Then everything clicks, and you realise it’s exactly as virtual football should be challenging your brain’s ability to unpick an organised opponent, rather than your index finger’s RT-holding endurance.Īs a result, this version of Fifa lacks the usual immediacy, and some of those seeking the end-to-end goal bonanzas of previous years won’t have the patience to persevere. Results read like an essay written in binary. The addition of the women’s game isn’t just cosmetic – the matches demand a different tactical approach Photograph: Electronic Artsįor your first 10, 20, 30 games with either sex, creating chances – let alone scoring goals – feels almost impossible. Without the Olympian velocity of a Cristiano Ronaldo or Yaya Toure’s adamantine strength, finesse is imperative – that means recycling possession among midfielders and full-backs until a tantalising defensive gap offers a through-ball opportunity, or an out-of-position opponent provides a brief window in which to cross. Nowhere is this better showcased than in the newly introduced women’s matches.
Pace and power are still as important as any other attribute, but timing – bursting past a full-back at the right instant, or shrugging off a central defender just as a crossed ball meets your striker’s forehead – is now critical in using them correctly. Full-backs track properly and look to step in front of onrushing wingers before they can reach top speed, while defensive midfielders break on to under-hit opposition passes, always seeking to spring a deadly counterattack. Centre backs mark snugly, constantly buffeting and tugging at even the strongest forwards. Mercifully, thanks to the above tweaks – “confidence in defending” in particular – that’s no longer the case.
The Fifa series has enjoyed a rejuvenation since the leap to this generation of machines, but all too often matches in Fifas 14 and 15 were dominated by players with elite pace and power attributes. As such, it’s a relief to report that these Partridgisms, while cringeworthy, are not without justification. Promises of – in the publisher’s words – “confidence in defending”, “control in midfield”, and “moments of magic” intimate a return to Fifa’s early-2000s nadir, where back-of-box buzz phrases overshadowed the on-pitch action. A lan Partridge himself may as well have penned the marketing bumph for this, the 23rd annual edition of EA’s football series.