3. AI
As players spent more time in the company of FIFA 13 last year, it became abundantly clear that there were some issues with the AI, and in particular with computer defenders being less like Branislav Ivanovic and more like Titus Bramble. They would unhelpfully let the player down in crucial areas of the pitch, leading to rage quits, broken controllers and defeat from the mouth of victory, but thankfully, it seems EA Sports have directly responded to those issues. Defenders feel a lot smarter, and it is noticable how much more effective and authentic defenders' movement is when the opposition attack, particularly in terms of full backs tracking, and set piece marking, which could be frustratingly loose in 13. Defenders are also far more willing to get stuck in, while attacking movement is vastly more intelligent, opening space up when you have the ball. A lot of this uplift has come directly from the new Team Intelligence feature, which has clearly seen a lot of attention from the developers, and the overall agenda to bring even more realism in in real terms (as opposed to Wayne Rooney's hairline looking more convincing) definitely feels reflected in the AI. One good progression, which always seems to be something of an issue in past games is the reflection of a team's real quality, even when a lesser skilled player is in control: more than ever, FIFA 14 feels like a true reflection of real teams, so if you're picking Barcelona or Man Utd, and you're playing a lower league team, there is a reflection of the quality gap. Obviously, that is partly dealt with in the actual playing ability of each human player, but you don't get so much of a sense of over-powered players who would usually be a small step up from a Sunday league player in real life.