Another year, another FIFA game. This one, though, felt like the first proper version for the new generation of consoles; although 14 was a great technical showcase, that extra year of development and time with the new systems was sure to do wonders for the game. But what makes FIFA 15 a more consonant game with the next generation is just the modeling of the players and their animations, although as already described above, the end result is still below the desired by producers and fans. The saga realism is not without a secure and steady transition and it still does not happen on this issue. It is true that the players received many new animations and their behavior are now more reliable and realistic.
There have been large changes to FIFA 15 compared to 14. The goalkeeping AI has completely been rewritten, and it has had a dramatic effect on gameplay- good goalkeepers are truly better, much more than they ever were before. De Gea has his nigh-unbeatable reflexes, Neuer and Courtois are the huge men who just swat the ball out of the air. With new AI moods and personalities, improved goalkeeping, and plenty of new animations, FIFA 15 takes the series one step closer towards the uncanny valley and the realism that they’re aiming for. Despite having some issues on PS4 at first, and turning some diehard fans away with the changes, it seems to have done its job for the most part.
Player faces have always been a little hit-and-miss within FIFA, and the dichotomy is particularly noticeable this year. Every single Premier League player within sniffing distance of the first team has had their whole head scanned into the game, meaning that if you’re playing with Premier League clubs you’re in for a treat. Each crease and crevasse on Joleon Lescott’s forehead is just so, and Hugo Lloris is a digital dreamboat.
The most prominent change to the way FIFA 15 plays concerns close controlled dribbling, and the knock-on effect this has on defending. In FIFA 14 (at least on PC,) players could take an age to get the ball under control, turn and dash through a defence. Now, even League One journeymen can have a decent stab at being 1990s Roberto Baggio and quick, skillful players like Messi can twist, waltz and retain possession basically at will. The penalty area is also home to another far-reaching tweak to the gameplay. There are many more deflections, rebounds and scrappy goalmouth scrambles than in previous FIFA games. Given the newfound intelligence of your strike partners, this tends to mean more goals scored by well-positioned poachers feeding off rebounds but it also makes for some comical, and glorious, looping deflections spinning in over the ‘keeper’s head.
Defending requires actual effort now. In previous FIFAs, holding R1 + X would lead to an attacker being surrounded and automatically tackled by up to 4 defenders, only one of which wouldn’t be AI controlled. It was unfair. Now, the game punishes this much more- an out of position centre back is the most dangerous thing which you can do in this game. Manual defending and tactical position is very important (although it was even more so before they patched the game to bring back a limited version of the old R1 + X after many players complained that they couldn’t defend as it was too hard).
