As it is with Jell-o, so it is with FIFA. There’s always room for FIFA. Right? With fall comes EA Sports’s soccer juggernaut, an annual release more widely celebrated around the world than even the venerated Madden. But FIFA Soccer 15 carries with it a heavier burden than the average entry. It comes hot on the heels of the World Cup, April’s 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil for last-gen consoles (where the series’ biggest audience remains), and an impressive leap to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with FIFA Soccer 14 last November.

FIFA's stock in trade, a rare one for annual releases, is the miniscule but radical overhauls made year to year. Goalkeepers behaving more like actual athletes, humans that move and react in accordance with their surroundings, making saves of sheer brilliance and bobbling sitters instead of behaving like a binary hitbox, is one of the simplest, but most powerful changes. Others are more easily spotted. FIFA 15 continues the focus on dribbling and one-on-one situations, making for a more aggressive angles towards the box rather than the classic burst down the wing before cutting inside. It's possible to play a higher defensive line too, with the improved keeper AI resulting in Manuel Neuer behaving, well, more like Manuel Neuer should.



FIFA 15 on-screen players will express ranges of emotions that evolve based on how a game is going, and have attitudes about on-field allies and opponents. The game was among an array of titles showed off by California-based EA at a press briefing on the eve of the start of the colossal E3 video game trade show. EA said it tapped into the improved power of Xbox One and PS4 to make game play and graphics more realistic. The undisclosed deal will showcase the Premier League as the most authentic league in FIFA 15, with an unprecedented level of detail in the players and all 20 stadiums.

Versions of the game are also being tailored for prior generation Xbox and PlayStation consoles, along with the Nintendo Wii. "Visually, this is the biggest step the FIFA franchise has ever taken," Rutter said. "We set out with the goal of creating atmosphere, players, crowds, and pitches that not only look like they do on match day, but also feel like they do when you play or watch football - it's a level of immersion we've never been able to bring to the game before." Ground passes have been dialled up a notch and passes into feet are now zippier than that mouthy yellow guy from Rainbow. Players now deploy more flicks, nudges and layoffs, using all parts of the boot to move the ball around the pitch. Of course, we’ve only tried this with a handful of Europe’s better teams. There’s every chance it’d fall apart like wet cardboard as soon as you drop down the leagues.

During ‘career-mode’ with an MLS side, for example, the game functions surprisingly smoothly. Seasons pass with players developing at an expected path, more prominent teams winning trophies, and roster rules a known quantity. This, in and of itself, is the issue. FIFA’s version of MLS includes no dynamic rule changes, no favoritism from league officials, and no results manipulated by an irrational player allocation process. This means that for another season, the video game that most accurately simulates Major League Soccer is the post-apocalyptic world of Metro 2033.