FIFA 15 hit store shelves yesterday, with many of you already giving your impressions here at Operation Sports. In addition, our own Glenn Wigmore gave his first impressions as the reviewer of the game.

 

Now the morning after release, the rest of the staff gets a chance to weigh in. Here's what we think of FIFA 15...

 

 

Robert Kollars: After devoting 150 plus hours on FIFA '14, I finally retired the title just 3 weeks ago. Having played FIFA '14 so much, I was a bit skeptical that the development team could put forth something in FIFA '15 that would feel fresh and new, but my doubts have been erased for the most part.

The action on the pitch feels more authentic, and the way the CPU(both opponents and teammates) handle the ball, make decisions, put forth defensive effort, all feels more realistic than in FIFA '14. More than any EA futbol title to date, FIFA '15 gives off the vibe that there are 22 humans on the field, and not a bunch of inept digital counterparts, whose sole goal is to frustrate the user.

One of the biggest improvements that caught my eye almost instantly was the amount of penalties I witnessed being called, both against and for me. This was one of the biggest problems plaguing this franchise, and at least early on it seems to be much better. I also must mention the spacing across the pitch. Gone are the days of players bunching up in the midfield(and other places)as players, both teammates and AI defenders, seem to understand their role during the match. I can now navigate my way on attack more methodically using all of the pitch consistently, and not just the sides.

Graphically, the game is an improvement over ’15, but not the leap that maybe some were hoping for. With that being said, the weather effects look great, and the field degradation looks even better. The stadiums look as good as ever, and the atmosphere is the best there is, in my opinion at least.

Overall I have to give credit where credit is due. I am sure I will find some annoyances as I spend more time with FIFA ’15, but for now I am extremely pleased with the overall package that EA has delivered this year.

 

 

Kevin Groves: Like Robert Kollars, I too have devoted some serious time (5+ seasons Career Mode/1 season Be a Pro/Online Seasons/ etc…) into FIFA ’14 on the Xbox One. This curtailed my expectations as I didn’t expect a huge leap from FIFA ’14 to ’15. Fortunately, I was wrong.

Player responsiveness is smooth and when combined with even more animations the result is a game with seamless transitions that enables the user to have a sense of control never achieved before in the FIFA series. Manual control users will benefit from this increased responsiveness as the ability to play a short passing game, ala FC Barcelona’s “Tiki Taka”, is finally there.

While Team Styles and Player ID could be represented more accurately out-of-the-box, the ability to update club tactics to play like their real-life counterparts has been improved through the new “Unrivaled Intelligence” feature. The diligent folks over in the “Official Custom Team Tactics (AI) Thread” will surely be hard at work providing the community with the most up-to-date tactics for clubs across the globe.

FOULS! FOULS! FOULS! For years FIFA players have complained (justifiably so) about the lack of fouls committed by the AI and the subsequent card determinations from these fouls. In my first match as AC Milan hosting Juventus in the San Siro, I saw the referee brandish two yellow cards within the first 25 minutes for yellow-card worthy infringements. With the increase in stoppages, users can now substitute and change tactics without having to navigate to the menu during open-play.

Lastly, the overall presentation package is the best I’ve seen since NFL 2K5/College Hoops 2K8. Not only is the Barclays Premier League spot-on when it comes to replicating what we see on the television, the replays while the game is on pause and after “replay-worthy” events (fouls, goals, etc…) adds another dimension to the experience. For years I have been annoyed at having to go to the Instant Replay from the pause menu to see a replay of a foul inside the box resulting in a penalty. So far in FIFA ’15 this looks to be rectified as the game will quickly cut to the foul before taking you back to the spot-kick.

For the second year in a row EA has stepped up to the spot and placed their penalty kick with German-like precision. FIFA ’15 offers as complete a package as you will find in the sports video game genre.

 

 

James Kerti: The game mechanics feel like they've taken a stronger step forward than I expected. As Kevin mentioned, the game feels exceptionally responsive, and yet it strikes a great balance between responsiveness and realistic physics. It allows you to move the ball throughout the pitch like how real clubs do. Also, fouls. Yes, fouls!

The presentation package is outstanding, especially with the Barclays Premier League. During a stoppage in play in the middle of the first half, the commentators looked back at the goal I scored in the opening minutes, offering a little insight into how it came to be.

I still feel skeptical of the way the AI opponents play their offensive attack. It seems like the thought process so far is mostly, "I'm going to try to dribble by you, and if that fails, I'll try to pass it forward to a teammate." I'm not seeing the build-up play I'd like to see in the midfield. Maybe I need more playtime for it to emerge, or a higher difficulty (I started on Professional), or sliders.

The goalkeeper AI seems great so far, including picking the right opportunities to dart forward to gobble up a through ball or cross.

Overall, I feel encouraged on release day.