For many, it will still be FIFA, but the most popular gaming product in the field of football can boast the name EA Sports FC for the second year. This year’s edition, number 25, attempts to add interesting news to the already established pattern, mainly for events outside the sphere itself. But how does EA manage to bring the most important thing into all this – that is, the gameplay itself?
The most popular sports game still occupies a very strong place in the lives of millions of players. Purchasing a new EA Sporst FC has already become an annual tradition for many, and they don’t even have to think twice about it. EA certainly knows this, and year after year they’ve made sweeping changes economically. They retain the player base and provide constant opportunities for improvement. This year is also no exception: in many ways, the new game is a continuation of EA Sports FC 24.
In terms of graphics, the level has risen again and it is no surprise that this is the most beautiful football game in the world. The real faces of the players are appearing more and more often, but we shouldn’t expect a revolution here either. If you play for one of the three Czech teams (Slavia, Sparta, Pilsen), you will laugh a lot when you recognize the faces of famous Czech football players. Things are even worse in less popular competitions, where, unfortunately, the Italian Serie A is dropping out this season due to the loss of several licenses not of Milan and the iconic red and black stripes, but of Milan. Not Inter and San Siro, but Lombardy. It freezes, but I must say that the graphics of the flagships (Premier League, Champions League) look great and draw the player into the game.
What EA has long been a master at, and where it has upped its game in recent years, is the realistic feel of player control. Especially if you play around with some settings, the Frostbite engine offers convincing changes in direction, biomechanics of shots, realistic ball movement and generally refined behavior of the football player’s body. In modeling perhaps the most complex sport in the world, these details play a huge role. Unfortunately, no matter how strong these foundation stones are, they only provide the foundation for an incomplete structure.
FC IQ knocks down stupid AI
The problems that the previous two games had with artificial intelligence and player behavior were not only unable (or unwilling) to be resolved, but in EA Sports FC it works worse at many stages than it did a year ago. First of all, if you are a fan of offline mode and love to engage in multi-year battle with the CPU (computer controlled opponent) in career mode, you will be disappointed. Players suggest running up and then stopping just before passing. Your midfielders and the opposition midfielders stand and watch the opposition rush past them, and returning to their goal is a dirty word for them. Players’ movements are not intuitive unless you order them to do so in advance or move them with a stick yourself, their behavior is very different from what we see in real stadiums.
At the same time, perhaps the biggest change that EA added to the game had great potential to change the game’s image in this context. FC IQ is a fantastic idea on paper. Even in real football, the word “formation” gradually fades into the background behind the connection “style of play”, so the opportunity for players to design their own formation of the game, including specific roles for players when playing with and without the ball, appears. Great refreshment at first. Although at first glance it seems like you can spend hours creating game plans, you will soon discover that it is quite simple. The ability to seamlessly change your playstyle and formation with a few taps during a match is definitely worth it. Ultimately, the entire IQ FC system paradoxically reduces the low IQ of artificial intelligence. This is a shame, because especially football aficionados and students of Pep Guardiola’s game will appreciate the possibility of deploying inverted full-backs, asymmetrical attacking formations or selecting ‘specialist’ players who are best suited to roles such as ‘false nine’ or ‘loose playmaker’. “.
Once the match starts, the game will soon go into a top-down attack. Many players will like this, football connoisseurs – less so. In short, the game is designed as a very simple game of table football. Gilded, but still just a foosball table. With four you attack more often, with four you defend more often. Imagine progressively more complex offensive attacks, in FC 25 speed and penetrating passes are crucial. Matches often end with high scores because once you figure out how to age the CPU, you’ll find yourself scoring the same goals over and over again. And when you rush from a third of the field alone to the goal, it’s not so fun.
Game modes remain standard.
Another new feature, the so-called Rush mode, offers more fun from this point of view. A simple five-on-five match on a small field is a prime example of how simple and effective innovation can be. Doesn’t break anything, but is a great addition to the main game modes. In Career mode, you can train the guys from your youth academy in Rush mode, and in Ultimate Team and Clubs online mode, you get a whole new way to compare yourself to other players. Overall, you will have more fun in online competitions or multiplayer games. Eliminating the CPU aspect of your opponent mitigates many of the game’s shortcomings, and in the end, it’s more fun when you beat a real person rather than a poor AI.
Improvements to the highly popular offline Career mode build on the already mentioned FC IQ, making team building a more demanding and challenging task. A big plus is the simplified menu, which will likely take some getting used to for loyal game users, but will come in handy later. Only little things are done in the Career; even this mode has not undergone significant changes. Despite this, there are plenty to choose from, in recent years EA has no longer pursued the strategy of removing features to be able to bring them back in a few years with a lot of help, so the mod has become hugely bloated. for several years and contains some really interesting experiences.
From personalizing your training load and monitoring juniors to scouting, finding reinforcements and constantly improving your game strategy, the game is becoming more and more like a tactical football manager. It’s a shame that the game experience itself doesn’t live up to these “off the field” aspects. The words “untapped potential” are on the tip of your tongue as you play it repeatedly, because the problem of confused AI is certainly solvable, it wasn’t as obvious in the FIFA games of about eight years ago. But EA does not notice the shortcomings and has been nervously treading water for the third year in terms of the gameplay itself.
Verdict
This year’s EA Sports FC 25 is a bit of a lightweight and somewhat disappointing experience. Gold-plated cover, everything looks beautiful and sounds classically great with a great soundtrack, but inside it’s just a computer version of foosball, benefiting mostly from the multiplayer aspect. This will satisfy certain fans, but will leave those who were expecting a change relatively hungry, even in the context of the potential of the game modes.
What do we like and dislike?
Graphics, audiovisual website
Tuned and realistic engine
New Rush, idea from FC IQ
Incorporating new features into game modes
The experience of the game is spoiled by poor AI and stereotypes.
Loss of some licenses
Same animation as last year.
Lack of coverage of interesting concepts.
Add a rating
View reader reviews
Source :Indian TV
