Review for FIFA 20. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 27/09/2019
September is the most nostalgic and ephemeral month of the year: summer is now a distant memory, the human soul returns to settle into daily routines and in no time at all it's autumn. To lift the fortunes of what could be thirty disastrous days, he arrives the new football season and consequently the inevitable appointment with the simulation game par excellence of this noble sport, which since 1993 has given emotions and ever more absolute realism both to the most hardcore fans and to casual players. And, invariably, this year too we can see those evergreen doubts and exhausting questions that afflict fans and non-fans alike. Just like us, you are sitting in front of an ice cold beer and asking yourself again: have there been substantial changes and enough updates to warrant the purchase of the latest FIFA? Is FIFA 20 still on the first step of the podium of football simulators, or is it appropriate to return to consider eFootball PES 2020?
So let's cut it short, and let's get straight to the point: the answer is “yes”, FIFA 20 deserves your savings and we can't wait to explain the reasons!
Volta ... an "electrifying" mode
Not a tribute to the famous Italian inventor of the battery, but a Portuguese word that can be translated as "return". This is the main novelty introduced in FIFA 20, which has the burden and the honor of grasping the legacy of the "The Journey" trilogy that ended in FIFA 19. This is how FIFA chooses the suburban background of the street futsal culture born in 1930 in Uruguay, not very widespread in Italy but a source of extreme spectacle and maximum expression of the creativity of the individual. We therefore greet Alex Hunter and we welcome Jayzinho, protagonist with a name that pays homage not only to the origin of soccer itself, but also to the homonymous freestyle champion of which the most die-hard among you will remember his appearance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, only to find him as a character playable in FIFA Street alongside Lionel Messi.
In the shoes of the young promise we will have the opportunity to become familiar with the unprecedented dynamics of street soccer proposed by the Story mode: we will be back boys (or, for the first time in the series and in an absolutely appreciable way, literally girls!) in an attempt to master the techniques of bouncing against the walls and skilling our steps, dribbles, tunnels and best shots. In the background, the frames of the cities of street soccer including New York, Amsterdam and Tokyo are accompanied by an electrifying soundtrack that makes even the offline single player immediately enjoyable and engaging.
The target? The victory of the world championships, reachable by our mixed-sex team only thanks to a particular attention to team harmony and learning to master the different modes that will then be available also in the online counterpart. Not only classic futsal therefore, but also 3 vs 3 with flying goalkeeper, 4 vs 4 with optional flying goalkeeper and 5 vs 5 among the modes comparable in Volta. However, considering the "street" ethics of the Volta mode, taking advantage of options such as removing walls or extending the number of players to ten in the field are immediately forced to deprive the gameplay that gives its best in 3 of speed, sagacity and immediacy. against 3.
Having taken the right confidence it will be possible to venture online, where we will have the opportunity to challenge new players around the world by climbing the heights of the Lega Volta divisions in what it wants to all intents and purposes to be FIFA Street according to the canons of the current generation. . A welcome distraction that also winks at gamers who are approaching the series for the first time and who are looking for a non-institutional pace of play without attachment to the classic rules.
Team that wins: Career and FUT
The detractors of FIFA and the most critical gamers, for years have been pointing the finger at the deaf ears that Electronic Arts offers its fans. Although the Career mode has not undergone revolutions compared to the previous chapter, the boys of the EA Canada and EA Romania teams must be recognized for the commitment in the introduction of some appreciable features: the press conferences before and after the match mark a first effort towards a more managerial management of the big sports car. Pay attention to your answers: they will directly affect the mood of the individuals and the locker room, also affecting the personal statistics of the athletes or their requests for engagement at the next renewal!
Just like for the Volta mode, the physical aspect of the coach that we will decide to play is also highly customizable and the overall variety of options and accessories is more than satisfactory. Pleasant diversion at first, however, this option is not very incisive and in the long run repetitive in the medium term, thus failing to shift the attention of gamers from what is still the heart and fortune of FIFA: the FIFA Ultimate Team.
FUT 20 is preparing to host again tens of thousands of players, more and less experienced, with the myriad of contents and events to which we are used and to which some unreleased are added: alongside the daily and weekly objectives, the players will compete to hit the new long-term goals in the brand new seasonal goals. The interface is now more streamlined and user friendly, saving us a few clicks between the various menus and offering a new level of customization that will create in our subconscious an even stronger empathy and connection with the team that will be "ours" today more than ever thanks to a pool of badges, stadium themes, uniforms, celebrations and various amenities. Among the icons added for the 2019/2020 season we point out the great Italian ex Andrea Pirlo and Gianluca Zambrotta, who finally join Zinedine Zidane by popular request of fans.
Nothing new regarding the pillars of FUT Champions and Division Rivals, but interesting the introduction of Friendlies and the addition of four special rules in addition to those already present in FIFA 19. Adrenaline skyrockets with the new "Exchanges" (rule that exchanges three random players with the opposing FUT team) and Palla Matta (which will assign important bonuses to the attacking team at each interruption of the game), which add a touch of unpredictability to break the regularity of classic challenges.
Gameplay, favor tactics and realism
A touch of realism and a crackdown has been added to some technical gestures, which now see smudges on tackling and tackling times more punished. Despite the updates to the realism of dribbling in the second half, we will find ourselves struggling to keep the ball against the AI of the more advanced game modes. If you have spent a few dozen hours on FIFA 19, it will be a good idea to invest some time on the driving ranges to better assimilate the new standards in order to avoid bad figures during the first online matches against friends of all time.
A new level of maneuverability helps to reduce the number of spectacular goals we have been used to in the past, in favor of greater strategic rigor where a shot with a classic through ball will now risk having the worst against a more careful construction of forward passes. and we will have to learn to savor (and weigh) each new movement. The renewal of the defensive algorithm of the AI is tangible, which will immediately tighten to counter a cross that has come even with a single second delay.
To add depth to the gameplay comes a renewed management of set pieces, which will allow you to customize the spin with the right analog stick and the pointer on the grid. If on the one hand the new management breaks the rhythm of the game, on the other hand it guarantees an extreme customization of the shot that wants to respond in the physics of the gesture as much as possible to the idea you have in your head. With a little practice, you will know how to appreciate the attention paid to the algorithms dedicated to positioning and to the most marked individuality of the game, including dribbling.
Those who go slow, go healthy and far: let's go back to school and let ourselves be guided in learning a new style of play, less immediate, more controlled and probably slower, but able to give technical and tactical satisfaction in the medium and long unprecedented term.
A pleasure for eyes and ears
The Fox Engine of PES 20 is contrasted by the now tested Frostbite by Electronic Arts, which, regardless of the game mode, gives us an unprecedented level of detail. The athletes' iconic general and vertical celebrations reach levels of photorealism, the packed stadiums and pitches of Volta mode have a life of their own. Although EA holds the vast majority of the sports rights, including the Champions League, we would have expected something more in the attention to detail on the faces of second and third tier players, which does not keep pace when compared with the renderings of PES 20. We therefore resign ourselves to the idea of having to wait for the next generation of consoles and engines for a new appreciable and noteworthy leap in quality.
The soundtrack accompanies every menu and mixes with the choirs and shouts of thousands of fans, helping to make every single match exciting, thanks to the commentary of the reconfirmed Pierluigi Pardo and Stefano Nava: the comments are intelligent and the timing calculated, despite a few sentences of too understandably recycled from past editions.
We cannot speak of a completed revolution, but on the other hand did we really feel the need? FIFA every year does its best to raise the bar of realism, introducing interesting new features that contribute to increasing the depth of the game by guaranteeing an unparalleled amount of content, both offline and online. While it will not keep you with your eyes glued to the screen for depth of plot, the new Story mode of VOLTA is a pleasant distraction of exquisitely fine workmanship in the gameplay and for the level of involvement it offers. As much at the head of the Piedmont Club as the Nuñez, FIFA today will be able to guarantee the right recipe for every type of palate, thanks to the attention put in place for the choir of the largest community in the world among sports simulators!
► FIFA 20 is a Sport-type game developed and published by Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 27/09/2019
