FIFA for beginners?

[clipperfan811]

Quote: Originally Posted by ultimatefighter

Fifa 09 was the first one I played. I didnt know anything about the teams and players, scrolled through and ended picking Arsenal. I didnt play again til about 13 and 14 but didnt have the time to dive in like I wanted, I tried the major leauges and ended up liking the Premier League the best. Always kept getting drawn back to picking Arsenal, so I got use to their players and really liking them, starting to read some of their history and like I said upgraded my package. I just watched my first Champions League game on Wednesday Arsenal vs Besiktas, it was cool to finally see the players I was playing with on the game in a real match. Now I just got to get use to getting up early to watch the matches lol

That sounds a lot like me! I sort of stumbled upon Arsenal and the sort of became my team. I've been watching them this season pretty closely. That game on Wednesday was a fun one. It was good to see Alexis score his first goal with Arsenal.

Don't want to get too off topic so yeah.. totally agree about getting to know the players in real life when you've gotten to know them in the game.

[Entomorph]

Hey jakeandrew, I created an account here just to post this! ;P

I'm still learning myself, as I'm not into sports AT ALL. BUT, this was my path, and what's helped me more than anything I could have ever imagined. This eased me into the world of Fifa.. It's a bit of a read, but I hope it can be of some help.

I bought Fifa 14 on PS4 after watching the World Cup and catching the bug.. But I was VERY confused about a lot of things. So I started reading forums and such, and saw a lot of people say they hated Fifa 2014 World Cup Brazil because it was too easy, played too fast, was very casual, etc.. But I thought casual might be right up my alley. So I bought it.

First off, I recognized a lot of these guys as I had watched them during the World Cup. That helped me SO MUCH. I would find that I liked using certain players in the game, or just remember players that I enjoyed watching. Then, I'd hit the search engines and look up what club they were a part of and stuff. This also helped me learn about leagues and all that.

There's also the simple aspect of "What country do I want to play as?" versus "What is a league? What teams are good or popular? What is a club? WHO ARE THESE GUYS?!?!"

The game itself IS fast paced and very easy compared to Fifa 14. But the modes are simple, despite being similar in a lot of ways to the modes you'll find in Fifa 14. Road to the World Cup let's you pick a country and take them all the way through qualifying, to the group stages, to the final 16 itself. You even have a "Create a Pro" mode that's renamed "Captain your Country". Meanwhile as you do these modes, you will constantly play skill games to help boost the stats of your players. This is handled in a way that really eases you into the controls and when certain moves and stuff are important to use. But while other games have this stuff, it's very "dumbed down" in Fifa 2014 World Cup Brazil.. Which actually goes a long way. It's like playing on easy, and then moving up to normal.

Two Button mode helped a lot at first, also playing on beginner.. But I quickly found that the game was doing a lot of the work for me. So I slowly worked my way up to Semi-Pro. Started using normal controls more. Etc..

Anyway, during all of this, I began to really understand a lot about the positions and such because it's broken down in a much easier to understand way. Chemistry doesn't really matter - or it's hidden - for example. So I could just focus on what jobs were important, which formations I liked, etc. One thing you'll notice, some of the really bad countries don't use good formations by default, have players that are meant for certain positions, or players that will fit into your favorite formation/s. "This one looks like I need a RW and LW.. Whatever those are.. I don't have those with this country at all!!". So you just kind of.. Start to understand what to look for stat wise when you place them. What they actually do, things like that.

On top of all this, you can make your own players for any country you want. If you want Ethiopia to be the best in the world, you can make that happen. Or, you can work with the hand that you've been dealt, and do everything in your power to find the right formations, and put people in the right spots.

Honestly, I know it seems like money wasted at this point. We are so close to Fifa 15.. But for me, if it were not for this game, I would have honestly given up. I'd be going back to other games, getting super hyped to just play games like Destiny, be playing through the new Infamous DLC (Which I haven't had time to buy thanks to Fifa).. AND, you have until 2018 for this game to still be relevant. There won't be another World Cup game until then. Sure, you can build a World Cup Ultimate Team in Fifa 14, but it's not the same at all. Fifa 2014 WC Brazil is tailor made for people that got the WC bug, and wanted to just hop into a game, and enjoy it.

Now the bad part. This game isn't on PS4/Xbox One. So you'd be going back to your PS3 or Xbox 360 to play it, and it's not going to be as pretty. However, they didn't do a bad job.. They really seem to have pushed the systems. I didn't ever notice frame rate issues, AND they actually added some things that aren't in Fifa 14 (Fifa 2014 WC Brazil is a newer game after all). For example over the back headers is a feature they like to go on about. It's not a huge deal, but these little "improvements" help you feel like you're not just buying some game on an older system that won't live up to the PS4/Xbox One versions.

The game has it's own skin, it's own charm, music, it's own little animations and unlockables, etc. XP and FCC carry over into Fifa 14, so you aren't wasting time just to learn. It has a lot of single player content, the multiplayer is there as well. But most of all, it taught me just enough about "Soccer" and who certain players are, to now be a lifelong fan. I ended up even buying Fifa 14 on my ipad. I'm HOOKED. (Edit - I also should have mentioned that the game has a couple modes that let you relive or change key moments of the Qualifiers and World Cup. Which in my opinion ups the value even more.)

Others might have a million reasons why this would be a bad idea. I don't know.. But, this is what worked for me. I just know nothing else would have.

Good luck, and don't give up. In the end, the payoff is so worth it.

[Cardot]

Another newbie question: There are some international friendlies going on this week. What is the purpose of these? The World Cup was just a month ago, and most leagues are just getting started. Seems kind of an odd time for an international friendly?

[JHedges2]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cardot

Another newbie question: There are some international friendlies going on this week. What is the purpose of these? The World Cup was just a month ago, and most leagues are just getting started. Seems kind of an odd time for an international friendly?

I was wondering the same thing. Many of the big names also not playing (i.e. Messi).

Curious as to the point of these?

[beau21]

I'm new to the FIFA Series (and relatively new to the sport in general), but I'm interested in picking up the PS4 Fifa 15 to help myself learn the game.

Living in Kansas City, Sporting KC has become the easiest team for me to watch and learn through. I've found that the Sporting KC roster is in the game, but is Sporting Park (or any MLS Stadia) in the game as well?

Thanks!

[Neerghal]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cardot

Another newbie question: There are some international friendlies going on this week. What is the purpose of these? The World Cup was just a month ago, and most leagues are just getting started. Seems kind of an odd time for an international friendly?

Can't speak for the rest of the world but in Europe the qualification for the European Championships in 2016 are starting next week so a lot of teams had a warm up friendly this week.

[Turbojugend]

Quote: Originally Posted by beau21

Living in Kansas City, Sporting KC has become the easiest team for me to watch and learn through. I've found that the Sporting KC roster is in the game, but is Sporting Park (or any MLS Stadia) in the game as well?

I'm pretty sure the only MLS stadium is the Whitecaps', and that's only because the FIFA dev team is in Vancouver. It's cool and unique because you can see worn-out gridiron lines on the pitch.

Sadly, EA always seems to pass over other more "relevant" MLS stadia with bigger fanbases, such as those in Seattle and Portland or even the Stubhub Center here in L.A. I guess it's just not a huge priority at this point. But hey, we're getting all 20 EPL stadiums this year, and that is reason to celebrate.

[half-fast]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cardot

Another newbie question: There are some international friendlies going on this week. What is the purpose of these? The World Cup was just a month ago, and most leagues are just getting started. Seems kind of an odd time for an international friendly?

They are Euro qualifying matches, which is why Messi will not be playing. Scotland is playing Germany I believe this Sunday, a game I was invited to watch with some Scottish friends.