FIFA 15 is still quite fresh in my mind having just a few months ago taken a swing at the World Cup title – but the EA team does not sit on their laurels and they continue to improve their masterwork. With the mid-year release, the improvements over last year's title are not as drastic as most iterations but that's not to say that there aren't any. Graphically and aurally, FIFA 15 is pretty much the same game as last year: still looks amazing, the sound from the crowd noise to the in-game commentary are top notch. No disappointments here, at best minor nit-picky points.
For me, the most noticeable improvement was on Goaltending AI. Even at the lower difficulty levels, the goaltenders play a much more intelligent position game and are MUCH less susceptible to a direct shot than ever before. They may be only human, but after turning away your tenth scoring effort, it certainly doesn't appear to be the case. Their variety of animations has been drastically upgraded as well, not every save is a full-body lay out dive – you'll see volleying the shot above the net, punching out a corner-shot, and even the beloved kick-save when aiming for the far corner. As a result, the goaltenders have a near swagger that they bring to life – from a goalie defiantly charging out of the crease to challenge a lone attacker; to scrambing at a goal-mouth loose ball you'll both rue them as an opponent and cheer your own as it keeps the game close.
The defensive AI and positional AI of uncontrolled players have definitely shown some marked improvement as well – I've been forced to ditch my old favorite strategy of passing to marked player. After I've had my pocket picked for the 15th consecutive time from a defender timing the chip pass and taking off with the ball you'll learn to stop doing that. Quick short passes still remain the most effective way to open up some real-estate for you to work, but one stupid pass will inevitably end up as a turnover. The in-fighting and grabbing have definitely been ramped up this year; you'll definitely notice the tugging and positional in-fighting on close plays.
EA's big touted upgrade has been to add true to life "emotional AI" – under stress, you're more likely to see players make mistakes, or blow up and try to draw a fictional foul by throwing up their hands during tight-checking. That simple little human element being added to the AI helps remove that distance between video game and true to life simulation. It's a little infuriating to have your perfect play blown apart by the "human element" but it's supposed to be a simulation.My big detraction has been the near minimal improvement from previous years, at the end of the day it really feels like less an upgrade and more a tweaking of a winning formula. At the end of the day, that's all we are really heading towards with this franchise – some graphical improvements, some minor gameplay tweaks as the need for huge redesigns just aren't required. All in all, I really enjoyed playing FIFA 15 and firmly believe that the die-hards should pick it up; more casual gamers can wait a year if they already grabbed FIFA 14.
- Tazman
The Good:
- Goaltending AI has seen a definite improvement
-"Emotional" AI has been introduced
The Bad:
- Incremental improvement over FIFA '14 at best
