EA Sports is all about the small things this year. Blades of grass (and, if it’s raining, water) go flying into the air in slow motion when the ball is struck during replays, the pitch develops physical signs of wear and tear over the course of the match, shirts are visibly pulled by defenders chasing a zippy winger and the PA system at Selhurst Park warns fans in the stadium that the Northern line isn’t running (hats off to EA, they’ve clearly done their research on that one).
The game now has disallowed goals, rather than laser-accurate robotic linesmen that will instantly stop play for offside the moment the ball goes anywhere near an offending player. That rollercoaster of jubilation followed by disappointment when your team is stripped of a winning goal in the dying moments of injury time is, to borrow a phrase from EA Sports, “in the game”.
That's critical to enjoyment of this game, considering how much work usually goes into moving and securing the ball in the game's compressed time span (most FIFA halves last between six and eight minutes in real time). Even more work is necessary this year, as FIFA 15 has increased the number of ways you can be jostled off the ball, and faster defenders seem to hang with you every step of the way. Passing, trapping and dribbling on a sprint is more precarious, but it also makes a counter-attacking strategy more viable.
FIFA have been operating at an incredibly high level for years, and it seems as if each version is still an improvement over the last. There's a downside to being at the top, however: Those improvements will shrink in scale, and the reasons to choose the latest game over the last one one shrink along with those changes.
FIFA 15 feels like it’s been in a few extra training sessions to sharpen up. Its reactions are faster and it’s found an extra yard of pace since last season. It maintains the realism but injects a bit more ‘heavy metal’ as Jurgen Klopp would call it. Players seem more responsive to movements of the left stick, with a last-minute nudge to either side often enough to beat a defender or draw the foul when running at speed and if the momentum is with you. With the right player it’s also more effective from a standstill, shifting the player’s weight one way and then bursting the other past the defender.
Change is good but there’s no logic to the way FIFA 15 plays compared to its predecessor. It’s neither better nor worse, just completely different. And you get the horrible feeling next year is going to take the opposite approach once again, simply because nobody can think of any substantial improvements or new ideas to justify another £60 purchase.
Changes bring energy and fresh. When first FIFA came out, it cannot be perfect. It improves according to what the gamers complained. Only continuous improvements can it be a game that most gamers enjoys.
