Of course, everything that you like about the FIFA games is still here- the staggering amount of modes or licenses, for example, or the sheer number of modes that address just about every playstyle that you would care to think of. Teammate AI is enhanced, and it allows for a much more realistic style of gameplay than FIFA has ever delivered before." Shooting is undeniably better this time around than it has been in the last few games, for example. "The core gamplay has benefitted from some under the hood improvements, of course. It’s still a great game, a solid football simulator, and the best in its class in terms of sheer breadth and scope, but it’s also best suited for those who haven’t bought FIFA for a couple of years now. But there’s no one standout feature that immediately sets the game apart from last year’s installment. This year’s entry is more under the hood, reworking the physics system, and slowing the pace of the overall game to make it less arcadey, more real. As this generation winds down, and the next generation looms ahead- with FIFA straddling both- it was, perhaps, evident to begin with that a lot of the biggest features would be saved for next year’s entry. It’s always including something or the other that’s new, that adds a whole new dimension to the game and that makes this year’s edition an absolute must have even to those who already played the hell out of last year’s game.įIFA 14 represents a bit of a slowdown from that trend. FIFA constantly strives to reinvent, to recreate, to stay one step ahead.
This is because, unlike other sports or annual franchises, FIFA does not tend to rest on its laurels. Not only is it now the (unsurpassed) master of its own genre, it’s also become one of the biggest brands for EA, overtaking even longstays like Madden NFL, and one of gaming’s biggest franchises in general. In the last seven years, FIFA has come to dominate the gaming landscape.