FIFA Soccer 14 Next-Gen (PS4) Impressions

[bad_philanthropy]

Quote: Originally Posted by IlliniOne82

Yeah I noted this a few posts above. I had this for 360 and the game's logic knew at which point to transition from the white ball to the yellow ball. The yellow ball isn't used until they change from daylight savings time but on One it has the yellow ball from the start of the season. Interesting that it's white for Cup games. I've only played 4 games of my season so I haven't played any Cup games yet. Obviously a minor detail. I played a game last night, Liverpool against Swansea, and it was the most realistic game I've played on either console in terms of fouls called. I play with 15 minute halves and the game finished with 10 fouls called against me and 8 against Swansea including 4 yellow cards between the 2 teams. I think where I notice some of the biggest differences between 360 vs. One is in the collision animations. When I watch a replay of a foul the physics just look right.

Try manually altering the time and date on your console see if it's tied to that. I have a feeling it is.

[IlliniOne82]

I would pretty much guarantee that it is. It's a really minor issue and doesn't at all detract from the quality of the next gen version of the game. It's kind of like Madden 13 where all of the pink breast cancer awareness gear would be present during any game you played during the real world month of October, regardless of what month you were playing in game.

[falcons2003]

Is there any way to play a season in career mode and set all the scouting and coaching extras to auto? I'm new to the game and all the GM duties are a little to much right now. I just want to do a quick simple season but the game seems pretty deep, which in the long run is a good thing.

So anyway to turn all those scouting features and stuff off? Or I guess i could just ignore them for now.

[bad_philanthropy]

Anyone else experiencing a crash every time they finish a game in career mode and try to advance back to the CM home menue? I've read this issue is affecting both PS4 and XB1 users. I currently cannot play a game in my CM since it crashes when I try to advance at the end of any game I play.

I'd like to think I'm not an inflammatory internet blowhard, but this is unacceptable. There had better within the next few days.

EDIT: Not my video, but this is what's happening to me as well. Career mode is literally broken. Not a subjective type of broken—it is actually unplayable because I cannot play more than one game.

[IlliniOne82]

I haven't had this problem. I played a game on XBox One late last night and I had no problem getting back to the CM dashboard after advancing past the post-game screen. I'm not stating this to rub it in your face, just to show that this isn't a universal problem. Some people are saying that deleting any of the in games saves then uninstalling/reinstalling the game fixes this.

[bad_philanthropy]

I finally got it working after uninstalling, reinstalling, and deleting everything three times. Terribly annoying, but I guess I should keep in perspective this is the beginning of the generation, and I'm an early adopter. This technology only gets more ambitious, and stuff like this is bound to happen.

I guess part of what is so frustrating is that I think the game is brilliant. I'll move into some random impressions.

So at first blush the game feels different. More responsive is how I'd broadly describe it, but there is also a strong sense of familiarity. Early on I mistook this as the game being essentially a pure port. After more time though, it's clear it isn't just a minor translation of next-gen, and I really had to relearn how I play FIFA.

Compared to the 360 version, you really have to make the most of every touch (playing on legendary), and the fidelity of animation translates sensationally to simulate this aspect of football. I feel like compared to last gen I have about one fewer touch I can make before needing to make a pass or taking a shot. It is hard to articulate, but with how much better the fine animations work, this all sums to much more strategic, logical, and good football. The cpu defenders also have much less of a miraculous ability to tackle you simply by getting within a few feet, so it really slows the game down at points since you have time to take a pass, gain control of the ball, take a look, and then make your next move.

As well, there is often great reward for taking a decisive touch, putting the ball in space, and unleashing a long pass or a nice shot. On last gen I felt like trying to set the ball in space for a shot or long pass was often a recipe for getting dispossessed.

It took me a bit, but when you figure out how the game works differently it just feels right. Looking at play up close in replays reveals some absolutely brilliant stuff.

Second, and of great relief to me, the cpu cheating seems to be greatly toned down in favor of more intelligent opponent AI. I feel like some of the balancing mechanisms in the past—like loose balls almost always finding a cpu opponent's possession—are completely done away with. I haven't felt cheated on a 50/50 ball yet, and even feel like I win my share of loose balls resulting from tackles by anticipating or gambling on their destination.

With the flow of the game I just feel less cheated, and when something goes awry I find I am getting frustrated with my own poor decision under pressure more than anything else. It is a breath of fresh air.

Lastly, using Orion's sliders on legendary, and keeping the user/cpu speed sliders at parity, I have had several instances where I took the right touch with a player and outran my mark over quite a distance—to the point that he was left in the dust and didn't miraculously run me down. Felt so good having possession, running nearly half the pitch with Callejon against Fiorentina with defenders losing ground, and smashing a great finish across goal.

The game is definitely too fast on slow without adjusting sprint speed, headers are still a tad overpowered, and outside of animations, it's nothing to write home about visually. Obviously some behind the scenes stability issues are in dire need of clean up. Overall though, I am very encouraged by the foundation, and really enjoying the upgrade over last gen.

[tjenkin7]

Anyone else having problems being able to use precision dribble, because the LB can't be pushed from the middle of the controller? You have to move your finger all the way to the outside of the button for it to actually push correctly.

[kerosene31]

Is the final version of the game a lot more improved from the demo? I tried the demo (on X1) and the AI seemed to be very much the same as in past series, but people with the full game see quite an improvement. Is the final version that much better? (or maybe sliders? I haven't tried sliders in the demo).