14 DAY TRIAL // FIFA 15 has been out for a while now and the new installment in the long-running football simulation from EA Sports has already received mostly positive reviews and reactions from the community, although the overall reaction is not as enthusiastic as for last year’s version.
I have played FIFA 14 for about 10 hours a week since it was launched and have spent the same amount of time with the newer title since it arrived in stores, and my impression is that this year’s experience is better and deserves to be recognized as such by the fan community.
I see the limited recognition for FIFA 15 as a sign of the current trend of focusing only on big and revolutionary changes for new video games, which is at the moment precluding players from seeing how important it is to also praise mechanics that slowly but surely move in the right direction.
The revolution takes place every few years in FIFA
EA Sports has a history of fundamentally changing some core element of FIFA every two or three years, asking the community to get acquainted with new mechanics, which can at times be frustrating.
At the same time, the studio is polishing almost all the aspects of the series and making smaller modifications that enhance the enjoyment of the user.
For FIFA 15 the big changes are the goalkeeper tech, which has apparently been rebuilt for a two-year period, and the emotion-driven reaction for players, which are supposed to influence their actions on the pitch.
Smaller impact does not lessen quality
Either by design or because of luck both the features have a smaller impact in FIFA 15 than I expected before the game launched, and that might trick some gamers into thinking that the title has not evolved in any way.
At the same time, elements that were overlooked in the promotional efforts do make a difference, like the way improved physics means that long-range scoring in my multiplayer matches is rarer than I thought it would be.
In the Career Mode of FIFA 15 the Team Sheets are the biggest change, especially for a fan of tweaking tactical setups for their teams.
These are just small elements of the football simulation experience but they show how EA Sports can push the series forward even in a year when it does not introduce any huge gameplay changes.