FIFA 18 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (Xbox One, PS4, PC)

[MadsTheChamp]

Incredible atmosphere and the graphics are just outstanding in general.

Otherwise I must say that I think the game is a little "meeh".. The tempo is still very fast and I still see players in general being way to good with the ball at their feet.
Last thing is the passing. It's a bit to fast and everybody can make perfect direct passes. Can't feel any difference here from player to player.

[valdesas]

Just played for much longer and it's clasic fifa, purely cosmetical. Once again PES it's ganna be!!

[Whomario]

Dunno if you guys noticed, but the new crossing mechanics also apply to longs balls in general. Finally you can adjust the trajectory when you switch the ball to the other flank, especially the RB variant is really helpfull to get the ball to your winger for a true 1:1 situation.

[iaxy]

I remember a time in the not too distant past, when there were two console games of football – one which had all the bells, whistles and licenses but played an arcadish and scripted game and one which had none of the former but captured the dynamics and enthusiasm of football much better and realistically.

How the tables have turned!

After playing both PES and FIFA last year, I got very quickly bored with FIFA and mainly relied on PES to get my fix for the rest of the year. FIFA just looked and felt very samey, predictable and unexciting. On the other hand, PES looked sharper, had better ball dynamics, better models, animations and it just had that excitement factor about it.

Playing the demos this year, I can honestly say the roles have reversed. Whilst PES continues to have the better graphics, player models, lighting and textures, based on the demos, FIFA simply plays a better, more intuitive and more realistic game of football. Where FIFA falls (badly) again is its inability to proivide an excitement factor. When you score (or get scored on) in FIFA it just feels lame, it’s an anticlimax. The way the ball flies in the net, the way the net bulges (or not in most cases), it just feels and looks weird. And here is my overall worry with FIFA – for such a resourceful team, EA should really have spent more time and attention in making those presentation aspects better, because the gameplay is really, really good.

For a start the goals look too small, the ball looks too small, the players still move too robotically and the models, whilst better, are still miles behind PES. A case in point is the player’s faces. This is one aspect which luckily I care less about, but it is simply unforgivable to have player faces in Juve and Man Utd, which have absolutely no resemblance to the real selves (example Higuain, Matic, etc.). The lighting is also questionable – take as an example La Bombonera - the only venue which you can play at day light. Play with Man City for example and you will see that the colours of the shirts are just off – by a long way. The grass – again – why does it look so choppy, with those weird deep shades of green? Shouldn’t it degrade progressively?

Arguably I am the type of person who gets equal pleasure from the aesthetics of a game as well as the mechanics. As such, small aesthetic details can either make or break the deal for me. If I don't get the visual gratification, I am likely to relegate te game to the dusty part of my games shelf. FIFA really excels at the gameplay, but trails PES on the visuals - quite dramatically. In my perfect world, I would have PES visuals / animations and FIFA gameplay / mechanics.

In my opinion, any game which strives for realism should focus on getting the action right in the middle of the pitch - the midfield. I find PES completely misses the mark there because there is simply too much space (the pitch looks huge) and the action is extremely end to end. Also, PES fails in one more important area - when the CPU is under pressure, it always makes a pinpoint pass to a teammate - regardless if it is near or 30 yards away.

Based on the demo, FIFA 18 is more unpredictable. The midfield is a true battlefield (as it should be) and if you win this battle, you generate chances. Conversely, if you lose that battle, you are exposed - just like in real life.

Players are also positioned better on the pitch in FIFA. Both human and CPU team shapes are more realistic than PES.

Just my personal opinion...

My summary on FIFA 18 demo is therefore this:

Positives
+ Realistic feel / control / speed
+ Very good representation of the game of football – from the tight battles in midfield, to the clever runs (both AI teammates and CPU).
+ Fluid and intutive build up
+ A level of unpredictability (this used to be a trademark for PES, but this year the roles are reversed).
+ More “human” CPU with stray passes, backward passes, greater variety, etc.
+ Quick subs
+ Very responsive controls. Playing defense is actually fun (compared to PES, where the controls are very clunky and frustrating).
+ Passing assist on SEMI is actually quite realistic – you really need to pay attention how you pass the ball, especially when the body is not fully aligned with the trajectory of the pass. I really like this. In PES this is botched.

Negatives
-Overall visuals – questionable lighting, grass visuals, disproportionate objects (goals and balls are too small), net physics. This lets the game down badly, which is a shame.
-Player faces – far inferior than PES and frankly inexcusable
-Player animations – still too robotic
-Lack of excitement when you score a goal or get scored on – the way ball flies in and interacts with the net – it’s just lame and ultimately an anticlimax.

[baseballguy]

How are folks coping with how different defending is this year? I'm finding it increasingly difficult so far, albeit during a small sample size.

[MadsTheChamp]

Quote: Originally Posted by iaxy

I remember a time in the not too distant past, when there were two console games of football – one which had all the bells, whistles and licenses but played an arcadish and scripted game and one which had none of the former but captured the dynamics and enthusiasm of football much better and realistically. How the tables have turned! After playing both PES and FIFA last year, I got very quickly bored with FIFA and mainly relied on PES to get my fix for the rest of the year. FIFA just looks very samey, predictable and unexciting. On the other hand, PES looked sharper, had better ball dynamics, better models, animations and it just had that excitement factor about it. Playing the demos this year, I can honestly say the roles have reversed. Whilst PES continues to have the better graphics, player models, lighting and textures, based on the demos, FIFA simply plays a better, more intuitive and more realistic game of football. Where FIFA falls (badly) again is the excitement factor. When you score (or get scored on) in FIFA it just feels lame, it’s an anticlimax. The way the ball flies in the net, the way the net bulges (or not in most cases), it just feels and looks weird. And here is my overall worry with FIFA – for such a resourceful team, EA should really have spent more time and attention in making those presentation aspects better, because the gameplay is really, really good. For a start the goals look too small, the ball looks too small, the players still move too robotically and the models, whilst better, are still miles behind PES. A case in point is the player’s faces. This is one aspect which luckily I care less about, but it is simply unforgivable to have player faces in Juve and Man Utd, which have absolutely no resemblance to the real selves (example Higuain, Matic, etc.). The lighting is also questionable – take as an example La Bombonera - the only venue which you can play at day light. Play with Man City for example and you will see that the colours of the shirts are just off – by a long way. The grass – again – why does it look so choppy, with those weird deep shades of green? Shouldn’t it degrade progressively? Arguably I am the type of person who gets equal pleasure from the aesthetics of a game as well as the mechanics. FIFA really excels at the latter, but trails PES on the former. In my perfect world, I would have PES visuals / animations and FIFA gameplay / mechanics. My summary on FIFA 18 demo is therefore this: Positives + Realistic feel / control / speed + Very good representation of the game of football – from the tight battles in midfield, to the clever runs (both AI teammates and CPU). + Fluid and intutive build up + A level of unpredictability (this used to be a trademark for PES, but this year the roles are reversed). + More “human” CPU with stray passes, backward passes, greater variety, etc. + Quick subs + Very responsive controls. Playing defense is actually fun (compared to PES, where the controls are very clunky and frustrating). + Passing assist on SEMI is actually quite realistic – you really need to pay attention how you pass the ball, especially when the body is not fully aligned with the trajectory of the pass. I really like this. In PES this is botched. Negatives -Overall visuals – questionable lighting, grass visuals, disproportionate objects (goals and balls are too small), net physics. This lets the game down badly, which is a shame. -Player faces – far inferior than PES and frankly inexcusable -Player animations – still too robotic -Lack of excitement when you score a goal or get scored on – the way ball flies in and interacts with the net – it’s just lame and ultimately an anticlimax.

Wow. A really good and reflective post.

But I am quite surprised. Fifa the most realistic? Why?

That really depends on what you are looking for I think.

[SteveFBC]

My thoughts on the gameplay below, mostly good so far...



https://youtu.be/Xk7rt2BT9_k

[iaxy]

Quote: Originally Posted by MadsTheChamp

Wow. A really good and reflective post. But I am quite surprised. Fifa the most realistic? Why? That really depends on what you are looking for I think.

In my opinion, any game which strives for realism should focus on getting the action right in the middle of the pitch - the midfield. I find PES completely misses the mark there because there is simply too much space (the pitch looks huge) and the action is extremely end to end. Also, PES fails in one more important area - when the CPU is under pressure, it always makes a pinpoint pass to a teammate - regardless if it is near or 30 yards away.

Based on the demo, FIFA 18 is more unpredictable. The midfield is a true battlefield (as it should be) and if you win this battle, you generate chances. Conversely, if you lose that battle, you are exposed - just like in real life.

Players are also positioned better on the pitch in FIFA. Both human and CPU team shapes are more realistic than PES.

Just my personal opinion...