Re: FIFA 14 - General Discussion
Over the last week I've gone from, "The next-gen version of FIFA 14 looks completely underwhelming," to being fairly optimistic. For the first time in years I'm enjoying FIFA's offline offering. I've put in a decent amount of hours into the PC version of 14 so I'm excited at the prospect of playing an "enhanced" version of the game. I'm sure the new animations, crowd, smoother gameplay (according to hands-on impressions) will go a long way. The presentation is also the best I've seen in a football game. In a few hours I'll be able to see for myself when my PS4 arrives. I can't wait to start a new career mode.
Played a quick game yesterday at Best Buy on the PS4 display and I left very pleased. While they only had a demo running on the display, there were plenty of new animations and everything felt a bit more responsive than the current gen FIFA 14.
Can't say too much to the AI difficulty as I forgot to increase it from the default before starting my game and then didn't want to start over as a queue had formed behind me. Other than the through balls rolling farther than seems accurate (same complaint from the current gen demo), the game felt great.
As an ancillary point, the PS4 pad is improved... although still not as comfortable for my hand as the Xbox 360 pad. I think my thumbs naturally rest at more of a forward angle, and when using the DS4 pad it is a little uncomfortable to reach sideways for the analog sticks for a long period of time. HOWEVER, the analog sticks are WAY more precise than the DS3, there is far less dead zone. So for those who prefer the PlayStation stick locations I'm sure you will be pleased. The L2/R2 triggers are improved as well, although not as comfortable when held down for a time. Because the triggers "float" below the DS4 they are quick for quick taps and they bounce back quickly... but when held down for long (L2 defending), it causes a little extra strain because there is nothing for my finger to rest on while I hold it down (Not sure if I'm explaining well, but on the DS2 or Xbox 360 I can wrap my finger around the controller and grab the side of the controller while I hold the button down. Feels better to me.)
Anyways, overall a very nice next gen transition for a sports game. The menus were super fast, and all transitions (subs, goals, etc.) could be skipped immediately. Presentation was very similar to current gen, but more responsive and better looking. I can see why the IGN.com review was so positive.
Over the last week I've gone from, "The next-gen version of FIFA 14 looks completely underwhelming," to being fairly optimistic. For the first time in years I'm enjoying FIFA's offline offering. I've put in a decent amount of hours into the PC version of 14 so I'm excited at the prospect of playing an "enhanced" version of the game. I'm sure the new animations, crowd, smoother gameplay (according to hands-on impressions) will go a long way. The presentation is also the best I've seen in a football game. In a few hours I'll be able to see for myself when my PS4 arrives. I can't wait to start a new career mode.
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