In truth, FIFA is such a mainstream proposition that tactical options of great depth and complexity would be counter-productive to what the series is trying to achieve. The goal with FIFA 15, as with almost every other FIFA game, is to replicate the most interesting parts of what you see on TV, hence the ability to score goals of sublime lavishness. The goal is not to make you feel like a football manager or a central defender grinding out a tough one-goal victory on a bitter winter night. That would be too realistic, and not exciting enough.

 

All the regularly-featured game modes such as career, Be a Pro seasons and skill games are back in Fifa 15, with a new addition in the form of Friendly seasons, an online one vs one mode where you can take on your friends for bragging rights and the ownership of some digital silverware. The skill games are as creative and addictive as ever, with few new challenges such as a Soccer AM-esque “hole in the wall” style shooting challenge, a lesson on winning aerial battles and a game that encourages you to look for passing triangles - a vital component of Spain and Barcelona’s famed “tika taka” play style.

 

Previously, gamers would have to visit a website such as FUT head or FUT wiz to map out their dream team but now, thanks to the new “concept squad” tool, future or theoretical lineups can be planned right within the game, using players from the entire Fifa 15 Ultimate Team catalogue.

 

Playable both online and offline, it manages to combine your standard-issue FIFA action with aspects of a management simulator and a collectible card game, and it’s hideously addictive stuff. This year EA has also made it more accessible, and just a little more immediately gratifying. The point isn't just collecting and adding great players to your team, but setting up synergies and links so that they're working in the right position with team-mates they feel some affinity for. That way, you build a team chemistry that turns a group of individual stars into one unstoppable goal-scoring and protecting machine. The intro makes this more explicit than before, with a very effective mini-tutorial.

 

If all this adds character to proceedings, it's the goalkeepers who provide the muscle. EA's calling them 'next-gen keepers', which doesn't really mean anything, but they're noticeably better than they ever have been, That doesn't just mean they're harder to beat either - they also make more believable mistakes. It's infinitely more gratifying to score five on-on-ones that see the goalkeeper react in different ways than it is to score the exact same goal five times, even if the end result is the same.

 

The presentation's been completely revamped, affecting everything from fully remodeled players, to authentic camera angles, to bouncy hair physics and turf degradation. The best stuff is reserved for the English proportion of the game because, well, we kinda invented football. For the first time, all 20 Barclay's Premier League stadia are faithfully represented, from West Ham's Boleyn Ground to Leicester City's King Power Stadium. Preceding clashes you'll see a birdseye view, before the camera dips down for some stadium-specific shots. In Liverpool's ground, for instance, the camera cuts to the iconic Anfield sign in the tunnel. Onto the pitch, screen furniture now bears the Premier League's official glossy blue and white stylings. Extra care has been given to team sheets, over which commentators Martin Tyler and Alan Smith recite the line-ups in frighteningly realistic detail. "Today àngel Rangel partners with Ashley Williams in defense," Tyler says of Swansea City's roster in an increasingly tired croak.

 

All this improvements made by EA Sports are drove by the goal - to represent the most real feeling you feel while playing the football by yourself. Although there might be some flaws, it can be fixed through updates. For now, just enjoy the game, and earn FIFA 15 coins to build your team.