We spent a couple of weeks with the game and thought now (a week after it’s release in the UK) would be the time to bring you our review. It’s a long one, with each aspect of FIFA 15 dissected and talked about. However, (something you’ve probably noticed if you scrolled down), there’s no score. No, that doesn’t means a nothing out of 10. We wanted to let out text do the talking and you (the reader) take away exactly that after going through it. Then this happened, which has a distinctly 2014 World Cup feel to it. Apparently there is supposed to be a “goal-line tech” review in instances like this (though I’m not sure why it didn’t happen in the instance below). Either way, I’ve never seen a ball hit the crossbar and spin out so violently like that from a header. Very cool.
The entire FIFA Soccer Blog team came together to produce this epic review, with specific sections being handed to certain guys to cover. You know, the experts. Anyway, enough rambling, we hope you enjoy reading it. We know not everyone will agree, but that’s cool. Feel free to comment and let us know what you think. It may come as a shock, but EA Sports' FIFA franchise is the best selling sports game under the EA umbrella. And yes, that includes Madden. Even though most Americans' interest in soccer spikes only once every four years, the rest of the planet is emotionally invested in the game year round.
Developed by EA Canada, FIFA 15 promises to up the ante yet again, in an attempt to deliver a soccer simulation unlike anything else out there. And for the most part, the franchise has been able to do just that.Where other EA Sports franchises have begun to teeter, FIFA has remained a strong, reliable powerhouse. The new “Living Pitch”, where the field starts to deteriorate as the game goes on, the players can actually kick the corner flag while celebrating, the players jersey’s get dirty as the game goes on, etc. Graphics greatly improved, a lot more detailed faces for players, especially Barclays Premier League players.
The goalkeeper position is arguably the most important in football, as they are the last line of defense against the opposing team. As a result EA Canada saw fit to bring a lot of focus to the position during their development cycle. The goalkeepers weren’t exactly a problem in the past, but FIFA 15 has improved them immensely. Enhancing their design, movement, and even the aforementioned emotional aspect. Their incredible reactions to shots are just one example of how this game truly shines. While the goalkeeper is vastly improved, the rest of the AI in the game is not always perfect. It isn’t something that plagues the game, but the AI for both your teammates and the members of the opposing team often react in unrealistic ways. Hopefully this can be remedied with patches in the future, as it is one of the few misses in FIFA 15.
Developer EA Canada has made a big deal out of FIFA 15‘s “next-gen goalkeepers,” and while they can still make some ludicrous errors as was the case in previous games, on the whole they’re more intelligent than ever before. More adept ‘keepers will fly through the air to reach a ball sailing into the top corner of the goal, they’ll spread out their bodies in order to cover more of the goal mouth when placed in a one-on-one situation with a striker and they’ll fight to contain loose balls inside the box. In the short amount of time I’ve played the game, I’ve noticed you can’t really get away with some of the “cheeky” moves you could in the past. For example, if a player has a ball played to him while he’s offsides, and the pass is intercepted, the offsides player will be flagged when he tries to get the ball back. Also, bumping a player off the ball can result in a penalty (no more body checks on players making runs, you guys).
Overall, however, the list of complaints about FIFA seems to be growing smaller and less severe by the year. FIFA 15 may not be brimming with new ideas and game modes, but it is the most polished and enjoyable version of the football sim yet. In terms of game modes, FIFA 15's Manager and Ultimate Team look and feel very similar to last year, albeit with some minor improvements. In the excellent Manager mode, for example, scouting has been speeded up, so players are able to build a list of targets much more quickly and efficiently.
