EA hasn’t really touted shooting as a change in FIFA 15, but it’s a huge by-product of the new mechanics for ball contact and control. Previously, there were shots from certain angles that you knew were a goal. There were others that you knew were on target for a specific spot with a 50/50 chance of beating the keeper. Now, the ball reacts far more accurately depending on its contact with the boot which is a very welcome alteration. It’s so easy now to screw shots wide with positioning and power being, as in reality, all important. Watching the changing trajectory of a ball mid-air is pretty special too. Due to all of this, goals are well earned and the matches play out more authentically. The only negative is a tendency for the woodwork and stanchion to act as a leather magnet.

 

I can understand why this decision was made. Re-creating any slice of real life in a videogame requires abstraction, and television broadcasts provide a visual language that people already understand. Abstraction also means compromise, and as compromises go, viewing the pitch from a side-on angle as if through a camera in the stands is about as good as any. Other compromises then trickle from this starting point. For example, football games have long had computer-assisted passing, to help players get the ball to their intended target. Sensible Soccer had it, in part to compensate for the eight-directional controls. The digital refereeing has always been a point of contention between me and FIFA 15 games. It often ruins the realism EA worked so hard to implement in other areas. But like a good manager during the press conference after a bad match, I'll keep my mouth shut about the ref's questionable calls. At least, that's what I should be doing.

 

FIFA 15 Online play is hit and miss, just like it was last time and just like it always is. Again, there’s really no excuse. FIFA 15’s Ultimate Team mode generates untold wealth for EA Sports and should, by now, be the slickest, smoothest and most seamless multiplayer mode ever produced. This isn’t a Battlefield 4 launch situation, it’s not a complete write-off. But when every third or fourth match is a lag-fest, when the game occasionally records the other team disconnecting as a loss for your side, and when your divisional progress gets reset to zero points without explanation; you think about the riches being returned to EA by FIFA 15 Ultimate Team and wonder where all that money goes. But let’s get one of the biggest changes out of the way right now: the presentation. FIFA 15 looks so much like a Sky Sports presentation, it’s uncanny. You could walk in the room as a match is starting up and double-take, it’s that well done. But aside from the graphical overlays that tell us who is playing where, an attention to detail has been given to the audio department, too. EA are quick to promote the fact they’ve been to the twenty premiership grounds and captured the various crowds in action - and when this is evident in-game, it’s fairly spectacular. The crowd singing “You’ll never walk alone” is something that could even make the hairs on the back of an Everton fan’s neck stand up. When a goal is scored, the volume increases like an explosion of passion and delight, and the camera visibly shakes to match the crowd’s raucous celebration. It’s fantastic, there’s really no other way to put it. Smaller but noticeable features like the pitch wearing as the match progresses are nice and add to the immersion, but the crowds break it a little as they still don’t look quite right.

 

Whereas some animations in FIFA 15 are very welcome indeed. The goalkeepers, for example, have been completely rebuilt from the ground up and move much more realistically. Plus, their new animation sets make a difference to how they play during matches. You might now get a goalkeeper pulling of a fluke save using a flailing leg while he's diving the wrong way. Or they can rush out of the box and punt a header back up the field. They are more intelligent too, so actually feel like an extra player rather than a computer controlled patsy, like in the past. The players are also more physically present. You can now make shoulder tackles, easing a smaller player off the line of the ball and taking possession instantly. It's also possible to make 'possession tackles' both standing and sliding, where you win the ball cleanly rather than it pinging away from you when you stick your leg in. Your player quickly regains his footing and starts dribbling before even fully standing.

 

The FIFA 15 player strength statistic changes tackling and running with the ball in quite significant ways. Go into a tackle with a player who is slight of frame against a player who’s no stranger to the weights bench and you’ll probably just bounce off him. You’ll likely fall over too. It doesn’t seem to matter how perfect your timing is in these instances, you’re always going to struggle to dispossess a very physically strong player with a very light, weak one. Even a well timed tackle that wins the ball might not ultimately be successful for you if your smaller statured defender happens to clip the strong attacker after the initial challenge - he’ll fall over or stumble off balance just as readily as if he’d missed the timing of the tackle completely. Tiny, fast players no longer have as unfair an advantage because of this - you’ll just need to play slightly differently with the varying types of player in possession.