FIFA Soccer 14 Demo Impressions Roundtable

[RaychelSnr]

FIFA Soccer 14's demo has been on the market for a week now, and our staff has had plenty of time to dig into the demo and share their impressions. Is the current gen version of FIFA 14 a must buy? Read on to find out.

Read More - FIFA Soccer 14 Demo Impressions Roundtable

[DaWolf]

Fifa on next Gen isnt a Giant leap either, played it at gamescom.

[TheLetterZ]

Nice write-up, guys.

I like FIFA's core game mechanics. The AI as a whole can improve, but it plays well enough.

The lack of player and team individuality in FIFA frustrates me. I end up getting bored of FIFA after not too long because AI opponents tend to play very, very similarly. Sure, Barcelona and Messi are good, as they should be. I just don't feel like they play LIKE Barcelona and Messi.

[Yeats]

1. Fair reviews. I especially appreciate the insight regarding the AI issues with this series; all very true.
2. I'm not going next-gen, therefore I'm more focused on this game which maybe explains why I might seem more impressed with this current-gen demo than the three writers appear to be.
3. Seems a lot of energy is being put into the idea that next-gen is going to be some great leap. Guess nobody remembers what went on with "next-gen" Madden the past seven years.

[hedache]

I'm playing the demo on XBOX and I find the computer CPU trying different things and styles with different teams. So I'm not sure why Jayson is not happy with the AI. Well AI is not at its great, probably far from it, but not as bad as he made it sound like.

I've seen Barcelona make real quick passes and get behind my defense when I'm up and create some nice 2 on 1 situations. I've also seen them go all the way back to their CBs when my defense is too collapsed. I did like the way they passed around to find a gap in my defense patiently while this was not always the case like in previous years. When they see something they go for it without wasting time.

I've also seen nice through balls sent into paths of runners. But I must also mention that I have modified the sliders (run frequency and full back positioning may be a big factor here, along with line length, height and width). So that might be creating the better AI movement in attack.

I'm pretty hopeful about the offline experience in 14, while I play the game online mostly.

[hedache]

I must note that I've easily played more than 40 games if not more. And I've used a good variety of match ups, even teams, strong vs weak, weak vs strong...

While at it, on my second post, this is just a prediction: I don't expect 14 to be much different on next gen. I think they will start utilizing the new hardware better as time goes, which may be 15 or 16. That's my expectation.

[Gnemi]

I wish I could disagree with Jayson's summary of issues with the demo, but I can't. EA seem to have done a lot of homework in their approach to changing the gameplay mechanics of FIFA '14 but in terms of AI teammates, it's still very disappointing and I'm not sure if sliders will address things sufficiently.

On the one hand, patience is required if you want to break down the AI's defense; however, your own AI teammates are quite simply incompetent.

[BQ32]

Man you round table dudes never give Fifa credit, every year its like a mixed bag yet you rave about inferior titles such as NBA 2k. This year the gameplay has improved greatly just like 13 from 12, 14 from 13 makes subtle changes that completely refine how to properly play the game. This demo plays much more realistically with the added weight and momentum system, and damn, the physicality of this game is just beautiful. There is a true sense of fight and jostling for ball control while maintaining the ability to really finesse and juke defenders. From a strictly online players perspective it is great to see that each year fifa becomes a better and more skill based game. The AI is definitely not perfect but they are BETTER then fifa 13 for sure. The game initially does not feel better then 13 but the more you play it and master the ability to control players with the feel of actual weight it becomes clear how much fun it is to play and what a gameplay upgrade it really is.