EA has given the refs in FIFA 15 a special watch just like in real life
With every annual iteration of its cherished FIFA brand, EA has edged further away from creating a precise simulation of football itself and closer to the televised match day spectacle of the nation’s favourite sport. This year that facsimile has grown more authentic: the first truly next-gen edition boasts more detailed character models, an officially-licensed interface, realistic crowds (right down to the team-specific chants) and the appropriate stadiums for each of the 20 Premier League teams.
Although work was put into making almost all of the game’s modes better, you’re essentially looking at the same predictable list. There’s Play Now for those who just want to jump into an exhibition match with their favourite team, Online Team Play which allows friends to band together and take on foes over the Internet, and Pro Club Seasons, just to name a few. Of course, Online Seasons, Tournaments and Careers (for both created and assumed players, as well as managers) are also in the game, as is FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT). And, if you’d like to hone your skills, why not go into a practice arena or improve your abilities through the title’s twenty some odd new Skill Games?
The in match graphics are pretty much what you would expect from a FIFA games with highly detailed players and outstanding broadcast style presentation, however it would be intriguing to see what EA could do with the new Metal graphics engine on the iPhone version. One ultra frustrating issue with FIFA 15 Ultimate Team is that the game needs an active internet connection to play, which means that if you are stuck with zero signal strength, or like me on a train with a wifi only iPad the game won’t even load to the menu screen, which isn’t great for a mobile game. FIFA does football very well and if you can live with the connectivity requirement the it’s looking like FIFA will bring you your footy fix for a while. FIFA 15 Ultimate Team is available to download now from the App Store and Google Play Store.
Considering it exists inside a computer-generated world, technically, FIFA games have always had goal-line technology. However, EA has given the refs in FIFA 15 a special watch just like in real life, so when you larrup a volley Yeboah-style off the underside of the bar and it cannons out, you’ll see the man in black consult his watch before awarding the goal (or not as the case may be). Sadly a specially recorded commentary of a baffled Jonathan Pearce is missing.
Instead of dealing with the pass, EA have simply moved the defensive line back to the penalty area at kick off. It may cut out the most embarrassing example of the lobbed through pass' use, but the pass itself is still hugely overpowered the rest of the time. More over, in doing this bodge-fix, EA have made everyone extremely vulnerable from kick off from other means due to an outrageous gap between midfield and defence.
Despite the awesome realism of the game, the defence, which has always been somewhat of a problem for the FIFA series, still hampers the flow and movement of each match. Inevitably you hold down ‘A’ too much and rush in on the player. When playing with more than one player on a team it often looks like a bunch of school children chasing after the ball, which is humorous, but not quite accurate to the actual game of football. It also makes the game biased towards attacking teams. You seldom buy players to bolster your defence, but rather try to buy the top strikers. I guess that is a somewhat realistic view of football as a whole since that’s the way transfers work in the real world, but I do feel EA needs to fix this aspect of their FIFA games.
Sharp-eyed players of the game may also notice one thing out of place. At the end of last season the Baggies removed the matchday control room from the back of the Smethwick End, increasing the stadium's capacity to 26,586. However in the screengrab of the in-game stadium issued by EA Sports, it appears as though the control room is still in place in the Smethwick End, and the capacity is listed as 26,272 - the previous number of seats. Other features in the latest version of the iconic game include goalline technology and authentic player head scans. All told, FIFA 15 is set to be the biggest and best than ever after EA Sports extended its partnership with the Premier League. The gaming giant will continue its long-standing association with the top-flight as its official sports technology partner until 2019.
