FIFA 15: The Good, The Bad and The EA
When FIFA 15 came out on the 23 September 2014, a lot of people were excited to see what EA Sports had in store for them. The trailer and the demo were so entertaining that some of us were ready to find cheap excuses to miss work, miss school or even ditch our girlfriends just so we can get our hands on the best Football game on the planet. And when it came out, FIFA 15 did not disappoint. From dribbling made easy to the amazing live coverage of the Barclays Premier League, FIFA really made sure that their fans will be glued to their consoles once they get their hands on their latest edition. But just like everything that men do, the game has it flaws and in the case of FIFA 15, it’s a mixture of good things, bad things and some EA…stuff!. Let’s analyze it more.
The Good:
1. Dribbling made easy: In other editions of FIFA, you had to be master of the right stick to be able to dribble your opponent. But in FIFA 15 the right stick is only important if you want to do some amazing tricks. Simple dribbles are just a matter of how you the Ls and Rs on your controller. So on that note, FIFA did us a big favor.
2. The Simplification of the search menu: On FIFA 14, the search menu looked like the list of ingredients on a can of Fanta. But in FIFA 15, it’s more simplified and easy to use and the best players are always the first to appear. And if you are looking for a specific player it easier to customize your search by country, age and even League.
3. The accuracy of the comments: Although nothing needed to really be modified in that department, in FIFA 15, Martin Tyler and Alan Smith are even more accurate than ever. They will comment on your next fixture, and analyze it according to the way your match is going. They even go as far as analyzing your starting line-up (only on Next Gen consoles). Again good job done by FIFA.
4. The amazing goalkeeper: A game of football can be decided by one mistake or one moment of magic by the goalkeeper. And when it comes to FIFA 15, you can win a game thanks to some amazing saves by the man between the sticks. Goalkeepers have fantastic reflexes and are very good in one-on-one situations. Salvatore Sirigu, Petr Cech and Manuel Neuer, just to name a few, are now able to stop the very best shots from the best players. So you don’t always you don’t always have to worry about losing by 20-0 when you play teams like Barcelona.
The Bad:
1. Follow The script: A good marketer will keep the same strategy if it yields positive result. That’s exactly what FIFA did. But instead of keeping a good strategy, FIFA decided to keep the one thing that made many fans angry; the script pattern. Despite how well you play, if suppose to lose, you will lose. If the game is suppose to end in a silly draw, it will end in a silly draw. It can either be that your best players will mess up or it can be that the opponent are too strong (Even if you are playing with Bayern Munich).
2. The one too many glitches: Now, it’s true that every game has glitches but when it comes to FIFA 15, we might be looking at the holder of the all time record. The latest edition of FIFA has all sorts of them. You have your number 1 goalkeeper who plays regularly, complaining that he is not getting enough game time, from the first day of the season to the last day. You have the more than biased referee, free-kick going backward, camera men entering the field, and many more. In truth, the number of glitches are so many that you should expect at least 5 of them in each game.
3. The way too low budgets: It’s true that in reality the richest clubs will give their managers a very big budget to spend on players in transfer window and the less richer clubs will give a smaller budget. But in FIFA, it’s all about which club you pick. While with clubs like PSG, Manchester City and Real Madrid you will get an +80,000,000 budget, when you manage clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool, you will get just enough money to use to cover your player’s wages. Now, I’m not saying that the less richer clubs should get the same budget as the richest clubs but a budget of at least +60 millions will be realistic if you coaching clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal.
4. The ‘SuperStrong’ League: In reality, it’s true that the best teams have the best players and those players are just unstoppable when they they are at the their best. But in FIFA 15, the best teams and the best players are just in a League of their own, the ‘SuperStrong’ League. Players like Messi, Iniesta, Robben and teams Like Barcelona and Bayern Munich are just too good to play against. No matter which defender you have, you just can’t touch them. They will run straight at you and dribble all your players at will. Regardless of what you do, you just can’t stop the ‘SuperStrong’ League.
The EA:
1. The glorified FIFA 14: It’s true that FIFA as added some amazing new features in their latest edition but in truth, FIFA 15 is just an updated version of FIFA 14. Yes, there has been some amazing improvement but is worth spending $60? No. FiFA 15 is just a glorified version FIFA 14. The thing that EA should have done is to put FIFA 15 as a DLC so that those of us who have FIFA 14 can just download it and get the update.
2. Out with old in with the new: FIFA 15 might be innovative but most of the innovation can only be seen on Next Gen consoles ( Xbox One and PS4). The amazing Premier League Matchday Live and the more than one player celebration can only be seen on Next Gen consoles. Their excuse: ‘The processor on Xbox 360 and PS3 are too small’. I’m no IT technician but I think that this is just another way for EA to make us buy Next Gen consoles.
3. The Legends: If you buy FIFA 15 on Xbox consoles (Xbox 360 and Xbox One) you will be able to buy Football Legends (Alan Shearer, Pelé, Roberto Carlos, and so many more). Now, what makes those Legends so specials that they can only be on Xbox? Why could they not be on Playstation too? I don’t know the real reason, but it might just be another EA reason.
In conclusion, FIFA 15 is probably the best FIFA yet but it has so many flaws that might make a person to think twice before buying the game. Yes, it is living up to our expectations but there are so many things that EA could have done differently or just to be straight, much better. Instead of being the ultimate best game ever, FIFA 15 is just a corporate mixture of some Good stuff, some Bad stuff and some pure EA stuff.
Author: Christopher Kayembe
Love Football and the Web. I currently am the admin of 2 facebook pages, which are Davido'TV and SupraView. I also have a Bachelor degree in Marketing
