Re: FIFA 14 - Game related talk only!
Taken from Playstation magazine:
FIFA 14
Could the generation shift signal the biggest footballing breakaway since 1992?
Although this is a feature about going hands-on with PS4, bear with us for a couple of seconds. Because immediately before getting to grips with EA Canada’s FIFA 14, we had a bang on the PS3 version. And it was slightly concerning: players felt heavy and inputs delayed, with little tangible improvement over FIFA 13. That is not the case when you venture into the next-gen iteration of the game, which immediately feels slick – with a new raft of animations, a fresh physics system and an Edinson Cavani who’s even more handsome than you’d expect.
It’s the physics system that makes itself known first. Playing as bewitching minifigs Barcelona, string-puller-in-chief Xavi is roughhoused by an Atlético Madrid bully. But where in previous games the maestro would have tumbled as his legs were swept, this time he’s kept upright. Riding the challenge thanks to fresh animations, he’s then able to lever himself back in front of his attacker and lay a pass off to a teammate. Okay, so it’s not a 30-yard screamer to win the Champions League, but it’s these little tweaks that end up making the difference.
Likewise when, a few minutes later, a ball is rolled towards that same player. Previously you’d have needed to take a touch, turn, and then proceed. Here we dispense with such Neanderthal behaviour, instead silkily adjusting our body position, letting the momentum of the ball roll it into our path before stroking an onward pass first time. Again: the little things.
There’s a fluidity to the game that current-gen versions so far haven’t provided. Players feel more agile and responsive, their movements corresponding more both with button-presses and how a real player would behave. Shooting is also far more true to life. Previously the game would simply prevent you from an having effort on goal if your player wasn’t in a position that fitted in with its shot animations. Now, your fleet-of-foot charges make adjustments – such as taking a stutter step – in order to do as they’re told. It might not always result in a successful shot, but then when has that ever been guaranteed as Cameron Jerome bears down on goal?
All of this, combined with the visual improvements that PS4 brings and a (thankfully) overhauled menu system, means FIFA is sitting pretty. Next-gen football may be a one-horse race for now, but you suspect EA might well have won anyway.