This wasn't down to anything I did – it's all automated, a product of context – but it made the match feel much less mechanical and more attractive to play and watch.Ĭhanges to gameplay aren’t as extensive as I was anticipating, though there are a couple of areas in which this version does feel slightly different.
While watching back a goal I scored in slow motion, I spotted the player gently rolling his foot over the ball, taking it away from the defender. And this extends to most actions on the pitch, whether that's playing a cheeky through-ball with the outside of the boot or dinking a low pass out wide. It feels like you're making that type of pass. Now when you hit a cross-field pass, the player will open up their body and really dig under the ball. There’s so much variety, and though it doesn’t directly impact how you play, it makes what you do look so much more realistic and visually appealing. But next-gen FIFA 14 makes no such compromise. There was no unique through-ball animation, for instance, with the game using the animation for a more generic pass. Current versions of FIFA use a limited stock of core animations to represent a wide range of different actions. The best aspect of next-gen FIFA 14 is undoubtedly the extended range and depth of player animation. Taken individually they’re minor improvements, but have a really great cumulative effect. But there are still loads of little details that impress, like the way fabric ripples as a player moves or two balls being on the pitch at once thanks to an over-eager ball-boy trying to restart the match. Up close, players still look a little dead behind the eyes and move awkwardly when shaking hands or getting substituted. Graphically it’s much sharper, smoother, and more detailed, with everything from player likenesses to the texture of the pitch benefitting. The most notable difference is perhaps unsurprisingly the way it looks. For a sports title, FIFA still can’t be beaten for its sheer variety. And if you’ve already started the season on current-gen, progress in modes like Ultimate Team is transferable. And of course the revamped Ultimate Team, one of FIFA’s most popular modes. But this is FIFA, as you know it – from one-off fixtures to ongoing seasons, online friendlies, a selection of that week’s matches, a career mode, and skill games. This is not to be sniffed at, since this hasn’t always been the case – the Wii U launch version of FIFA 13 was a severely gutted version. Thankfully FIFA preserves the unparalleled variety of the current-gen iteration.
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