FIFA 18 - Review

Switching the soccer simulator is strange and exciting. It is strange because we feel the familiarity and symbiosis with which our muscular memory tries to project us on the playing field, but exciting because everything is new, the menus, the game modes, the animations in the field and the devil knows why, too the controls . In 2017, for the first time in many years of analyzing football games, I took on the responsibility of making FIFA.

The EA series has long been the queen of licenses, and of course, this has a major impact, especially on a first impact, even because this edition opens with a few 'cinematic' plays of the 'best in the world', which has just stopped in default, passing for us the responsibility of marking a direct free, which of course, would have to be programmed to score, in the middle of a tight Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid, the same that received Lisbon during a recent Liga League final Champions (blasphemy use the designation in an analysis to FIFA?).

This to say that if there is something that the EA simulator does perfectly, it is in capturing the 'feel' and spectacle of football, from the presentation that is impeccable, to the game environment or even to the vicissitudes that involve the backstage of the sport king , something that is very evident in the return of the way The Walk. It was a surprise to me to see how the guys from EA Canada managed to put together a single-player mode so immersive in a football simulator, it's going to be difficult to get rid of these ties from now on, maybe one day they'll bring us the story of another protagonist , who was born on a distant island, but became a man when he traveled alone to the capital of his country, with all faith concentrated at his feet.

I did not play The Walk mode in last year's edition, which according to information given to us this year was Hunter's first in professional football, but I really appreciated how the mode is introduced and evolves in this year's edition , starting with a pre-season, before passing by a slap in the Rio favelas (to prepare a new FIFA Street) and a friendly tournament against Real Madrid (I have Ronaldo's sweater!), continuing later in the season, where the football is not the only battle we must overcome, the vertexes that define a footballer's success are much more comprehensive than the game played, from the colleagues of the resort, coach, to the press, entrepreneurs and / or family life of Alex Hunter. It contains several surprises throughout the six chapters of The Walk, which, to my surprise, managed to convey in a very competent way the stress of the transfer market and the periods leading up to the most important competitions.
This single-player mode joins the more "traditional" ones we expect to see in a virtual soccer game, but it's far from being the main motivator for engagement, gaming and the franchise itself. But because there is so much to discuss before facing the "elephant in the room", let's start with the training, or the "Skill Games" as FIFA calls it now, which is divided into 5 fundamental areas, basic, pass dribble, defense and shot, and which is in itself a hard and extensive way of progression and where fundamental skills are developed to face what is to come.

Visually mature, the use of Frostbite, EA's giant "do everything" engine, surprised me the light behavior and dynamics of the models in motion, both in gameplay and during the cutscenes, which are still a problem, are far of the top of the recovery line of the Uncanny Valley, not getting rid of a few turns of eyes and expressions of mannequin. Apart from that, the interpretations of the real and virtual actors of The Walk mode, of the animations of the players at the level of the ball domain and other technical executions, in a game where the pace is deliberately slower, so it seems, to get close to the real rhythm of football and to allow the inclusion of a few juggling skills in the middle.

I am far from being accustomed to the physics engine, although I admire the way weight and space are preponderant during the games. What I mean is that it seems impossible for me to ignore a body, if a heavier or less tired player occupies the domain of space, possession of the ball is condemned, but at the same time, the cutting time is very lenient to the mistake, if you fail and the opponent conquer the space, you're gone.
One point that [still] irritates me often has to do with the behavior of artificial intelligence, especially in the defensive moment, which is when I got used to waiting for a more active participation of the teammates, for the recovery of the ball. I am convinced that it is a deliberate system, but I can not help feeling that if I do nothing, my companions do not. In addition, and fortunately it was an isolated event, it was the first time I saw an AI goalkeeper replace the ball in a long shot, hitting a teammate ... "but this is FIFA 95?"

The career mode was another area to receive a major restructuring for this year's edition, here for us, in order to respond to a very famous way of a certain competitor. The career can be followed from the perspective of a player or coach, and this year comes accompanied by a very interesting transfer system, and takes into consideration all the details that makes up the hiring of a player.
When we decide to advance to an acquisition, we must first talk to the club's management, agree on values, and then move on to the conversation with the player and his manager. And here is where the hard part begins, because these two agents were once easy to convince, today the negotiation takes into account the goals the club has for the player, the contract years, the termination clause and the hated subscription premium.

FIFA Ultimate Team

So let's talk about the "elephant" I mentioned before, because everything EA does in FIFA has one goal, the convergence towards the FUT, or FIFA Ultimate Team, the king mode of extrinsic values in soccer simulation, which attracts us through quality of football, seduces us by overdose of options, but that captures our soul by the dopamine.
I am very susceptible to these systems, in fact we are all, it is a human condition that video games have long been used to abuse, but I am also a defender of them, because they do not screw me, randomness is fun, especially when coupled with quality and to a sense of justice. The FUT is miles away from any other online mode you've met in a football game, with the wealth of numerical and micro-management options we have available in a system hidden behind everyday goals, leagues, drafts, customization, of course, from the opening of the packs in search of that chemical explosion in the brain.

The Ultimate Team is equally fun in single-player mode, but as a persistent space, of course network games are privileged, even because we always want to display our stars, and compare ourselves, to other similar ones. The simple management of the transfers is in itself capable of becoming an obsession, and reminds me of the times that once passed in front of the World of Warcraft auction house. I'm far from an FUT expert, but I imagine that to stay "rich", good management of buying and selling letters, buying cheap and selling expensive, is one of the best methods to thrive.

Obviously, parking in transfers requires time, playing also requires time, something that not all of us have, although we also wish to have a good, or good, plan, obeying all the needs of chemistry (aka entrosamento) among the various players, who now count on the new Icons, representations of legends of the past, that come in different versions, corresponding to the respective period of the race.
Building a team can easily become a titanic task, which is why EA thrives, and will continue to thrive selling FIFA Points, a method to accelerate a progression mounted to be by nature very slow, and dependent on the perhaps. The prices of the points packages can go from 1 to 100 euros, in a business that is worth more than $ 800 million a year and grows 20% a year, without showing signs of slowing down. Amazing.



VERDICT

Still in a retrofit phase, I have no doubt that FIFA 18 is the best soccer simulator on the market. Of course, gameplay is always debatable and dependent on the perspective and digital literacy of each, but looking at the overall set, presentation, licensing, capturing ability of the show that is around the game and the variety of modes, which then converge on the FUT gears, resulting in immense value for the lovers of the sport.