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14 things that drive us crazy in FIFA 14
We love FIFA 14, but EA’s supreme soccer simulation isn’t perfect – here’s why.
14 things that drive us crazy in FIFA 14
© EA
Make no mistake, FIFA 14 is the best soccer game ever made, bringing decades of experience together to create one of the most entertaining and downright addictive sports titles money can buy. We love it. However, no game is entirely perfect – these are the foibles that drive us up the wall when we’re playing FIFA.
Headers are too effective
Headed goals look amazing, especially when they come from a pinpoint cross dispatched by your winger, who has taken the ball the length of the pitch and skilfully kept rival players at bay. However, they're a little too potent in FIFA 14 – as long as the striker is tall enough, it's almost a given that a well-placed cross is going to find his head and result in the ball hitting the back of the net.
It’s too easy to gain – and lose – the ball
Cast your mind back to older editions of FIFA, when the ball would stick to each player's feet like glue. This was great for when you wanted to focus on skllful play, but it made tackling – legally – harder than it should be. EA has taken steps to solve this issue, but in doing so has gone a little too far. It sometimes feels like a chore just trying to keep the ball at your feet at all.
Players are glued to the pitch at the most annoying times
Possibly FIFA 14's most annoying glitch, the issue of players remaining static at the most inopportune of times can seriously impact the scoreline – as well as put your precious joypads at risk when you hurl them against the wall in a rage. The issue tends to happen when your opponent passes the ball and you try to switch control to the appropriate defender – for the shortest of moments, your player stays rooted to the spot, unable to react. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, it's enough to leave you exposed and a goal down.
Players often trip over one another
EA introduced an enhanced physics engine to the FIFA series a few entries ago, and FIFA 14 refines it even further. It's genuinely amazing to watch players twist and turn realistically, leaning into runs and generally looking exactly like the real thing, but these real-world physics can prove bothersome at other points. Thanks to some often questionable AI, players seem to stumble into each other with all the spacial awareness of a group of toddlers who have only just mastered walking on two feet.
FIFA 14
© EA
Team-mates are not aggressive enough
When you play a game like FIFA 14, you obviously want to feel like you're in control – after all, you're the star of the show. However, you can't control every single player all of the time, so the players you're not in charge of should have a little intelligence and drive to keep the pressure on. In FIFA 14, it can sometimes feel like the AI players give the opposition too much time and space, which makes things more challenging but can also result in frustration. To make matters worse, the rival team never seem to miss a beat.
Why does it always rain on me?
The power of modern games consoles means that we can now have realistic weather effects which change the complexion of each match entirely, but when you get several games in a row blighted by rain, the impact of this groundbreaking feature can be lessened a little. Trying to play attractive soccer on a waterlogged pitch isn't our idea of fun.
Player AI in Player Career Mode needs an overhaul
The focus of Player Career Mode is, as you might expect, to take a single person and guide them to the big leagues. During each match, you only control a single player, which means you have to rely on the intelligence of your team-mates a lot more than in a typical FIFA 14 match. The problem here is that the AI of your players simply isn't up to scratch, and it consequently makes it hard for you to shine.
The new scouting system sucks
FIFA 14's new transfer market promised big things, but sadly it doesn't always deliver. It's realistic, to be sure – you have to send out scouts to track down potential talent, just as a proper manager would have to. However, the virtual scouts in FIFA 14 aren't quite as adept at spotting the next Ronaldo as their real-world equivalents. The system works well on paper, but needs more work in FIFA 15.
FIFA 14
© EA
Player Career Mode is not realistic
Superstar footballers may be arriving on the scene at younger and younger ages these days, but most rookies won't be pulling on their national shirt in the space of their first professional season. However, in FIFA 14's Player Career Mode, it's perfectly possible to get your player into his national side in less than a year. It also rather ruins the mode, because surely playing on the global stage should be your ultimate aim – not something which comes as easily as breathing?
Micro-transactions don’t feel right in a full-price retail release
EA makes an awful lot of money out of FIFA as a brand – the game is a best seller every year – but the company has discovered another vital revenue stream via the game's acclaimed Ultimate Team Mode. Here, you can spend in-game currency to purchase packs of cards or, should you choose to, real-world money to speed up the process. Micro-transactions are fine in a game which is free-to-play, but FIFA 14 is a full-price retail release, and tempting Ultimate Team addicts with the promise of special cards if they spend even more cash seems a little cruel, not to mention exploitative.
FIFA 14
© EA
Annoying online players
Online games of FIFA 14 can provide months of satisfaction and pleasure, but there are more than a few irritating players out there who seem hell-bent on ruining your enjoyment. There are the ones who insist on watching their goal replays endlessly – even when they're not particularly special – and those who make you wait for ages while they tinker with their team (usually at a point when you're beating them soundly). However, nothing is more annoying than playing against someone who is clearly much younger than you, is significantly better at FIFA and – most irritatingly – doesn't mind trash-talking you through his microphone.
The ref always seems to want to clash with one of the teams
Gone are the days when referees used to wear black – these days, they're just as colourful as the teams they hold judgment over. In FIFA 14, this can often lead to issues with kit clashes, especially when playing online. If the ref is wearing a shirt of a similar colour to your team, it can put you at a slight disadvantage – especially when you mistake him for a defender and curse when you can't assume control and slam in a tackle.
Tournament mode, RIP
We get it, online play is big these days – but that doesn't mean that people don't still like playing against friends in the same room. Sadly, fans of impromptu social kick arounds with several human players will have to stick with FIFA 13 – this year's offering removes the local tournament mode completely.
FIFA 14
© EA
It feels like EA is running out of ideas
FIFA 14 isn't broken in any way which makes it unenjoyable, but it does feel like the developers have taken the concept of 11 (virtual) men against 11 almost as far as it can possibly go. EA has refined the gameplay, improved the online mode and enhanced the single-player portion, and it's difficult to see where any new ideas can be inserted in FIFA 15. Of course, when you've created the best digital representation of soccer on the face of the planet then there's little room for improvement, but buying the same game year-in, year-out – just with a different number on the box – can become a little annoying.
What drives you mad in FIFA 14? Tell us in the comments below!
