While these actions create a seemingly dynamic environment in which players act and interact with each other in absence of your direct input, they have little effect on the outcome of a match. Similarly, running out from the goal to punch or catch the ball from a corner results in lots of backtracking when a keeper realizes that either a friendly defender or opposition attacker is going to get to it first. If you're on goal and one-on-one with a keeper, it's not uncommon to see him initially rush out from between the posts and attack, only to decide that it's a bad idea and hightail it back to his line. More importantly, their movements hint at a keeper's basic thought processes, which does a great deal to humanise keepers and shake that feeling of playing against a pre-programmed machine.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's Their movements are more diverse, allowing skilful players to perform a range of spectacular gymnastics in an effort to keep the ball out of the goal. Nowhere is this more obvious than with goalkeepers, whose new animations make them instantly more lifelike in terms of both look and behavior. If last year's game was a skeleton of what FIFA wanted to achieve over the course of this console generation, then consider FIFA 15 the first layer of meat on top of that. What's different is the degree of style and elegance with which everything is executed, giving the game a sense of refinement that was lacking last season. As a result, the learning curve in FIFA 15 is almost nonexistent.
If you played last season's game, then the visuals, game modes, on-pitch action, and means of interaction will be immediately familiar. Perhaps more than ever, this year's FIFA comes down to the little details.