game (or much within a game, either). Ultimate Team brings in the ability to loan out (or be loaned) players they way they are in international club competition.
The breadth of FIFA 15's offering is still strong, and still as seductive as its forebears ever were. Avid football fans can still lose hours on end to it without a care; newcomers trying to understand the culture of the sport will be exposed to an authentic landscape of player, rivalries and interactions between clubs of the major domestic leagues in Europe.
