Matt10
International
- 5 February 2004
From a "realism" standpoint and a "fun" standpoint respectively (because they are independent of each other), do you really think this FIFA is better than e.g. FIFA 14 through FIFA 18?
That looks like I'm being sarcastic - I'm not, it's a genuine question, because... Well, all of this is obviously subjective, but literally all those negatives you mention are better in FIFA 16, for example. In my opinion. I'd be interested to know more of your opinion here, because I'm really surprised at this statement.
Maybe you think 23 is more fun because of the tweaks from last year, and I can understand that (though I don't agree with it, it's understandable). Maybe you don't want to "live in the past" and you want a more responsive game with more new features, for example. I get that, and all football games are some kind of balance between the two worlds of "fun" and "realistic" / "restrictive".
But personally, I think to call this "the best FIFA has ever been" because of e.g. "off-the-ball mannerisms and emotions" is... honestly, IMO, crazy talk. Truly crazy talk. We're on Evo-Web because of our passion for a game that put gameplay first, so I'm really surprised to see that on your list of positives, and to see you rate this FIFA more highly than those of the post-PS2, pre-Frostbite era.
Don't get me wrong, sometimes I do think FIFA 16 is praised too highly (honestly, I think the animation speed and ball speed are both far too fast, even on slow, whether on v1 or any of the updates). But even with its flaws in mind... There are far fewer than there are with 23. In my opinion.
Now, Chris, I didn't say it's the best it's ever been because of only "off-the-ball...", I gave an entire list that builds towards that. I'd agree with you that would be crazy talk. The irony is that I would never have noticed those off-the-ball mannerisms if I wasn't enjoying the gameplay. It made me uncertain in thinking "has this stuff been here all along?" - and I still wonder.
Furthermore, and a significant point, is that I'm approaching that list AFTER sliders have been implemented. Let's make that clear because my opinion on those games you mention are also after sliders have been exhausted.
They each had their faults, and some of those faults were significant - and very tough to get over. I may not want to live in the past because I remember how tough it was to get over some of those basic fundamentals in which the sliders wouldn't even get near touching. From my perspective, I can adjust a value in 23 and know exactly what it does, because there is immediate feedback on it. FIFA 16 didn't even do that. Look throughout the OS threads, which serve as documentation of gameplay for these iterations of FIFA.
FIFA 16
https://forums.operationsports.com/...ders/855682-fifa-16-os-community-sliders.html
FIFA 18
https://forums.operationsports.com/...ders/915625-fifa-18-os-community-sliders.html
FIFA 14
- So old, they removed my sliders thread lol. Here's the final slider set I had for it, which explained my thoughts at the time.
Look at each of those threads and there are resounding themes. Each of them had the issue of the defenders not meeting attackers, which is so significant that it works this year. That just builds the resistance we've craved. Two of the three had DAA (defensive angle animation) which were big issues. Each of those games had the dribble-dribble-pass mentality from the CPU, with FIFA 16 being slightly less with that approach - especially ootb - absolutely brilliant and I remember how much we would get giddy like girls whenever a long-ball was performed. FIFA 14 had the very common tendency, especially on Legendary, for the CPU to chip a ball over the top as their route one. FIFA 16 route one was driven passes, which is the first year that was introduced. FIFA 18, with its small ball size, had a whole host of issues, in particular the directness to the strikers - who are then left alone because defenders won't meet them.
Each of those FIFA versions you mention took a lot of work to accomplish what FIFA 23, with sliders, is doing. I'm not blowing smoke up EA's butt, and I'm not boasting FIFA Operation Sports sliders. I'm saying that with obvious slider values, the items on that list have been accomplished. Basically the tool we've been given works, and we're seeing a different game than I thought had ever had a chance of appearing when I had the beta.