6. The New Bits
Every year, FIFA players are given promises of the new features and game-changing developments they will experience, and inevitably, some end up disappointed that the features don't really amount to much in the grand scheme of things. But this year, real strides have been made, no matter how many PES fans will say that the idea of revolution in FIFA gameplay is a joke. EA Sports have brought in a handful of big new features, which have underpinned much of the pre-release marketing: Pure Shot would change shooting intelligence for the better; Precision Movement would mean that "every step counts" to add more realism to player movement; Real Ball Physics would effectively do the same for the ball; Protect The Ball would do exactly as it says on the tin; and Team Intelligence would deliver a smarter AI. But how do those claims translate into the game?
Pure Shot Last year's iteration of the game wasn't particularly limited by its shooting system, but the difference between shooting when unpressured and shooting while surrounded by defenders was minimal, and too often strikers were able to pull off precise shots with a defender snapping at their feet. But this time, EA Sports have gone more realistic, meaning defensive pressure will actually impact the way a striker shoots, and his balance. The other side of that of course is that the striker can adjust their positioning and balance to score, and while it does take a little time to get used to, it is a rewarding feature.
Precision Movement This is arguably where the biggest change comes in, taking away the impetus on sprinting, and the ease with which pacey players could run through and score, without too much skill. EA Sports have been working on this Precision Movement development for two years, and it shows: they might have opened themselves to accusations of the game being "sluggish," but the caveat is that it's far more realistic. And while there might be a trade-off in the fun factor of being able to blaze through teams and score, it puts the impetus back on skill and measured build up, which is exactly what a simulation should be looking at.
Real Ball Physics Again, the agenda here is on realism, and it takes some time to learn how the ball moves, and responds to a player's touch: you have to think a lot more, and use last year's complete dribbling system to greater effect, as it's far harder to control the ball at pace, and in the air, especially under pressure. Passing feels more realistic, as the ball responds better, and the uplift in realism, particularly in defensive clearances, is easily noticable. Again, the focus here is on making a more realistic, and more difficult experience, but the trade off is a more rewarding experience once you put the time in.
Protect The Ball Because players now cannot simply rely on pace, there's more focus on strength, and this new feature means slighter players aren't going to be able to cope as well with stronger defensive enforcers. Holding the ball up is now actually possible, and shielding the ball while running at pace makes for a more realistiat EA Sports have gone some way to making FIFA 14 a harder game. Some might call this a mistake, considering the negative response to the changes to the defensive system that made that more complex a few years back, but making any game more complex, and demanding that the player steps their own game up is both brave and a positive evolution. You won't be able to rely on pacey wingers and strikers to burn holes in the opposition defence, and if you're judging the game poorly for that, then you need to step away and rethink exactly what you want from a football sim. Do you want Gabriel Obertan to be one of the most useful players in the Premier League, because of his pace? Or do you want a true reflection of what players can actually offer to your team? And it's not just the difficulty factor - the tweaks to the game engine feel a lot more substantial than last time out, and there's certainly less of a feeling that this is merely a bug-fixing port with a few new frills (as FIFA 13 began to over time). It's obvious that there was less to fix from FIFA 13, as there was after FIFA 12, and there's definitely more sense that this is a progression, especially with how the new movement and ball mechanics fit in with last year;s revamped dribbling system.
Teammate Intelligence The eternal quest for realism means that EA Sports have looked in more detail at the AI problems that appeared last year, with smarter defenders and better team movement to actually make space and open up options in attack. We'll look at this in more detail in the AI section of this review, but the main thing to note is that all of the more realistic features combine to make for a richer, more rewarding experience, which is harder in the best possible way. They're great features, but how do they actually impact in the context of the series, and how much more different is this year's game to last year's offering? That is the key issue for a lot of fans - especially those who are the most vocal in terms of bashing the series' perceived lack of progressions year on year - so that would be a sensible place to look next...