Every year, it hopes to grab the attention of three audiences – ardent fans keen for the latest update; casual players who haven’t bought in a few years; and those yet to be seduced by any edition. It’s a delicate balancing act for EA and each year someone’s not happy. Change too much and the fanatics cry foul; too little and the uncommitted will pass. Mind you, FIFA virgins will always be delighted by their first experience of this fluent blend of televisual presentation and slick footie mechanics. True to form, EA has tinkered with the formula again in FIFA 15, nerfing defenders, injected frightening pace into attackers and devoting some much-needed attention to goalkeepers. The upshot is a noticeably different ball game from FIFA 14, where the plodding speed of all players was not to everyone’s taste.
After playing a half in FIFA 15 the pitch looks like you would expect in real life with marks from cleats and slide tackles. In the rain the ball and player feet kick up small water particles as you race downfield. The player models look better than in FIFA 14, and it’s not just the replays and celebrations. During the FIFA 15 gameplay all the players on the field look noticeably better.
In FIFA 15 you can easily call up a tactic on a corner or use the Kinect to shift from defense to all out attack. While on a run towards goal team mates still don’t always open up and create space, and sometimes they don’t even show up at all, but for the most part your team is a little smarter. While taking a corner you can use the D Pad to select a tactic that sends players crashing to a post or to the keeper opening up scoring opportunities. By combining these tactics and refined headers, scoring off a well placed corner is a little bit easier than in FIFA 14.
I tried my best to uncover some weaknesses with the game, but outside of some minor ghosting when player close-ups are shown, and a glitch with AI controlled defenders clearing the ball out of bounds, there's not a lot complain about. Despite the wealth of new options, I am left wanting for a few more features. I wish there was a World Cup mode, instead of having to wait for the official FIFA World Cup game to come out every four years. Some more tournaments and enhanced League customization options to promote unique world competitions wouldn't hurt either, and I would have liked to see a few more online options for filtering teams or types of players when choosing opponents.
In previous FIFAs, breaking away into a one on one with the goalkeeper was an almost guaranteed goal. This is not so in FIFA 15. The new, hard to beat, keepers make the game feel more realistic. Making one mistake is no longer a death sentence but, if you’re good, you can still beat the keeper or go around him for an easier goal. This change makes the game feel far more dynamic. Almost all the modifications make the game a much better experience. The responsiveness makes it so that your ability is more crucial to winning games than having the right players. EA seem to have a knack for making a group of small, seemingly insignificant changes feel like a totally different game and FIFA 15 is the prime example of that.
