FIFA 15 Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (PS4, XB1)

[Inhocmark]

I'll preface this by saying that you can always nitpick and find something wrong with a game, EA will ALWAYS err on the side of action vs. simulation in all of their sports games and I'm ultimately willing to overlook minor imperfections and glitches and look at the bigger picture.

The big picture is that the game is a blast. I've found a difficulty and a slider set that I like and have gone on my merry way. So far no two games have really been the same which is awesome. Goals go in different ways and games have felt truly alive. As much as I loved FIFA 14, it almost did not matter who you were playing against, the game would follow usual patterns and have the same rhythm. So far in FIFA 15 I haven't seen it.

I've had games against teams that I'm evenly matched with that have turned into comfortable results based on the timing of goals and the realistic feeling of the tactics. I've had games against teams I should be dominating that I've fallen behind but eventually broken down with a mixture of tactics and substitutions. I'm thrilled

A perfect example of what I'm talking about was in my career with Liverpool. I played Manchester City with a 4-5-1 like formation and tried to find some joy up the right with Markovic. City's strength up their left made it a hard night for the young winger and a strong performance from Hart and a few mistakes at the back by myself and we lost. Two games later in the Champions Cup against Benfica, Markovic had a serious speed advantage over the left sided players for Benfica and ravaged them attack after attack and contributed a goal and two assists in a 3-1 victory. And stuff like this is happening all the time.

The game just feels better. For years now I've got the sense that a lot of the battles on the pitch are pre-ordained. A through ball could only be realistically targeted by one player the AI deemed the target and by the time you forced over a player switch the opportunity is gone. This year the at times chaotic nature of the physics means that an errant through ball can sometimes bounce the right way. When I started to get the feeling that the through ball this year was going to be an area where the result was pre-ordained (ie. the ball seeming to speed up a little and get hoovered up by the keeper) I had an instance where Sterling was able to use his speed to get to the ball moments before the keeper and poke it past him enough that the trailing forward was able to bundle it into the net. It feels unpredictable for the most part.

I'll find stuff wrong with it, I'll eventually see similar patterns emerge and will likely find areas where you're more likely to score...but after 10+ games, they aren't appearing as fast as they did last season and scoring positions have felt organic.

[IlliniMatt]

Quote: Originally Posted by BigTimeTimmyJim

Yep, can't quite figure that one out. I thought it may have been that it only searches the countries which you have scouts in; but that wouldn't make any sense at all.

It screws up players last names. I search "Lampard" and got a guy named Carl Lampard. When I click on him it takes me to some Danish guy named Carl with a completely different last name. Bizarre.

[half-fast]

Am I the only one that feels like most of the goals being scored on me are because I can't control the right player? I think whats happening is, I'm getting outplayed in general, and the game thinks the AI deserves a goal, but they still can't score one. The game thinks the AI deserves a goal because of momentum, so they pull this crazy crap on me where there's a huge mix up in which guy I control and the ball goes in because my AI d-man doesnt even attempt to stop the attacker. Knocking it down one difficulty isnt an option as it's far too easy. Just seems very cheap still, regardless of how much better the action looks.

Any tips? Obviously I need to improve in general. I'm a full manual player who is finding it difficult to adapt to passing this year, and as a result can't retain possession as well as I was last year. Also, the new animations and ball dribbling is great, but like others have said already, I think the defense has been left behind. if youre challenging an attacker and try to run to grab the ball off the opposing player, even if it is available for the taking, if you dont run exactly right at it, your player will run straight brushing right by the attacker and not even make an attempt at the ball, and look as if the play has moved far past the opposing player. It's a bit weird, though I can get used to it.

[IlliniMatt]

Quote: Originally Posted by Grallis

Am I the only one that feels like most of the goals being scored on me are because I can't control the right player? I think whats happening is, I'm getting outplayed in general, but the AI still can't score. The game thinks the AI deserves a goal so they pull this crazy crap on me where there's a huge mix up in which guy I control and the ball goes in because my AI d-man doesnt even attempt to stop the attacker. Knocking it down one difficulty isnt an option as it's far too easy. Just seems very cheap still, regardless of how much better the action looks. Any tips?

Switching to the right player on defense was a problem for me in 14, and it is again in 15. It's especially tough in frantic situations like you mention. I turned auto switch to air balls so I can decide when to change players for the most part. If you use auto-switch, try setting the move assistance to high.

[half-fast]

Quote: Originally Posted by IlliniMatt

Switching to the right player on defense was a problem for me in 14, and it is again in 15. It's especially tough in frantic situations like you mention. I turned auto switch to air balls so I can decide when to change players for the most part. If you use auto-switch, try setting the move assistance to high.

I'll give that a shot, thanks!

[xicpanad]

Quote: Originally Posted by Grallis

Am I the only one that feels like most of the goals being scored on me are because I can't control the right player? I think whats happening is, I'm getting outplayed in general, and the game thinks the AI deserves a goal, but they still can't score one. The game thinks the AI deserves a goal because of momentum, so they pull this crazy crap on me where there's a huge mix up in which guy I control and the ball goes in because my AI d-man doesnt even attempt to stop the attacker. Knocking it down one difficulty isnt an option as it's far too easy. Just seems very cheap still, regardless of how much better the action looks. Any tips? Obviously I need to improve in general. I'm a full manual player who is finding it difficult to adapt to passing this year, and as a result can't retain possession as well as I was last year. Also, the new animations and ball dribbling is great, but like others have said already, I think the defense has been left behind. if youre challenging an attacker and try to run to grab the ball off the opposing player, even if it is available for the taking, if you dont run exactly right at it, your player will run straight brushing right by the attacker and not even make an attempt at the ball, and look as if the play has moved far past the opposing player. It's a bit weird, though I can get used to it.

You really have to try harder in defending. If you have space somewhere, CPU will use it, that´s granted.

[Inhocmark]

Quote: Originally Posted by Grallis

Am I the only one that feels like most of the goals being scored on me are because I can't control the right player? I think whats happening is, I'm getting outplayed in general, and the game thinks the AI deserves a goal, but they still can't score one. The game thinks the AI deserves a goal because of momentum, so they pull this crazy crap on me where there's a huge mix up in which guy I control and the ball goes in because my AI d-man doesnt even attempt to stop the attacker. Knocking it down one difficulty isnt an option as it's far too easy. Just seems very cheap still, regardless of how much better the action looks. Any tips? Obviously I need to improve in general. I'm a full manual player who is finding it difficult to adapt to passing this year, and as a result can't retain possession as well as I was last year. Also, the new animations and ball dribbling is great, but like others have said already, I think the defense has been left behind. if youre challenging an attacker and try to run to grab the ball off the opposing player, even if it is available for the taking, if you dont run exactly right at it, your player will run straight brushing right by the attacker and not even make an attempt at the ball, and look as if the play has moved far past the opposing player. It's a bit weird, though I can get used to it.

That's part of it. Another big part is that if you allow yourself to be lead out of position or make a commitment at the wrong point you leave your remaining defenders in positions where they can be exploited.

You can also look at the individual settings for players and adjust them based on your playing style. Sometimes I find the default settings too passive allowing too much time to the ball carrier to find that through ball.

[xicpanad]

Quote: Originally Posted by Inhocmark

I'll preface this by saying that you can always nitpick and find something wrong with a game, EA will ALWAYS err on the side of action vs. simulation in all of their sports games and I'm ultimately willing to overlook minor imperfections and glitches and look at the bigger picture. The big picture is that the game is a blast. I've found a difficulty and a slider set that I like and have gone on my merry way. So far no two games have really been the same which is awesome. Goals go in different ways and games have felt truly alive. As much as I loved FIFA 14, it almost did not matter who you were playing against, the game would follow usual patterns and have the same rhythm. So far in FIFA 15 I haven't seen it.

Sorry but I really loved this one. Just like me, I was constantly looking at the tiny fails and small details, that eventually would become a gamebreaker. Not anymore!
I wanna have fun playing and this game is soooo awesome if you just look at the "big picture"!!