FIFA 19, our review

The best sport in the world!

Many sports titles attempt to truly represent sport to the nth degree. This is the case with the series NBA 2K or another very popular title in the United States, Madden. Sometimes, the constant pursuit of simulation, however, leads sports games to suffer when it comes to gameplay. More often than not, playability is hampered by the numerous animations that directly collide with the gameplay mechanics. One series that has overcome these hurdles is EA Sports' FIFA. The last iteration, FIFA 19, is a perfect representation of this notion as presents an almost realistic football experience (although some choices make you turn up your nose) while maintaining a fun gameplay to which the Canadian software house has gotten us used to for years.

A new way to pass the ball

When we first tried the game, we were immediately immersed in the biggest news FIFA 19 has to offer, which is a game of UEFA Champion's League. The final: Juventus - Paris Saint Germain, fans in raptures for their favorites, a gigantic representation of Cristiano Ronaldo dominates the entire grandstand. Initially, the gameplay does not seem to have changed one iota, but with the passage of time the difference is noticed and in some situations it is truly unsettling. In FIFA 18, passing was quite simple - just point the analog stick at a player and press a button to pass the ball directly to our teammate.

In FIFA 19, however, there is a certain sensitivity and imprecision in the passage. Many times, the idea was to pass to a particular player, and instead the ball was either passed to a different player or even the opponent. Inevitably, we made a commitment and learned to pass more effectively, but from time to time, it is inevitable to completely miss a step or even the decisive one to finalize the action. The new passing system seems to have a more realistic feel, putting much more pressure on us than in the past. This is both good, as the built action does not necessarily end in the best way and is bad, as it forces, even the most experienced and practical players of the series, to assimilate the new mechanics of passage.

Timed finalization

The most notable implementation in FIFA's proven gameplay is the Timed Fineshes. This ability, if used at the right time, allows you to kick the ball with greater precision. To start, you have to double tap the fire button. A bar with a cursor will appear where we will have to press the shot button with the right timing a second time to determine its accuracy. The comparison is perhaps a bit risky, but the feature is very reminiscent of the Active Charging System of the Gears of War series.

Using Timed Finishing therefore makes the shot more accurate. However, it is not drastically more effective than the traditional shooting system that accompanied us all the way to FIFA 18. It is a risk / reward system. If we use it successfully, the conclusion towards the opponent's goal will be more accurate. However, if our timing is wrong, perhaps by pressing the button too fast or too late, the shot will most likely end up outside the mirror or be easily neutralized by the goalkeeper. It's a nice implementation but it doesn't seem as reliable as the traditional method.

Tactics, tiki-taka and skills

The constant search for a game system that favors the choral action more than the single one, in our opinion has not yet led to the desired results. It must also be said that users have gotten used to it in a way and wanting to upset the dynamics of a title like FIFA is not possible. Anyone who has played the series for a long time will have realized that every year FIFA begins in a certain way and ends, through various updates, to become a totally different game. We start from a more reasoned and tactical pace of play and we inevitably end up in situations in which Gervinho discards everyone and bags the ball into the net. What happened a few days ago in the Parma - Cagliari match, but that happens all too often in a game like FIFA. Beyond our personal reflection, the new ones Dynamic Tactics allow the player to have greater control over their players, who will carry out our specific instructions by simply pressing the D-Pad (extra Attacker in the area, Offensive Full Backs and so on). Whether they are on the move or in a set-piece, CPU-controlled players perform well, do not perform weird movements, indeed, and are almost always very responsive.

We also noticed that defensive physicality increased. In fact, while in the past chapters, the player launched at the net systematically led to conceding goals, this year we were pleasantly surprised to discover that it is possible to make a recovery and avoid the worst. What instead leaves us somewhat perplexed is the CPU's ability to spin the ball so perfectly that it does not allow us any possibility of interception.. This aspect seems to be present even when the team we have before us does not shine for quality. To be able to counter the opponent's tiki-taka would require a change to the speed of play. In the current state of the art, on the other hand, we only have to hope that the CPU misses a step or the final conclusion. In reality, it has already happened to us several times to undergo maneuvers with first passes and with a lot of finalization at the corner with our players practically disoriented. Unfortunately, we are well aware that the pace of the game will never see an adjustment to the bottom, the choice of EA Sports is clear, to favor the spectacle and the fun of those who play it.

New skills have also been introduced this year, which especially online will lead to frustrating situations. It's true Cristiano Ronaldo scored the best goal of his career in an overhead kick against Juventus but it's funny enough to see that any player, especially from a corner kick, manages to coordinate and make a near-perfect overhead kick. This is not realism in our opinion. Seeing players like Petagna having 4-star skills is not plausible, just like a Bernardeschi having 5 stars, like phenomena like Neymar or CR7.

The crowd is in raptures

Something many fans think about when playing a sports title is the presentation. We are not at the levels of the NBA series of Visual Concepts but FIFA 19 makes a good impression. The combination of the roaring crowd, the outstanding graphics thanks to Frostbite and the entrusted match commentary once again to the couple Pierluigi Pardo and Stefano Nava they help give the game that extra touch of authenticity.

There are still some small uncertainties in the match commentary, some repeated phrases and others nonsense (for example Pardo asks on the sidelines how much remains to be played, concluding the sentence: "update us in case of news") but ultimately, it turns out to be improved enormously in recent years and finally manages to immerse us in the match. What makes the difference even more is the masterful attention to detail.

The pre-match presentation is superb, we can admire the players in the locker room tunnel, shake handshakes, interact with each other until they are called to descend the stairs leading to the pitch. Here the Frostbite gives its best, the players are almost perfect, with natural and convincing movements. The stadium is also more alive than ever. Fans take selfies, sing chants and literally go crazy with every goal scored.

Even the surrounding elements, from the advertising banners, to the benches, passing through the cameramen, the photographers, the security officers, the referee trio, the coaches, were made so well as to make us appreciate every game as if it were broadcast on TV.

The Journey in Champions version

The thrilling adventure of "Il Viaggio" starring the fictional champion Alex Hunter also returns in FIFA 19. This time, he will not be alone. In fact, we will have the opportunity to play the best friend of the main protagonist Danny Williams and his sister Kim hunter in their respective stories. The Journey picks up where we left off last year. Alex Hunter, after an intense experience in America, is looking for redemption in a big European club while his friend Danny Williams continues to play in the English league. The story is told in such a way as to give us control of both characters to which is added the aforementioned sister of Alex, Kim, a young rising star of American women's football.

Once we have completed a certain portion of the story for each protagonist, we will be able to choose which character to focus on. The stories are intertwined with each other and there is a recommended path that allows you to have the best narrative experience offered by the package. However, if you want to focus on Kim Hunter's journey as she becomes the star of the USA women's national team, you can do it with ease. Being able to change characters and play with whoever you want makes The Journey more interesting than in the past.

The stories of each of the characters are truly compelling. Alex and Kim Hunter's are about work and life balance; Much of Danny Williams' story instead deals with a variety of things ranging from sibling rivalries to money problems. To be stories of people who have achieved success, it must be said that we ended up with some narrative moments that really seem to derive from common situations. As we play, we will be asked to make choices, some of which are labeled as key moments that should influence the rest of the story. However, after making these critical decisions, not much seems to have changed. The only time we felt we made a difference was when we missed a match. Even in this case, however, the feeling that there is too much linearity in the story is quite strong.

Each protagonist has their own unique skill set. Danny Williams and Kim Hunter both have a skill tree to which we will have to assign the points that we will earn game after game; this system is very similar to the one used in last year's Travel mode. Alex Hunter's skill progression is slightly different. Arriving at Real Madrid, Alex will choose a mentor who will provide him with a specific skill; the more synergy between the two increases, the faster the mentor's estimate will grow. When it reaches its maximum, during one of our endless training sessions, we will participate in a bonus training mission that will see us challenge the particular skill of our mentor.

The idea is interesting, but progress in acquiring a skill is generally a bit slow. Alex's attributes will increase after each game, but to a lesser extent than Kim Hunter and Danny Williams' skills. The sore point is given by the many and long uploads that inevitably break the rhythm between one scene and another.

Modes for all tastes

This year the developers of FIFA 19 have rolled up their sleeves and decided to add some new game modes. Starting with the classic Kick off which gives the possibility to play a friendly game but with some small changes. It is indeed possible choose between different types of matches, from Cup Finals to those with Custom Rules.

Among the selectable rules we find the mode Survival, each goal scored corresponds to an expulsion of a random player (except the goalkeeper) of the team that scored the goal. Outside shots, where out-of-box shots are scored double, Headers and Volleys, in this case only goals scored with headers and / or volley shots are valid, No rules, where anything is worth, there is no offside nor fouls and cards, finally we find the modality The First to ... where you can decide how to end the game. Who scores a goal (Golden Gol), or who arrives first to three goals scored. At the end of the 90 minutes of regulation, it will be possible to decide whether to face extra time and penalties.

We also find the Online Seasons, playable with any club, the Pro Club mode that allows 11 vs 11 players, the Online Friendlies and the Online Co-Op Seasons.

The Champiooons

Among other modalities we have, the UEFA Champion's League competition, which allows both to face the entire competition starting from the groups or to go directly to the semifinals or even to the final. The Champion's League gives its best, however, in Career mode, as it allows you to dream big, perhaps taking a team that is not really noble and reaching the stages of the Champions League.

FUT - ULTIMATE TEAM

Could not miss the mode most loved by FIFA fans, or the Ultimate Team. This year the news are different and we have already reported and detailed them in our guide of: FIFA 19 FUT - Ultimate Team, tips and tricks.

Definitely the UEFA Champion's League will play a key role through themed events and special cards dedicated to players who have distinguished themselves in the competition. Revised the system of Divisions, now abandoned in favor of Division Rivals, which require the player to play five games in order to determine the relative division of competence (in which we will find players of the same level). For each match, won, drawn or lost, a score will correspond that will serve both to climb the division (thus obtaining better prizes) and to accumulate points that can be used to participate in the Weekend League. This year we will therefore not be called to qualify through tournaments with sometimes questionable requirements, but only through the score we will get in the Division Rivals. In addition, we will decide when to participate in the Weekend League.

Squad Battles also return in FIFA 19. Each day we can face a selection of teams from different overall. Usually we start from a value between 50 and 70 and then arrive at values ​​between 82 and 90+. For each victory, depending on the difficulty chosen, which goes from Beginner to Extreme, we will get a certain amount of points that will automatically place us in a ranking. The higher the score, the better the prizes. The news this year for the Ultimate Team are not many, but ultimately they will give many hours of play to all fans, not only in terms of games, but also in terms of the market, the sale, the packages and the much appreciated Pink Creation Challenges.