Fifa 18 game review. Ultimate Team - Yashin and the incompetents

24.11.2019

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Every year, sports game developers face the same challenge - how to continue to amaze their own audiences. And if the creators of shooters or, for example, role playing games can completely change the game by moving events to another time era or simply changing the scenery, this cannot be done in the sports genre. Football, hockey, basketball and other sports have remained virtually unchanged for decades, and there are no surprises here.

Therefore, the developers have, in general, only three options for the development of events - either improve game process, or everything around him, or both. And in this annual race for global updates even the most skillful ones are not always able to withstand the right balance. Unfortunately, despite the great ambitions and experience of EA Sports, it did not manage to surpass its predecessor on all fronts.

Gameplay is the most important thing

Many haters of EA Sports' football game criticize it in much the same way every year. They say that the developers are completely screwed, they are not correcting the mistakes of the past, they are only forcing them to spend more and more money on boosters in Ultimate Team. Most of all goes to the gameplay - the heart of any sports simulator - for its “simplicity” and “arcade style”. In fact, this is an amateurish view, and it proves it perfectly. Perhaps, greatest number changes in the game took place on the football field.

EA Sports has heavily reworked the passing system, both low and high. Virtual football players now pass the ball to each other faster and make fewer mistakes. Because of this, it has become easier to imitate the game of technical clubs that like to play passing. For example, Barcelona or modern Manchester City under the leadership of Guardiola. Crosses from one flank to the other or into the penalty area have also become more accentuated and realistic. The ball no longer falls into the penalty area like a bomb from the Second World War, but flies along a twisted “Beckham” trajectory. Based on the first matches, it became clear that the players became more willing to play crosses into the penalty area, unlike the last editions.

Passes sped up the gameplay, so EA Sports had to make other changes to slow it down to maintain balance. Feints and strokes went under the knife. Unlike FIFA 17, the animations for dribbling, feints and other tricks have slowed down. If earlier some Ronaldo could perform Zidane's feint in a split second, now an imposing ductility has appeared in the movements of even the most nimble and diminutive football players. The eternal key combination RT+LT ( Xbox One) or L2+R2 (PS4) also does not always work - it is now much more difficult to accurately control the ball using it. In general, if you ignored team football as much as possible in previous editions, then it seems that you will have to relearn.

Another change - more complex artificial intelligence. Either EA Sports really decided to turn FIFA into a real e-sports discipline, or they simply decided to once again test the strength of their audience. Shifts are noticeable both in defense and attack. In the first case, the AI has become less proactive - defenders are not so willing to calculate the actions of their opponents and hold the line worse, which is why it is necessary to more accurately control them manually (using the sticks on the gamepad). In attack, the opposite is true: forwards and midfielders began to combine more willingly, move more and generally confuse defenders. These nuances have already been appreciated by experienced eSports players, because it is precisely because of the changes in defense that it has become more difficult to play. In fact, in fights between “regular” players, this led to a sharp increase in performance. Keeping a clean sheet is almost a feat.

During matches, you can also notice visual updates to the game. They especially relate to effects - fog, soft light spotlights or glare from the blinding sun - and virtual spectators. The direction of the broadcasts has been slightly changed - now operators are more willing to capture spectators during pauses in the game, who have become much more lively, and the developers themselves have allowed the players to celebrate goals with the fans. To do this, you just need to run up to the podium behind the goal after an effective action. Against this background, the models of the players themselves are losing, and they still look worse than the athletes in Pro Evolution Soccer.

Hunter's New Adventures

Story mode introduced last year The Journey Many people liked it, and received a lot of criticism from others. They criticized it for being too linear and predictable, a hackneyed plot and too much gameplay. Indeed, not much attention was paid to the “plot” scenes about the football player Hunter in the first season.

The video can be viewed on the EA Sports FIFA Youtube channel

Things got noticeably better in The Journey's second season. If in FIFA 17 the story revolved around Hunter and his growing career, then in the sequel everything is more complicated. The plot now predictably focuses not only on football, but also on season two syndrome, the burden of fame that can fall on any young player, money and, of course, family. It's still not Hollywood blockbuster level, but The Journey gets better and better. Perhaps by the third or fourth season the mode will actually turn into a must-see. Now The Journey is a good warm-up before the start of online battles, because completing it gives not only achievements, but also free packs, as well as cards of its main characters in Ultimate Team.

Before turning on Ultimate Team, you can also take a look at the slightly redesigned career mode, but even here there are not many changes. Cinematic inserts appeared during transfer negotiations, the interface was redone, various embellishments were added, such as videos from presentations of newcomers and other little things. Otherwise, everything remained approximately at last year’s level, which is sad but predictable. “Career” has not been statistically popular with players for a long time.

Career. What has changed in the oldest mode in FIFA 18

New transfers, financial fair play and other new features in FIFA 18.

Ultimate Team - Yashin and the incompetents

Of course, everything described in the previous paragraphs is for many just a prelude to Ultimate Team, the main game mode. Last season, the online mode brought EA Sports hundreds of millions of dollars, and the developers do not intend to stop. However, even here one cannot say that there are any incredible surprises.

The video can be viewed on the EA Sports FIFA Youtube channel

The central news for domestic fiffers is the appearance of Lev Yashin in the game. The famous goalkeeper of the USSR and Dynamo Moscow is now presented in the game as one of the “idols”. Moreover, unlike the “legends” from previous versions of FIFA, the “idols” have three versions of the card in Ultimate Team, each of which corresponds to a certain stage in a football player’s career. Depending on the option, the players’ performance and even positions on the field will change (but not Yashin’s, of course). Other new “idols” include Maradona, Henry, Ronaldinho and the Brazilian Ronaldo. By the way, starting from , all the players of the past are now available on all platforms, not just on Xbox.

Last year, EA Sports presented Weekend League - an online mode in which everyone who wanted to make good money in the game played every week. The rules are still simple: every weekend all participants have 40 matches - the more you win, the higher the reward. Over time, Weekend League has turned into a mode for eSports players - getting even 30-35 wins is incredibly difficult for the average player. But the size of the reward also depended on the number of victories. Because of this, skilled players only grew richer with the help of the Weekend League, assembled increasingly stronger squads and broke away even more noticeably from the rest.

The developers decided to think about those who don’t know how to play well, and made Squad Battles. This is a single-player mode in which each week the player competes against randomly assembled computer-controlled teams. Depending on the number of matches and difficulty level, he receives points, which are calculated every week. The more there are, the higher the winnings. Overall, Squad Battles is really good fun for incompetent fifers. And in fact the only chance for them to collect good composition without a skill or donation to the game.

New idols, tasks and challenges. What will Ultimate Team be like in FIFA 18?

EA Sports at the FUT Live event spoke about the main innovations in the most popular mode of the FIFA football simulator.

- a small step forward

FIFA is the leader in the sports genre by a huge margin over all other competitors. Each new release of EA Sports' footsim game predictably ends up in the top five best-selling games of the year. Therefore, we will judge by ourselves by and large.

For anyone sports game such a set of updates for a year would be good result, but not for FIFA. Having great financial resources, EA Sports still failed to truly surprise, as, for example, last year. All the changes are logical, good and consistent, but this time we are far from a breakthrough or even a noticeable step forward.

The evolution of FIFA over the year in England is now aptly compared to how London's Tottenham have changed since last season. Let us remember that Mauricio Pochettino's excellent team remains excellent, but there have been only minor changes in its composition. It's about the same with . It's still the best football video game on the planet, with a little less interesting going on than usual this time around.

After thoroughly evaluating FIFA 17, it became clear: the next, eighteenth FIFA is definitely worth the wait!

A game: FIFA 18
Platform: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, Windows
Genre: Sports
Date of release: September 29, 2017
Developer: EA Canada
Publisher: Electronic Arts

By and large, the FIFA series only slightly evolves from year to year, diluting the usual mechanics with new “chips”, techniques and updating team compositions to the current state. This is enough for most fans, but FIFA 18 is somewhat different from its predecessors in this regard.

Let's start with the fact that this game has a full-fledged story mode. Yes, he appeared in FIFA 17, but here the story of the main character Alex Hunter was continued. If in the previous part we were shown Alex's development as a football player, now our hero moves on and wants to decide on his place in this world, to prove that his successes were not accidental.

That he is a professional, worthy to stand on a par with the best players on the planet. In addition, you will find other playable characters besides Alex. We added customization to the game, the absence of which in the last part was somewhat frustrating. Our football player can change his clothes, shoes, hairstyle and even get a tattoo.

It is not without reason that the story began with a mention of the plot, because in this regard the developers use a long-proven scheme: they gradually improve what is in the game, bringing every aspect to perfection. And this evolution in the new part of the game affected almost every element.

Let's start with the gameplay. If you compare FIFA 18 with previous game, then the players became more... heavier, or something. Each character has inertia, acceleration speed and a host of other characteristics that are calculated by the game engine. At the same time, each person does not fall into a set of “stripes” indicating characteristics. Let's say two football players with approximately same speed, But different heights will behave differently on the field.

It can take you from 30 minutes to, without exaggeration, several weeks to master the controls. The fact is that EA Canada employees have found, as it seems to us, an ideal scheme in which both beginners can play comfortably, using a combination of a shot, cross, pass and acceleration, as well as experienced gamers who will perform various feints, actively dribble, make through passes, invent complex circuits with playing the ball, deceptive maneuvers and a lot of other things.

On just 12 buttons of the gamepad, the developers managed to fit so many bells and whistles and combinations that any fighting game would envy. Moreover, there is no confusion in the controls, and mistakes that happen during the match remain solely on the player’s conscience.

Artificial intelligence behaves very competently. Moreover, it feels like he “sees” the field just like the player. If earlier it was possible to observe such a picture that, running up to the enemy penalty area, the enemy met you fully armed, now there are situations when the AI “makes a mistake,” leaving a gap and abruptly throwing its player from one edge to another.

All this concerns low levels difficulties. As they increase, the situation on the field changes: the defense acts more competently, your and other teammates begin to play more harmoniously, and in general the AI has become smarter. The number of times he could be caught making the same mistakes over and over again was reduced to a minimum, and the accuracy of his passes became even more realistic.

As for the visual part, it was at its best last year. The animation looks extremely believable, and the faces of some players are difficult to distinguish from real ones. The fans have also become more lively, starting to dodge the ball flying at them and generally behaving like real people, and not like decorations.

Pieces of grass fly out from under the players' feet and do not disappear until the end of the match. And at some moments the game even looks like an ordinary football broadcast.

The game does not suffer from any shortcomings game modes: in addition to the already mentioned plot and quick matches required for this kind of game, there is a coaching career mode, seasons for certain football clubs, an incredible training mode, something similar to a football manager and a bunch of other things for every taste.

But the main dish is, of course, the online mode called FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT for short). This feature has already become a whole phenomenon. Upon registration, each player receives FUT cards, which are highly valued by fans of the game. In this mode, you can fight with virtual players, participate in a series of tournaments and... spend money on microtransactions.

It's always frustrating to have microtransactions in a game that the player has already paid for. This function is well suited for free online projects, but not for full-fledged games priced at $60.

IN updated version FIFA has what many have been waiting for since FIFA 2005 - true football legends. They were also in the previous parts of the series as part of the “golden” teams, but here this moment is revealed from a new side.

In FUT you can get a Legend card and play with the star on the same team! In the game there are not only foreign Ronaldo (not to be confused with Cristiano), Maradonna, Pele, but also the pride of domestic football, the legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin!

As for the music and sound, the FIFA series almost always succeeded. It’s amazing how, year after year, sound producers manage to find such organic songs for the main menu. They are not annoying at all and always sound fresh and summery.

The rest of the sound doesn't lag behind either. The stands are noisy, the fans are chanting and generally creating the sound of a real match. The Russian voice acting of the commentators is also excellent. Georgy Cherdantsev and Konstantin Genich did an excellent job.

Their remarks always clearly describe what is happening, and sometimes small dialogues even begin between colleagues. Everything looks (although in in this case sounds) quite realistic and not pretentious.

pros

Beautiful graphics.

Excellent physics model.

The controls are easy to master.

The presence of real football legends.

Good music and voice acting.

Minuses

The emphasis on the online component will not be to everyone's taste.

The story mode is still naive and simple.

Availability of microtransactions.

FIFA 18 is a true heavyweight in the world football simulators. We deliberately did not mention in our review the main competitor in the person of Pro Evolution Soccer from Konami, since if earlier the Japanese simulator could somehow compete with the brainchild of the Canadians, now the games have gone in different directions.

PES has become entertainment exclusively for fans of the series, and FIFA has turned into a real subculture, accessible to the most to the broad masses. IN English language There is such an expression “Easy to learn, hard to master”, and it is usually applied to games from Blizzard, emphasizing that it is easy to start playing, but to reach heights is not so easy. This slogan can be fully applied to FIFA 18. The game really turned out to be decent.

Estimated at 9 points out of 10.

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From year to year the sacred ritual is repeated - we buy new part FIFA, receiving a big update with team compositions, updating leagues, cups and ratings. Last year the game made a nice qualitative leap, because it was completely transferred to the engine Frostbite, which primarily affected close-ups players: faces and animations are noticeably better than ever.

Affected Frostbite and in physics. We noted a noticeable difference in these areas, but there were also typical problems: runs through the referee, unrealistic leg braiding and the ball flying through some players. We really wanted to know how the developers from the sports department will update the project E.A. this year.

Graphically FIFA 18 on PS4 looks great: the players and coaches are already so similar to real people that it is quite possible to confuse the game with a broadcast of a football match. The stands really came to life, stadiums, weather effects, a ball (there is an official ball in the game KRASAVA from Adidas) and the lawn - everything looks great. The game looks especially nice on PS4 PRO V 4K- there’s simply nothing to complain about here: everything is literally at the highest level.

The stadium became even more lively than before. When playing for clubs with a strong fan base, you will not only hear signature chants, but also see fan frenzy, such as toilet paper and pieces of banners flying onto the pitch. Playing Major League Soccer (as the name suggests, we are talking about the American League), we were content with the leftover confetti after the beautiful opening ceremonies. All this certainly adds more atmosphere to what is happening.

In the dynamics of football battles, it can be difficult to pay attention to the graphical component, so most often it is revealed during cutscenes. Don’t be lazy and rotate the camera during the replay, switch between players and see how cool it is done.

But in general, in FIFA 18, unfortunately, you have to be content with only “ cosmetic repairs”, since the developers did not add real innovations to the game. All last year's innovations, such as foam and free kicks with corners, remain unchanged. Among the differences, perhaps, it is worth noting the newly updated penalties. You have to get used to breaking through this standard position and even learn again.

Otherwise, the gameplay is not much different from FIFA 17. The Journey mode entered its second season. The authors are trying to get people interested in the plot, but once again it turns out to be a dud that doesn’t catch your attention. The writers stubbornly lead by the hand, try to surprise with twists and turns and add “Santa Barbara” with the return of the father, showdowns with the agent and shuffling of clubs, depriving the player of real choice or devaluing decisions made several matches ago. The Journey looks like a bland set of clichés, and it’s simply unclear why they invested so much time and effort into creating an entire mode, trying to create drama for the second year in a row. empty space. Unfortunately, every time you turn it on, you quickly feel like you’re in a corridor where all the doors are closed and only the light at the end of the tunnel illuminates Alex Hunter’s path.

Other modes have also remained virtually unchanged, so you still open boosters in FIFA Ultimate Team and gather the ideal team, play for yourself in a career or become a coach, turn on multiplayer or have fun with friends - all the same, the whole game depends on the gameplay, which is the same for everyone.

However, the game introduced press conferences, as well as special beautiful signings of players. Several tournaments have received licensed design. Now five leagues can be considered realistically recreated in terms of broadcasts: the English Premier League and FA Cup, MLS, Spanish Primera and German Bundesliga.

Russian commentaries performed Konstantin Genich And Georgy Cherdantsev supplemented and updated. The voice acting has become more complete and better, localization is, as always, at a high level: menus, text and voices are translated perfectly. By the way, a pleasant surprise awaits all players in the game box: a special 20% discount on your next purchase in the company’s online store adidas. This is a local bonus.

Some game moments are set up a little strangely. We noticed a huge number of hits on the crossbar and bar. And this is noticeable both in the game and in training. Sometimes it seems that it is easier to hit a small post than a goal that is 7.32 meters wide.

Artificial intelligence has become weaker. The levels, according to our observation, have been lowered one level. As a result, the world level began to resemble a professional. At the same time, the game notices if you play stronger and offers to raise the level.

The computer tries to shoot on goal from all positions. It starts inside the penalty area and, together with the slightly increased dynamics, looks strange. Again, the center of the field is passed by both sides extremely quickly, and as such we did not notice any tactical play with formation and play in the center of the field.

And speaking of speed, FIFA 18 has become like a tennis match, where you act as a referee on the chair: ball on the left - ball on the right - left - right. Although, perhaps, for some this is a plus.

But the fact that the computer’s defensive play has deteriorated and the doubling of defenders has become completely useless cannot be considered a plus. If you play as an individual player, absolutely everything is decided by the timing of pressing the buttons, which does not work very intuitively, and even an experienced player will not be able to roll up properly or carefully take the ball. The operation will end either in failure or in a foul and a card.

The incredibly weak goalkeeping performance is also disappointing. If the ball does not hit the post, then it is most likely a goal. And it doesn’t matter where you shot from: from outside the penalty area or from 30 meters. If the shot is accurate and strong, it is in the goal. Goalkeepers take only weak shots and consistently play well on set-pieces. However, they also make mistakes in their outputs.

Also disappointing are the frequent bugs with online play, especially in the Pro Clubs mode, where 11 vs 11 teams of real users fight online, but it is also possible to play with incomplete squads. FIFA 18 loves to kick players out of the match, including captains, which can then cause other errors, such as the inability to edit the team chart.

All the same FUT with mining coins and opening boosters. Play FUT, playing matches and creating the perfect team is not as interesting as opening booster packs and catching expensive players for sale and resale. But it is worth noting that the Squad Battles mode has been added here, an analogue of the Weekend League, but against AI. There are nice prizes here if you play with good difficulty.

Also worth noting is “Idols”, which were added to all platforms this year, which will be a significant plus for FUT fans.

Having switched to a modern engine last year, FIFA 17 pleased most fans - the innovations were received with a bang, but in FIFA 18 only the Confederations Cup ball can tell us “Beautiful”, while the game itself turned out to be unfinished. The increased speed was reflected in the quality of the gameplay, the AI became weaker in defense and the goalkeepers began to play worse, rarely flying after the ball, the levels felt easier, and the ball was increasingly rushing into the post. It would be nice if it only ended with barbells and bars, but no. Scores like 5-1, 6-3, 7-7 and other large ones are common here. Unfortunately, FIFA 18 only works with attack and has completely devalued defense. And although at the time of writing this review several full-fledged patches had already been released, the situation has changed little.

All these shortcomings and the lack of real innovations, including the tired series about Zita and Gita Hunters, lead to the fact that old fans, most likely, will not “stick” to the game as before, but will only turn on FIFA 18 for 2-3 matches in the evening before bedtime. And someone, out of habit, will continue to open boosters in FUT to assemble the perfect team or make money on expensive players. Even despite the amazing graphics, sound, atmosphere and localization, the game no longer evokes the same emotions as in previous years. All that remains is to wait for the expansion with the 2018 World Championships in Russia. Still, this year we are especially concerned about this part of the game... Perhaps, before its appearance, the developers will correct the most obvious mistakes.

Also worth noting is the FIFA 18 version for Nintendo Switch. Graphically it looks somewhat weaker than the game on PS4, but at the same time significantly better than the version for PS3. Essentially, we have a separate version with graphics that combines elements from different generations and some of our own assets.

The artists used the developments of the version for PS4, like a characteristic - voluminous - lawn with drawn blades of grass. But at the same time, the character models and animation were borrowed from the version for PS3. The developers nevertheless replaced the textures with more detailed versions with increased resolution and added some modern effects, which is why the football players Switch look noticeably more realistic and more voluminous than on the previous generation consoles.

The same applies to the lighting system, which uses physically based rendering, making the field and stadiums look realistic. It's just a pity that Switch did not attract large audiences, but this is an obvious sacrifice that the developers made to achieve honest 1080p And 60FPS in stationary mode.

It is also important to note that during cutscenes the frame rate drops to 30 FPS with noticeable stuttering in particularly busy areas. Fortunately, this only applies to scripted scenes and does not apply to gameplay.

In portable mode the game runs in 720p / 60FPS and looks gorgeous by the standards of the format. We did not find any difference in detail between the portable and stationary modes.

Due to different engines, the version of FIFA 18 on Switch I didn’t get some modes and features of the PS4 analogue. The Journey was cut, but it was largely unnecessary, but the absence convenient system invitations over the network - a clear omission. As a result, you can't play against your friends online and are left playing with strangers. Or invite friends to a local multiplayer match...

In addition, from the version of the game for Switch a lot of details like transfer negotiations and team trials were missing. However, all the main modes, such as career, quick match, tournaments, FUT and seasons, are in place, but the lack additional features, versions available to users for PS4 And Xbox One, has a negative impact on the final impression. And if you buy FIFA just for the sake of online multiplayer with friends, you will be completely disappointed. Perhaps some points will be corrected in the future. On this moment however, this is the best portable version FIFA in history. And if you are willing to sacrifice all of the above for the opportunity to play on the road, then you can buy it. Otherwise, it's better to take the game to PS4 or Xbox One.

All these shortcomings and the lack of real innovations, including the tired series about Zita and Gita Hunters, lead to the fact that old fans, most likely, will not “stick” to the game as before, but will only turn on FIFA 18 for 2-3 matches in the evening before bed. And someone, out of habit, will continue to open boosters in FUT to assemble the perfect team or make money on expensive players. Even despite the amazing graphics, sound, atmosphere and localization, the game no longer evokes the same emotions as in previous years. All that remains is to wait for the expansion with the 2018 World Championships in Russia. Still, this year we are especially concerned about this part of the game... Perhaps, before its appearance, the developers will correct the most obvious mistakes.

Also worth noting is the version FIFA 18 For Nintendo Switch. Graphically it looks somewhat weaker than the game on PS4, but at the same time significantly better than the version for PS3. Essentially, we have a separate version with graphics that combines elements from different generations and some of our own assets.

In portable mode the game runs in 720p / 60FPS and looks gorgeous by the standards of the format. We did not find any difference in detail between the portable and stationary modes.

Due to different engines version FIFA 18 on Switch I didn’t get some modes and features of the PS4 analogue. The Journey was cut, but it's largely unnecessary, but the lack of a convenient online invite system is a glaring omission. As a result, you can't play against your friends online and are left playing with strangers. Or invite friends to a local multiplayer match...

In addition, from the version of the game for Switch a lot of details like transfer negotiations and team trials were missing. However, all the main modes, such as career, quick match, tournaments, FUT and seasons, are in place, but there is a lack of additional features available to users of the versions for PS4 And Xbox One, has a negative impact on the final impression. And if you buy FIFA just for the sake of online multiplayer with friends, you will be completely disappointed. Perhaps some points will be corrected in the future. For now, however, this is the best portable version FIFA in history. And if you are willing to sacrifice all of the above for the opportunity to play on the road, then you can buy it. Otherwise, it's better to take the game to PS4 or Xbox One.

Every year, millions of players around the world purchase a new FIFA title. The developers regularly update team rosters, leagues, cups and ratings. Last year's game in the series pleased gamers with a qualitative leap, completely switching to a new engine (Frostbite), which had a positive effect on the drawing of the players' faces and the animation of their movements. There were also problems in the game, such as running through the referee, unrealistic foot entanglements, and the ball periodically flying through parts of the players’ bodies. This year, some aspects of FIFA have been improved, while others, unfortunately, have worsened. Which ones exactly? You will find out in the FIFA 18 review.

Improvements

The visual part of the game is well done: the players and coaches look even more like their real-life counterparts. It must be said in the FIFA 18 review that sometimes you can confuse the game with the broadcast of a real match. Life was added to the stands, stadiums, weather, and balls were improved.

Stadiums now show even more high level interactivity. If you play for clubs with a strong fan base, you can not only hear characteristic chants, but also see pieces of banners flying from the stands directly onto the field toilet paper. After the grand opening of the match, there may be remnants of confetti on the grass, which undoubtedly adds points to the overall atmosphere of the game.

It is worth noting in the FIFA 18 review that such changes in the new FIFA are more of a cosmetic nature. The game clearly lacks significant innovation. The only thing truly new in the game mechanics is the updated penalties in the FIFA 18 review. To break through them you will have to practice for some time.

Gameplay

In addition to what was written above in the FIFA 18 review, we have almost the same gameplay as from last year. For the second time in a row, the authors offer us The Journey mode, which in theory should hook us with the plot, but in reality we get a dummy with a bland set of clichés. There are various plot twists and techniques copied from soap operas, such as the return of the father, showdowns with the agent, shuffling of clubs, etc. The player’s choice during the passage has virtually no effect on the linear plot.

The remaining modes, by and large, remained in their previous form. We still open booster packs, assemble the perfect team, play as ourselves in career mode or become a coach, turn on multiplayer or have fun with friends. It is impossible not to mention in the FIFA 18 review that press conferences and beautiful signings of football players were added to the game.

Shortcomings

The first minus in the FIFA 18 review comes from the physics of the game. The developers paid little attention to this aspect of the game, so it even seems that the physics here is even worse than in FIFA 17: the ball often flies through parts of the athletes’ bodies, the players themselves often move unnaturally. And the small cherry on top of the bugs that flow from version to version is the fact that the system requirements for FIFA 2018 correspond to the requirements for FIFA 2017 when running DirectX v11. No changes in code or workload in a year? Good optimization? There may be different theories, but the fact remains a fact.

The shortcomings in terms of gameplay are expressed in shifted dynamics: the ball remains in the center of the field for a short amount of time, but it is quite easy for both sides to break into the attack. As a result, the scores after the matches look something like this: 6:3, 5:1, 7:7.

FIFA 18 review summary

The new part of the series turned out worse than the previous one. There are too few improvements and innovations, while the old problems are still present. The game looks ambiguous compared to its direct competitor- PES 2018. On the one hand she has weak physics and a shift in balance in gameplay, on the other hand, it will still give PES a head start in terms of the number and quality of game modes. Plus it is better suited for eSports. You can check this without buying the game by downloading FIFA 18 Demo - the official demo version.