Developers: Electronic Arts
Platforms: Playstation 3, Playstation Vita, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, PC (Coming soon: Playstation 4, Xbox One )
Rating: 8+
Genre: Sports
Here’s the thing… Should people who don’t follow football in real life have an opinion on the latest FIFA game? If you don’t like soccer, does that automatically mean you should dislike a video-game about soccer? Most people probably wouldn’t like being shot at in the street, or living in a post-apocalyptic world in real life, but that doesn’t mean those dislikes automatically translate into what they like and dislike from their videogames. So do you have to like sports to like sports games?
That was the question that sprung to me as the disc was loading in and the first teams were being picked. Sitting down with my soccer-loving younger brother, he talked me through which teams were good, which players were good, and constantly reminded me of the off-side rule (which this reviewer was actually already aware of, but hoped against hope that the game would sometimes forget it).
First things first, this game doesn’t look all that great. Out of curiosity, we put in FIFA 13, and the graphics look pretty much identical, so it’s obvious that EA haven’t put much work into improving how the game looks. But how the game plays is fantastic, very easy to pick and play for a complete football noob, and intricate and complicated enough for the biggest FIFA fan to work out to perfection.
There are also endless teams and players and leagues and championships and so on to partake in, so there is no reason why this game won’t still be on the top of your games pile come the release of FIFA 15 next year.
So what about the question, can this game be played and enjoyed by non-soccer lovers? The answer is absolutely, yes. But perhaps, like the sport itself, you can get caught up in it from time to time, but perhaps it’s best left to those who have nothing but unadulterated love for the game.
Presentation: 3 out of 5
Gameplay: 4 out of 5
Replay: 5 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5