FIFA 15 takes the series into a whole other level with gameplay that betters the surmounting hype that threatened to engulf it. Playing it makes me believe I can do just about anything with the ball at my feet, and this self-assurance is powerful. If you have the desire, FIFA 15 meets the challenge. It does not disappoint. This bounty is wrapped in stirring TV-style presentation that makes even the pause screen attractive. Returning players will notice little has changed in presentation. The menus and modes are the same, and there isn’t a novelty new feature you’ll try and forget. In terms of off-the-field updates, this is as minimalistic we’ve seen from FIFA in years. If it weren’t for the sad Messi loading screen, I wouldn’t be sure if I had selected FIFA 14 or 15 from the Xbox dashboard.
There’s a whole lot more in our In-depth Team Management analysis here. Due to the ability to save multiple Team Sheets I was able to very quickly setup options for ‘Cup’, ‘Europe Away’, ‘League Away’ and so on which all offered a slight tactical twist on my main setup. And due to the raft of new Player Instructions you can quite radically change the behaviour of your team, within the same formation framework.
As such, most teams I’ve encountered use all-out attack tactics, happy to leave holes at the back in order to simply outscore the opposition. It’s a hard strategy to counteract unless you rely on the very same tactic. There’s precious little opportunity to dictate the pace of the game – and the same applies when you’re up against the AI. As a result, it all begins to feel very one-note after a while.
There is nothing scarier for a keeper or more comforting for an attacker than the trusty 2 vs 1. When you are on a break and the only thing next to you is a ready and willing teammate, you are practically guaranteed the goal. Make sure you and your partner are both even and a good distance apart. Make the goalie charge after you and then pass the ball to your partner. He should have a very easy and unmissable open net. If this happens when playing with a buddy and he misses, make sure he doesn’t live it down for the rest of the night. that I am really annoyed by, but that at the same time I do like has to do with injuries. Oh! The injuries! Players seem to be made out of crackers sometimes, they get injured by simple tackles, and sometimes, those slides that should get the player who made it to jail, do not do anything to the receiver. They fly through the air, do a forced 360, land on their head, and they miraculously get up without any damage.
This can be very damaging when the opposition launches a counter-attack, because you might not have enough defenders back to defend your goal and thus possibly concede. We suppose that this is part of the risk in switching to All Out Attack, but a little customisation in which players actually do the attacking would be greatly appreciated.
