Review for FIFA 18. Game for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 29/09/2017
"EA Sports: It's in the game", how many times have we heard and tried to repeat this famous phrase that we find in every Electronic Arts football club. In each edition, with the new updates, with the new improvements, FIFA has now become the reference title for every football lover, managing to become very often one of the best-selling video games ever. With FIFA 18 the result is surprisingly a masterpiece.
The search for perfection, for that new feature, has now become one of the fundamental points for Electronic Arts when it comes to creating the new chapter of FIFA. This time, EA Sports, can find the right combination of fun and realism, thanks to some choices that, if on the one hand they are debatable, on the other hand they manage to further increase the already high rate of player bets. This is due to the Frostbite, who excels in perfection in FIFA 18, making every match unique, every stadium real, every action precise and calculated. The great substantial novelty, the one that marks a clear departure from the previous editions, lies in the calculated “frame by frame” animations and in the “Real Player” tailored to different players.
This makes the gameplay decidedly reactive: every small movement of the body is managed smoothly, making the control system particularly effective, both in the construction of an action and in dribbling. However, there is the downside to evaluate because, if already in the past editions some players were difficult to stop given their technical level, in FIFA 18 strikers of the caliber of Messi and Ronaldo become practically unstoppable, sometimes causing a real gap with the rest of the players. This brings us to the choices that, in the introduction phase, we considered questionable: let's talk about defense. If in the last edition of FIFA the defenders often managed to cover certain holes, to recover from mistakes by covering the spaces left free by their teammates, the new AI is certainly not flawless in the defensive phase. Perhaps it is the real worry of this edition: defenders among the best in the world who sometimes make amateur mistakes, leaving the field open to the opponents.
Dancer defense, almost unstoppable attackers: the reins of the game are taken by the midfielders. With the "frame by frame" actions become much more reasoned, the midfield is the fulcrum of every action. Footballers with good feet like Kroos, just to name one, often become the tip of the balance, managing to send teammates in goal sometimes with ease, bypassing or bypassing the defenses that are not flawless. So it's up to the goalkeepers at times to invent the super save to avoid the goal, goalkeepers who, net of a higher reactivity on short-range shots, are still too uncertain about long-range shots, which still too often get bagged without the extreme defender can reach the ball. We close the gameplay analysis with the only big and important novelty that Electronic Arts wanted to implement in this edition, that is the "dynamic replacements". In fact, before the kick-off it will be possible predetermine replacements, which can be recalled with the appropriate button whenever the ball leaves the field, without having to pause the game and replace the player concerned.
If the various modes that FIFA has accustomed us to have remained almost the same, the real step forward came with the "Career" mode, deeply renewed and made more like a managerial video game rather than a real simulation. What has been implemented and which represents the real revolution is the new HUB in which to monitor every negotiation of the team, managing them both with the club and with the players' agents through short interactive skits. If a player has a clause on the contract that allows him to exercise termination for a certain amount, we will be able to bypass the holding company, going to speak directly with the player to offer him a contract. This is just one of the small substantial innovations that restore charm to what was once the true dominant mode of FIFA. On the other hand, the “Pro Club” innovations are few and not substantial, if not that of being able to train one's virtual alter ego in multiple roles. The "Seasons", then, remain the right combination between an online challenge with real roses, and fun with friends in the so-called "Friendlies".
How not to mention also the second part of "The Journey", extremely renewed in various aspects, first of all the possibility of changing Hunter's look, as requested by users. The depth of NBA 2K's “My Carreer” mode is still unattainable, but Electronic Arts must be acknowledged at least to try. The great concern, still fundamental, of the imposition of the main character always remains: if even in the 2K Games series the virtual alter ego has a pre-established background that cannot be changed by the user, at least there is the possibility of complete customization, both at physical level both in the individual attributes and accessories. Of course, EA has profoundly revamped this mode, but we are still a long way from what can be defined as a customizable and completely engaging career. Let's face it all: NBA 2K in this sense is unattainable, and perhaps the other software houses know it and do not try to imitate it, but only to offer a product accessible to all users.
FIFA Ultimate Team now it represents a title in its own right, with always new updates, so we decided to write a separate editorial. The overall rating of the review also takes into account the Ultimate Team mode.
FIFA 18 is not only fun to play, but it is above all beautiful to watch, with the aforementioned Frostbite and makes the atmosphere almost real. Taking the field is almost like actually being on the sidelines, as the whole outline of the match is well done, from the turf to the corner flags. In FIFA 18 everything is in its place, in a set of sounds and colors, lights and shadows that border on reality; it doesn't matter if not all team licenses are real. All accompanied by the entertaining commentary by Pierluigi Pardo and Stafano Nava, who from time to time tell some anecdotes about the history of football.
FIFA 18 is the real football simulation. Even net of some defects that we have listed, he succeeds in every game, every action, every goal, to make the gamer master of the field. With the "Ultimate Team" mode and the renewed "Career" hours and hours of fun await you. Nice to look at, even more to play, FIFA 18 is in effect the best video game of the series released on the gaming market.
► FIFA 18 is a Sport-type game developed and published by Electronic Arts for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 29/09/2017
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