FIFA 15 Review (Xbox One)

FIFA 15 is the kind of football sim where Dejan Lovren, a solid defender, can slide on an attacking player, push the ball away and then continue his movement to give away a penalty.

Where superstar striker Di Maria can fail to convert one on one with the keeper from about 10 meters and where a superb team move from Everton is capped with a diving header goal from Lukaku delivered from outside the box.

There’s a lot of variety included in the new title from EA Sports, which introduces a range of small changes to the core mechanics and brings the series closer to the real world flow of a football match, albeit with some both impressive and hilarious moments that would never happen outside of the virtual world.

Story

FIFA 15 continues to be the best way for football fans to fulfill their fantasies by taking their favorite team to league and cup glory while also staying very close to the inner workings of the club and the players, who are directly controlled during matches.

Football Manager offers a more cerebral experience by putting the gamer in the role of manager, but the EA Sports-made series offers more emotion, more triumphant and disappointing moments and much more drama by allowing gamers to directly control the team on the pitch.

The core Career Mode has one big change, the new team sheets, which enable the gamer to give more detailed tactical instructions to his players and really make sure that the behavior of the various players suits his play style.

Big play

EA Sports knows that a smaller number of players are focused on the classic modes, and that means the changes introduced are limited, which has the side effect of making it easy for fans to start playing a familiar experience.

Gamers can also choose to play a single game, enjoy the skills games in order to improve their own capabilities or focus on creating a custom tournament with the teams that they like.

EA Sports has made another step forward when it comes to immersion with FIFA 15, with more licensed players and stadiums, chants coming from the audience and more emotional responses from players, although the last feature seems to have a more limited impact than initially expected.

Gameplay

FIFA 15 feels messier than its predecessors, with moments when the interaction between player and the ball is almost impossible to predict, but also more fluid when gamers manage to choose their passes well and have the right striker in a good position.

The promised smarter teammates are able to better predict where the ball will end up, but this very quality means that they can easily be exposed by deflections and by spin, with plenty of big scrambles for loose balls both on the attack and defense.

All the players on the pitch need more time to accelerate and their movement has more influence on where crosses, shots and passes end up, and there’s a real need to create space before attempting to deliver a good attempt on goal.

Speed can be used to open up defenses rather easily, depending on team and tactics, and that means it is easier to get changes in FIFA 15 than in the previous installment.

At the same time, EA Sports has altered the mechanics for shots on goal and gamers will need to calibrate their efforts much better in order to actually hit the back of the net.

The reworked goalkeepers can pull off some impressive reflex saves and they do perform better on corners and when crosses are involved, but they also make some weird decisions when they need to come off their lines.

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There are also new options for gamers when they execute free kicks or set pieces, which open up control of the receiving player.

The biggest issue for FIFA 15 is how hard it is to score goals, given the big number of chances that a solid team can create in the space of a 12-minute match, and the way players sometimes fail to react to long-range passes or shots.

The game is more interesting to experience than FIFA 14 at the moment, although some fans might be frustrated with the increased randomness of some on-the-pitch interactions.

Graphics and audio

FIFA 15 on next-gen consoles, including the Xbox One on which I played it, benefits from the evolution of the Ignite engine, which manages to deliver impressive graphics and fluid gameplay, and the developers have spent a lot of resources to make the overall presentation as close as possible to that of a television broadcast.

EA Sports has managed to really exploit the power of current-gen consoles and new PC hardware, and there’s a lot of detail to marvel at when it comes to the faces and bodies of players, the way they move around the pitch, and the way the actual grass is affected by an ongoing match.

FIFA 15 is beautiful to look at and the developers know that and cram replays into all matches, almost asking the player to put the controller down for a while and simply look at the way virtual football comes ever closer to the real thing by including player likeness and fully simulated stadiums.

Team Sheets

The problem is that, at times, fans simply want to actually play rather than look at the screen, and the breaks can sometimes ruin the flow of a match and frustrate gamers.

When it comes to the audio department, FIFA 15 slightly improves the gamer experience, with commentary that feels more organic, although constant World Cup 2014 references can get annoying, and a soundtrack that includes the most recent indie and pop hits.

Multiplayer

FIFA 15 is arguably a game that only shows about half of its charm for the gamer who only wants to face the computer in matches, especially given the wide array of multiplayer experiences that EA Sports has offered and continue to refine on an yearly basis.

There are options for all types of gamers, and I personally appreciate how easy and fast it is to get on the same couch with a friend, select teams and just fire up a friendly match over and over again, trying to understand each other’s strategies and to find gaps in our defenses and score dramatic goals.

The online matches are lag-free and offer a wide array of opponent skills, but there are moments when playing with unknown players feels like an invitation to abuse.

The Ultimate Team mode continues to increase its importance in FIFA 15, and gamers now have more options to manage their teams, including the Concept Squad that can help them plan for the future and a new loan concept.

Taking a lowly team and slowly upgrading it over the course of a season is a cool experience, but it requires time and dedication, or the use of real world money.

EA Sports has also pledged to make the entire experience more secure than ever, but it’s unclear so close to launch date whether bans and extra login security for the web app can eliminate cheaters and gamers who are just looking to make money.

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion