FIFA 15 (11)

It’s that time of the year again. Actually it was that time last month, but our review copies only arrived late so we couldn’t bring you the breaking news that FIFA 15 is pretty much FIFA 14 with a new number on the end.

Now that claim has been hurled against FIFA since the the game began; I have always been a defender of the series saying that the majority of people who say it’s the same game aren’t football fans and therefore don’t have the passion and understanding of the small nuances that each iteration brings.

FIFA 15 (10)

It’s never just a squad update but rather tweaks to the rules, new graphics and an improvement in the base engine that runs the game. I’ve always defended it because I felt it was always true. That is, until this year. This year I am walking away from the game feeling disappointed and a little irritated to be honest.

FIFA 15 (1)

The game is technically magnificent, the touch controls, tactics and graphics are superb and the ability to see who your team mate is by the way he is moving instead of his name truly immerses me into the game. Dribbling on the edge of the box and I can see Gerrard making space for himself on the right while Lucas ambles to the left makes having knowledge about the game so much more important. Passing to Lucas at this stage is far less likely to result in a successful shot on goal compared to rolling it in front of Gerrard.

The commentary team has also improved again, though I’m still not a fan of them passing off to the third commentator to hear about what’s happening at other matches. However, the flow of the chatter is definitely improved – still a long way from perfect but definitely not bad at all.

FIFA 15 (2)

Then we head into what the game has on offer and no other football game comes close. The standard career mode is still my bread and butter and you can pick from hundreds of teams across a multitude of leagues to try and conquer the world.

Personally, the constant harassment by the board and players is something I’d like to mute; I’m not here to make my players feel good about themselves and give them chances. I’m here to win and pretend I’m idolised by my adoring fans. Dealing with admin is something I have to do in real life, why would I want to do it in a game?

FIFA 15 (6)

The game also offers online leagues which I thoroughly enjoy, even though I languish towards the bottom of the online leagues. The system is the same brilliant one it has been for years. You start in the 10th division and you need to win a certain amount of games to get promoted. In higher leagues, if you lose too often you get relegated. There are no set tables so you can always find an opponent.

FIFA 15 (5)

Then there is the massively popular FUT which is the trading card game of old integrated with the actual ability to play the game and compete against others. It’s massively addictive for some but is not something I have ever really been that into.

Lastly you have the skill games, which you can attempt during loading screens, but which also form a core competitive side of the title as you strive to beat your friends’ scores. All four modes are perfectly polished and work excellently well. The online multiplayer will need a few months before the hardcore fans decide if it is well balanced or not, but for the average gamer you are going to love it.

So that’s all great and if this game came out as a new title now it would be scoring well into the 9’s and there really isn’t anything wrong so why isn’t it getting a 9?

FIFA 15 (8)

There’s one simple reason, it’s no better than FIFA 14. The ball control feels identical, the graphics are the same and the game hasn’t kept up with the rule changes.

Well, at least that one rule change. In the world cup the magic vanishing spray was introduced to ensure players kept the legal distance from the ball during free kicks. Yes it only arrived into premier league late into the summer break but that is why I’m paying over R700 for a game, I want the developers to be sweating blood to ensure my game mimics reality. It’s now two months since the Premier League started and there is still no referee in the game with spray paint.

FIFA 15 (7)

If EA Sports isn’t going to keep up with the rule changes and implement them quickly, I see absolutely no reason to buy FIFA annually.  In fact last night I had to remove a version of FIFA from my Xbox One to install Sunset Overdrive, and I had to think whether to remove FIFA 14 or FIFA 15.

That, for me, was the kicker.

 

Last Updated: October 17, 2014

FIFA 15
There is nothing wrong with FIFA 15 and it plays great, but so did FIFA 14 and for the first time in a long time I cannot find a reason to upgrade. If you have FIFA 14 then just stick with it, you’re not missing out on anything.
7.0
FIFA 15 was reviewed on Xbox One
82 / 100

36 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief 0

    October 17, 2014 at 12:19

    “you’re not missing out on anything”

    Well said!

    😛

    Reply

  2. Xcalibersa

    October 17, 2014 at 12:21

    Great review

    Reply

  3. Splooshypooh

    October 17, 2014 at 12:21

    Feeling underwhelmed by this game. Maybe they should only release once every two years? Make the problems go away and the realism seem like more of change?

    Reply

  4. Jason

    October 17, 2014 at 12:24

    Well when I’ve played the game and I mainly play online there are so many goals. Score lines are usually 6-4 or 7-5. That never once happened in FIFA 14. So something has changed for both players to score goals freely

    Reply

    • Jonah Cash

      October 17, 2014 at 15:39

      Yes they redid the goalkeepers and now they are complete and utter idiots!!! They pull of the best saves when you hit it in the corner of the net, but the easy saves is now going in!! And you can’t call out your keeper when he is 1 on 1, because they suck!!!

      Reply

  5. Spaffy

    October 17, 2014 at 12:28

    I haven’t played Fifa since, oh, 2004?
    Has it changed since then?

    Edit: Oh, and Street on x-box. That was fun 🙂

    Reply

    • CAE9872

      October 17, 2014 at 14:20

      Ask yourself this – has real-world football changed dramatically since then…the answer to that will pretty much answer your question.

      Does look prettier on next gen though.

      In all seriousness, I played 14 quite a bit and enjoyed it; no doubt 15 is just as good (I have it on the One but haven’t played it yet). But it is just a football game…

      Reply

      • Spaffy

        October 17, 2014 at 14:24

        How does it compare to PES, or don’t we go there?

        Reply

        • CAE9872

          October 17, 2014 at 14:32

          I actually haven’t played PES in a while, but by all accounts FIFA kinda stole the limelight in about FIFA10 version. Since then PES struggled.

          But I am interested to see the new one when it comes out on PS4/One. It has been helped by UK development which could be good for it…we shall see.

          Reply

  6. Matt

    October 17, 2014 at 12:52

    Ok, Gavin is just grumpy cos Liverpool don’t have Suárez anymore and are a 4 and a half star team 😛

    8.5 would be fair.

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      October 17, 2014 at 15:58

      lol, troll post

      If you don’t have FIFA 14 then yes it’s a solid 8.5… if you do.. then it’s a 7

      Reply

  7. Lardus-Resident Perve

    October 17, 2014 at 12:55

    So, 7 if you have Fifa14, maybe an 8 or 9 if you don’t have it? I have Fifa14, but is still sealed because I got it bundled with the console 🙂

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      October 17, 2014 at 15:58

      Then don’t unseal it and you have a solid 8.5 title right here

      Reply

      • Lardus-Resident Perve

        October 17, 2014 at 16:14

        Or not and play proper sports games 😛

        Reply

  8. Hammersteyn

    October 17, 2014 at 13:08

    They nerfed Liver pool didn’t they? 😛

    Reply

  9. fred

    October 17, 2014 at 13:35

    Same as F1 then , just a new number at the end? These yearly releases are just a cash cow for them , why not just do dlc updates for a fraction of the price yearly?

    Reply

    • CAE9872

      October 17, 2014 at 14:21

      I saw a review of F1 2014 yesterday and they were complaining it “feels” worse than 2013…

      Reply

  10. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    October 17, 2014 at 14:49

    I guess I can still hold onto Fifa 2010. No need to upgrade!

    Reply

    • Jonah Cash

      October 17, 2014 at 15:41

      Upgrade to Fifa 13, it is the best Fifa of all time!!

      Reply

  11. xcovick

    October 17, 2014 at 15:09

    I’m just a beginner in this game but I’m a very big fun of football. It all started when I was surfing in the internet then I found this game so I gave it a try, then after a bit, it got through me so I bought 5000 fifa coins to start with.

    Reply

    • Jonah Cash

      October 17, 2014 at 15:40

      …………….. I have never bought a Fifa coin in my life and I will never!! So I won’t ever have Messi, Ronaldo and Bale in my team and I am fine with that!!

      Reply

      • xcovick

        October 18, 2014 at 18:54

        good for you, wish me luck then.

        Reply

        • Jonah Cash

          October 20, 2014 at 08:05

          Good luck man, with that amount of coins you will be able to buy a very good team!!

          Reply

  12. Jonah Cash

    October 17, 2014 at 15:37

    Yeah I am now 3 days in and I am very much in agreement with you Gavin!! Online has a new rule though, do not call out your goalkeeper!! The idiot doesn’t dive on the ball anymore, if the attacker changes a mm of his trajectory he is going to pass it past the keeper into the goal box!! I am very close to kicking my Fifa habit!!
    The online is why I play and Fifa 13 was better than 14 and 15!! And that makes me mad!!

    Reply

    • Aries

      October 17, 2014 at 17:07

      Though 14 for me was absolute shit, 15 better, but loved 13, 14’s through balls were pathetic as well as the passing, but 15 gameplay feels more fluent

      Reply

      • Jonah Cash

        October 20, 2014 at 08:04

        The gameplay is fluent but it is pretty much impossible to defend in 15, the scorelines are all 4-5, 3-2, 5-3… It’s crazy!! I haven’t had one 0-0 draw yet, and I am probably 30 games in already!! I have only 3 draws, and the one was 5-5…

        Reply

        • Aries

          October 20, 2014 at 16:14

          Ive actually gotten quite a few 0-0’s because the shooting is funny sometimes, especially if the wrong player takes the shot

          Reply

          • Jonah Cash

            October 21, 2014 at 07:59

            I played again last night, it feels as if the attacking player has a better turning circle than the defenders… From kick off the guy can run through my whole team and have a shot!!
            You play online or offline?

          • Aries

            October 21, 2014 at 13:17

            i play both but mostly career, but realistically attackers are better at turning than defenders

          • Jonah Cash

            October 21, 2014 at 17:15

            But not past 4 defenders…. Because that is essentially what is happening online all the time, if the guy gets past your midfielders on the edge of the box then you are screwed!! Chances are very good that you won’t be able to tackle him with your defenders!!

          • Aries

            October 21, 2014 at 17:49

            Triangle, ram him with the goalkeeper till they fix it, lol, played a few games and saw that sometimes the def is all over the place, but i usually get my tackles in before or i jockey the players, though that can go wrong quick, with the player over running and having to track back

          • Aries

            October 21, 2014 at 19:32

            One thing i just noticed now because it happening way to frequent is that when you one goal up and the opp team start with there long balls, they give one straight down the middle and they just head it over the keeper and i didnt call the keeper out to get the ball as it on edge of box, happened twice to me now

          • Jonah Cash

            October 22, 2014 at 09:10

            I really feel like the game is a bit broken still, even after patch 2!! Next year I will wait for patch 3!! Hahaha, in two years time I will just not buy it anymore!!

  13. Deano

    October 17, 2014 at 16:24

    Fifa 15 is a great improvement over 14. The atmosphere, players movements and the collision system has improved, over players just feel that much more nimble on their feet. Its not a Huge difference but its a good enough improvement over 15 and I’m happy enough to have paid for it.

    Reply

    • Deano

      October 17, 2014 at 16:24

      sorry meant over 14.

      Reply

  14. JTurner11

    October 18, 2014 at 04:04

    To me FIFA ’15 is definitely different than ’14–but not necessarily in a good way. EA responded to the people that criticized the dribbling and turning ability of the offensive players by making dribbling much easier in ’15. Problem is it’s not really balanced any more. Offense is a lot easier than defending is. Yes, you can get better at defense the more you practice, but dribbling is still much too easy. Almost any player can dribble like Messi past defender after defender. Defending is in part too difficult because of the AI of the defenders you aren’t currently controlling–with your other defenders too often lacking the ‘intelligence’ part of ‘AI’. Maybe in ’16 EA will decide to re-balance the game again and give defenders a boost in ability to make the game more realistic. It does look pretty–now all they have to do is make it “play pretty.”

    Reply

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