Fifa 14 Review
Developer EA Sports
Publisher EA
Platform PS3, xbox360 & PC
Release Date Out Now.
After the massive changes seen in Fifa 12 the following two annual launches have been very much about tightening up the overall experience rather than making ground breaking alterations. At first glance you might think this looks the same as Fifa 13 and you would be kind of right but once you sit down and start to play the subtle differences become more apparent and have made Fifa 14 vastly more enjoyable.
As ever it comes bursting with official licences, for clubs countries and competitions. This year boasts an improved roster and even some new stadiums after deals with clubs like Everton ensured Goodison was for the first time included this year.
The two main gameplay changes you will notice is first off the overall speed has been slowed down quite a bit making the game less hectic and more realistic, players now need time to turn. No longer can you sprint at full pace and expect your player to turn on a sixpence and retain control of the ball.
Shooting has been refined to include that net bursting mid height shot. For a long time shooting in Fifa was either low and soft with a gentle side footed pass shot into the bottom corner. Or a net screamer that flies into the top corner of the net but what about those pile drivers that fly two feet off the ground. The controlled power? This year this is an option, a lot depends on the ball and your players positioning but shooting is a lot more natural and predictable.
The main thing going for Fifa over many other games is its value for money. It doesn’t have a limited shelf life of a few weeks with the majority of players playing for a full 12 months. This is down in no small part to the Ultimate Team.
Imagine if you will a digital interactive sticker album and you are not too far away from what UT offers. You buy packs of unknown items, they might contain a set number of contracts, a certain player (you can even get swaps). The different packs Gold, silver and Bronze give items of different values to match their cost.
The packs can be purchased with in-game currency that can be earned or purchased with real money. The trade pile then offers players a chance to dabble in the transfer market to swap or purchase new players the goal being to build your own Ultimate Team of stars to take on anyone online.
This is an addictive part of the game and EA know it, this is why it has spread outside of the console. You can check your team, buy and sell players from the web and mobile apps. Fancy selling a player just before bed or while at work? They have you covered.
With new additions to how players chemistry determines how they interact with each other, the removal of some other less well known features there have further refined the overall experience yet again.
As already mentioned this is not about changing the game but refining it and this is expended to some new game modes. 2 V 2 co-op seasons gives you and a friend a chance to play together against another two players in ranked competitions. We also see the return of the fans favourite single game FUT matches. Otherwise the rest falls into your traditional game modes of seasons, career and be a pro as well as the user created competitions.
Overall : Fifa this year is as solid as last years, the small tweaks have been precise just to improve it enough to warrant a purchase. The biggest improvement is to the overall sturdiness of the game after last years less than impressive launch this year has been far smoother.
Is Fifa 14 different enough to warrant buying all over again? Probably not, but will you buy it an play the heck out of it for 12 months? You like us probably will.
Nothing game changing but that’s fine when it is this good.
SCORE 4/5
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