FIFA 14

Oddly enough, sports and video games do get along very well, and the sales numbers of the FIFA games yearly are clear proof of that. Some people even update their consoles and buy new ones just so that they can play the FIFA games. After all, soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world, and the only competition the official FIFA game has is Pro Evolution Soccer. Here we’ll talk about FIFA 14, and see if the game stays fresh after so many yearly releases, and see why it’s still more popular than Pro Evolution Soccer 2014.

About the game

When you release a similar game yearly, it is really hard to get new things added. Development time usually has to be rushed, and they're forced to reuse most of the materials with upgrades. And since soccer itself hasn't changed a lot in the past decades, it makes it even harder to add new features.

In this sense, the game struggles to stay fresh and differentiate itself from its predecessor. However, they did improve some things in the game. You can't change the sport itself, but there are always some things to improve and small mechanics to implement to make the game feel fresh every year.

Gameplay

Even though at first sight it is pretty similar to the past couple of games in gameplay terms, once you get your hands on the controllers you see how much things have changed in the past years. They improved the physics and basic movement mechanics of the game to make it feel much more realistic. There used to be some moments where the ball would randomly unnaturally gain speed or bounce. But now the ball looks and feels much more realistic.

The whole AI and the gameplay experience have improved a lot, even the controllers are updated to add new game styles and mechanics. Making all of the game resemble a more fluid and realistic soccer match. The movement of the players are slower but the animations are better, and it even looks more realistic.

Not much new

After mentioning how much he controllers and the physics have improved when compared to past titles, there isn't much more to add to the new things in this version. The same game modes are back with some really small changes to make it feel a bit more fresh. But when it comes to this type of game, the best thing you can do is try to make it more realistic every year. Sports don't change much in just a couple of years, but you can always make your simulation better.

It's really hard to give a score to FIFA 14, it's better than the past game, which makes it the best football soccer game as of 2013, but it doesn't do much for improvement. Still, it's the best at what it does, and that's what makes players keep getting the newest edition of FIFA games throughout the years.

Pros

• Gameplay improvements
• Nice physics
• Good Visuals
• Varied soundtrack and commentary lines

Cons

• More of the same
• Lacks innovation