Due to a reported disagreement over the cost of licensing the name FIFA in their title, EA’s most famous franchise has been rebranded from FIFA to EA Sports FC24.
This has given EA the unique chance to change up the world’s most famous football game series and reimagine and revamp what has frankly become a little stale.
With an open goal at their mercy, have they managed to score a screamer?
I still do not know.
The definition of insanity is…
EA sports undoubtedly know how to make football games. With the exception of Pro Evolution Soccer, they have had a stranglehold on football games for decades. Their games are the best and most authentic football sim on the market, and they continue to be so.
The gameplay has not changed. It is that simple. If you have played FIFA 23, you will notice almost no changes to the gameplay once that whistle blows. It looks a little prettier, but the core mechanics remain the same. EA touted the fact that their much-promoted HyperMotion V will see the AI constantly evolving and adapting to your playing style as the match progresses, but if that is true, I have yet to see it. The computer-controlled opponents still make the same glaring mistakes as they have done previously.
Another new feature is play-styles, which are attributed to each player to replicate how the player plays in real life to add an extra bit of realism. This can be a little bit game-break-inducing, meaning that fast players can completely destroy your defenders and other technically gifted players’ precision passing in a completely unrealistic way.
There are some graphical improvements such as unique sprinting animations which are accurate representations of how the real-life players move in real life. It looks great but adds nothing to how the game plays. Gone are the team walkouts and the line-up info and instead we are given non-interactive cut-scenes of players walking into the stadium or giving interviews. Window dressing for the sake of window dressing.
Unbelievable Jeff
There is a distinct lack of tangible improvements but that is not in and of itself a terrible thing and as the adage goes, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. But if you want gamers to part with their hard-earned cash, you need to offer a little more than a reskin of last year’s title.
All the game modes are back. You still have the training mode, the career mode, the seasons mode, and the godforsaken Ultimate Teams mode. I am seriously in the minority when I say I can not stand the Ultimate Teams mode. It is one of the most blatant money grabs in video game history. The grind required to keep up with people willing to pay real-life currency to compile a near-unbeatable team is frustrating.
The Ultimate Team is my least favourite aspect of FIFA games in the past. In EA’s defence, it is the goose that continues to lay the golden egg from a financial point of view. The amount of people willing to splurge actual currency on game packs to get an advantage is unreal. There is a tweak this year that allows you to upgrade a mediocre player card into a valuable card via completing some in-game challenges which is a nice little touch, but outside of that, it is very much a case of business as usual from what I can see.
Game of two halves
The career mode and manager mode have new additions too. Initially, it seems as though they might have been game changers. Unfortunately, the newer options regarding scouting new players and curating training drills, have a minimal impact on the game itself. There is nothing particularly ground-breaking and it is exactly what you would expect if you have played previous games. All the new elements are interesting at first and do pique your interest. But when you realise how negligible the impact these have on the game, they become more of a nuisance than an improvement.
EA sports have leant heavily into the integration of women’s football, especially when it comes to the Ultimate Team mode. I can see how some might consider this a “hot topic”. The balance between the abilities of elite women and elite men is the most unrealistic aspect of the game. If anything, it is a little insulting and patronising from EA. With the emergence of popularity in women’s football, you can see why they would try to capitalise on it.
In summary, FIFA EA FC24 is, without a doubt, the best football game on the market. I wish it was better, but to be fair, I have no tangible suggestions as to how they could do it. It is very much a case of ctrl-c, ctrl-v except prettier. But how can you expect more from something that is already the best in its field?
A somewhat missed opportunity to reboot the franchise, but still the best football simulator on the market.
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