FIFA 14 - Playstation 3

I bought this as an upgrade to Fifa 12 and after playing this game for a month my boyfriend and I both agree it was a smart purchase. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about it. The graphics were noticeably better and I loved how well the player appearances and jerseys had been rendered. It's very lifelike and really enhances the game experience, especially when you are playing with teams you follow and know well. However, initially I found the game play tricky. Tactics that worked on Fifa 12 didn't translate well to Fifa 14. Fifa 12 seemed to give you the benefit of the doubt at times, accommodating slightly inaccurate passes and shooting by assuming where you want it to go. In Fifa 14 passing and shooting seems slightly trickier and seems to require more precise movement on the controller to be accurate. But thankfully there are lots of skills drills you can do to get a feel for the game and what movements are necessary to have good results. To balance it out, I also found tackling and defending to be easier in this version of the game than in Fifa 12. We also both feel like the more time we have played it the more we prefer it to Fifa 12. Once you get the hang of it, the play feels more lifelike, more physical and more precise. It almost feels like you are playing Fifa for the first time and that things are challenging, new and exciting again. Playing in ultimate team mode is also downright addictive. It gives you so many aspects of the team to control in addition to playing matches. It's like a mind puzzle to try to organize squads that have the best possible chemistry in addition to having great talent and since you can trade and buy players as you earn more coins, there are constantly more things to adjust and fiddle with no matter how long you play because better and better players become within your reach. The only downside is it is easy for WAY too many hours to get sucked up by this game because it gives you an incentive to keep playing so you can earn more coins, trade for better players, and have an overall stronger squad. Of other features we love, we appreciate how when you are playing as real teams (not in ultimate team mode) it updates the lineups and the forms of the team based on how teams and players are doing in real life. Since we tend to play as teams we watch in real life, this is really fun and especially exciting when the team you are following is doing well. It adds to how lifelike this game is and makes you feel like you are truly playing this team. We also love the range of stuff available for purchase with points like vintage kits, different balls, etc. Beyond some initial frustrations when we were getting used to this game the only other thing we don't like is that at times, the game lags and the players seem to be going in slow motion. But thankfully this happens pretty infrequently. Overall we love Fifa 14 and are really enjoying playing this game.

On first playing the demo, it was clear that passing was the best way to score, and that pacing up the wings was not the best of ideas. Now after playing the game, I can confirm these two things. However, THIS IS NOT THE SAME GAME AS FIFA 14, or even the demo. Many people will cite bad dribbling and bad passes as their reasons for disliking this game, but in reality, most people are just mad because it is not as easy to sprint up the wings and use pace to score. This year, small weak players are not as good, and pace is not as important. Other stats become even more important than pace. One of these stats is strength. To give you an idea of what strength can do for you, I scored 4 goals in one game from Wilfried Bony. He is not a fast player, but he is strong and the combination of strength and heading makes him useful. All in all, this game is great. Just remember to pass the ball around, and this game will be rewarding. EDIT: Post patch, many of the things that were good about fifa 14 have been changed. It is now very hard to score from anything but lucky goals and headers. By lucky goals, i am referring to rebounds, which occur at least once a game. Finesses have been overpatched, making it hard to shoot a finesse from any farther that 10 yards or so. Pace has returned, and over the top through balls are insanely overpowered. I do not recommend this game any longer. All it will give you is headaches. Sincerely, Bob Akins.

Excelente

I used to be a Fifa kind of guy back in 1994, remember those days? Well once pro evo (international super star soccer)come out i quickly adhered to the konami train. Around late 2000s I moved to FIFA, didn't like it much and quickly went back to Pro Evo, nothing could beat their game play in my opinion. I must say I tried last years Fifa and still went on to PES 13 however this year having played Fifa 14 demo on the PS3 i just had to buy it. The game play is quite smooth has a ton of game mode options, career modes in my opinion are great and with the introduction to my world of managing a national team as well as a club it was something i always wanted. Has a ton of interaction with the user. I am not a big online player so i haven't even tried that but judging from options that this game has for offline i can only imagine what online is like. I am now contemplating buying a PS4 or Xbox One (yes you heard me, am contemplating on changing platforms, might not be as courageous) and i cannot wait to see how different the experience in game play will be if any really.

For a great deal of time I was an annual purchaser of EA Sports FIFA title. I looked forward to every October and seeing what changes were in store as well as improvements to old tried and true game modes, the usual roster updates, and graphical evolution of the series. That changed a bit after a few big disappointments, namely FIFA 2006 and 2008. I found myself skipping a year in between releases as simple roster updates and a few tweaks between games wasn't enough to spur me to make an annual purchase any longer. That said, the last FIFA title that I purchased and played extensively before FIFA '14 was FIFA '11. So take that into consideration when reading my review. -------------------- GAMEPLAY: Perhaps the most important part of any soccer title is the gameplay. FIFA has been criticized by many (myself included) for often feeling like the player wasn't really in complete control and the computer decided too many aspects of the gameplay as scripted events rather than naturally evolving plays as players jostle for the ball, shoot, pass, etc. To that end FIFA is constantly compared against the Pro Evolution series which has historically featured a more detailed and advanced control set. FIFA '14 is a step forward for the series in my opinion (remember I'm coming from FIFA '11). Player motion, ball physics, passing and the like are greatly improved over previous FIFA titles. Simply mashing the run button now to make a sloppy run at a defense will in most cases result in your player losing the ball and the AI or another human controlled player having control and mounting a counterattack. Things like stride, having control of the ball actually have meaning in this game. Similarly on defense simply mashing the jostle button or standing tackle while off balance, running or committing your player in a certain direction can have dire consequences as the opposing team can, if prepared, simple dribble the ball past your player. The phrase I would use is that FIFA '14 is more about finesse and smart gameplay rather than relying on the schemes that worked in previous titles. Passing is another area that's changed considerably. Now passes rely heavily on the amount of power you apply to the ball as denoted on the power meter when you press the pass button. Going for a cross-field lob without sufficient power will cost you. Similarly, going for an off-balance short pass while mashing the pass button will lead to an errant pass. After a few games of adjustment I found the new passing scheme was excellent overall and in my opinion better than in previous games. Personally, I love the changes and FIFA '14 has shaped up to be my favorite game in the series since FIFA '05 on my Xbox. Though I have a number of friends on both sides of the fence. -------------------- GRAPHICS: On-field graphics are generally excellent. Players look more like their real-world counterparts than in titles past where the players looked a bit "plasticky" like they were action figures. Stadiums are rendered nicely and have more color denoting home field advantage and support. Introductions to games have a more polished feel too and are best described as similar to how EA handles team introductions in their FIFA World Cup games. There's also more fanfare when you win an important game, cup match, Classico, rivalry, etc. -------------------- INTERFACE: The main menu now is a series of widget looking tiles that not only look great but also display pertinent information. Now after a game you don't need to go into a sub-menu to see your players fitness level, the information is displayed promptly on the team management tab. Changes to your formation can be made right from the root of the menu by highlighting the team tile and using the right-thumbstick to switch things up. More detailed changes can still be made by entering a sub-menu but it's nice that a lot of stuff can be done without going further into a menu. Another nice addition is a more granular level of control over your team if you go the career manager route. You still cannot set ticket prices, concession prices, etc. like in many other EA Sports titles but you do have a lot more options on everything from scouting (completely revamped and actually relevant) to junior team, career options, player contracts and negotiations, interaction with team staff and budgets. The scouting mode is particularly interesting and much deeper than in previous games. Don't expect a Football Manager type of depth but enough to keep you interested and make the mode worthwhile. Scouts can be purchased and the better the scout the more they cost. They can be sent to specific geographic areas to recruit and you can even focus them on what type of player your after. Non-scouted players have some general information available to them, however, more detailed information, in the form of numerical ratings, can only be seen once a player has been scouted. There are also different levels of detail from a quick scout to a more in-depth report. This is important when making an offer for a player as more detailed information will lead to a more accurate offer and thus a better likelihood that the player and team will accept your offer. -------------------- ONLINE GAMEPLAY: The newest feature for the online portion of FIFA is called FIFA seasons where you and a buddy can team up to take on other players in a 2 vs. 2 match-up. Seasons has a number of different tables and a world-wide leaderboard that you and your friend can climb. Otherwise, the old match modes make a return and online gameplay is stable and reliably free of lag most of the time. -------------------- THE GOOD: (+) Improvements to gameplay overall; player motion is more natural, shooting is harder, defending once acclimated to is easier (+) Passing is much improved (+) Overhaul of the menus is a very welcome addition (+) More stuff to do - from skill games, manager mode options, player creation, etc. (+) The season calendar feels more thought out to space games out and now includes international friendlies (your manager can be hired by an international team) (+) More leagues! Poland here I come... -------------------- THE BAD: (-) The menus look really great but can take a bit of time to load when moving between tabs (-) First touch moves are trickier and not the almost guaranteed way to destroy a defense like in previous FIFA titles (-) Why is there still no option for online friends to join or start a career mode together playing against the AI is stupefying -------------------- CONCLUSION: FIFA '14 is overall a fantastic entry in the FIFA series that features the right mix of new along with improvements to the old formula to justify a purchase. Expect a good game but expect one that also requires old dogs learn new tricks.

I played FIFA 13 and it took me a couple of games to adjust to FIFA 14. First off, the game does feel slower as other people have mentioned. However, this is much more realistic where a player reaches full speed after a few seconds instead of instantly like in FIFA 13. The shooting sensation was a bit improved and the passing does require some getting used to. It now takes more time to build up play and attack, and there is more satisfaction when scoring a goal. FUT is still great, building your team is always fun. The only complain I have are about the few changes made to the graphics, which we will need to wait and see how it is on the PS4 version. But in this case, why change something that is working. In conclusion, this year's version is great, there are multiple ways to play the game whichever suits you best.

I was a little worried about buying "FIFA 14" considering all the incredibly hateful reviews I read. BUT, I decided to buy it anyways. I'm not really sure what everyone is complaining about. I'll try to address some of the complaints. 1.The menu screens lag behind at times...(And they do but it's not a big deal at all and it doesn't happen a ton either.) 2.The passing is horrendous and inaccurate and just awful! (Well, I haven't experienced such terrible passing and in fact when watching my cousin play it it looks like a real game. The passing is fine, I'm wondering if people are not giving the game enough time to really get the feel down so they pass when they aren't facing in the direction they wish to pass, and as in real life, the ball goes no where close.) 3. It freezes! (I can't speak for anyone else, don't know why they'd lie, but for me, no problems.) 4. The whole game is too slow. Well, I changed the game speed to "fast" and it was a great pace. So I say, speed it up if it's too slow! Lots of adjustments can be made for even the pickiest of people. 5. It's too easy or it's too hard. Well, I think there's levels to be explored for any talent level. But really, every video game pretty much gets easy once you've played it enough, so whatever. All I can say is I was tentative to buy this game, but I'm glad I took the chance. But don't listen to me or anyone else, just rent it and see for yourself before you buy it. I'll be enjoying this game for a long time! Go Liverpool! YNWA!

This is the first FIFA game I ever bought. I was playing Pro Evolution Soccer for over a decade now, so I thought it might be nice to not have to create all the Bundesliga teams from scratch, but have them all right there. And indeed, it is nice to have the teams with all their players and all of that. But that doesn't make up for the horrible game play of this FIFA game. I feel cheated after 80% of the games I play. It does not matter how good you play the game, the results of the matches follow a script. If you are doing good in your season, all of a sudden your team is in a bad mood. If that doesn't do it players will be injured every other game. Still not enough? How about you get kicked and pushed out of the way without getting a free kick or a penalty, while the other team gets those goodies when you look at them the wrong way. I will go back to Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA games are not for me in the future.