FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

[ManiacMatt1782]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3 - Soon For PS4

Wow!

That was cool. He was held and then Messi embellished it to get the call. Nice.

[Turbojugend]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

The presentation side is a huge step up from 14, especially when playing as two EPL sides. The Barclays branding makes a big difference in those games. I'm really looking forward to playing a tournament/season in the EPL, with all of the stadiums and atmosphere. There was one point during a Liverpool/City match where it looked like a group of fans were supposed to be holding scarves but were empty-handed, maybe that's a glitch or maybe they were outstretching their arms and I saw it wrong.

Lighting is generally improved, maybe not to the point I was expecting but better nonetheless.

Pitch degradation seems a bit over-pronounced to me, to the point of being cartoonish. Maybe they're accenting it on the demo so that it's really apparent? The rain effects are nice though.

I'm seeing all kinds of new animations, my first goal was an Aguero volley that looked nearly identical to the one he scored against Utd last year. It was so similar, it looked like they directly referenced that shot.

[JHedges2]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

I come into this with a big advantage over most of you, in that I have not played FIFA before. Well, I am currently playing FUT on my iPad (lol) trying to learn players in anticipation of 15 dropping in 2 weeks.

The game looks brilliant on PS4, and I don't know enough about soccer (or the game itself) to know what is good/bad about it (as opposed to Madden, NCAA, NBA, etc.).

Can't wait for this bad boy to release and play a season as Arsenal in the BPL!

[Inhocmark]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

Without wading into the whole debate about the ‘realism’ of the game of the lack there of I will just simply state that anybody who expects ANY EA Sports game at this point to be ultra realistic need to turn in their gamer card now. I have been playing EA Sports games for over 20 years now and they have never been true simulations. EA even by their own admission blur the lines so you will have an exaggerated realism. You can offset some of it with sliders but at the end of the day it will not play exactly like the sport they’re trying to emulate. Ultimately we may be asking a lot in a fully playable (as opposed to say a Football Manager type game) game to have AI that behaves perfectly human.

I got to play one game last night before heading off to bed, the opener between Liverpool and Chelsea. Right away I’ll say I did notice that the Keeper was slow to react to rebounds on 2 of my 3 goals on default. The first one was more understandable because the ball was pushed right to Sterling who put it away easily. The final one was a long shot by Lambert parried by Hart and Sturridge ran in on it and buried the ball. I’m not 100% sure if Hart was to blame or the defense didn’t react, but people who have brought it up are right. Hopefully between sliders and patches the issue can be dulled or eliminated.

Accepting as I am of the arcade qualities that are inherent in FIFA until you really scrub it with the sliders, I thoroughly enjoyed my match. I have thousands of games in multiple modes of FIFA 14 under my belt and right away I was taken aback by just how different FIFA 15 felt. The movement and passing felt a little freer than 14 (which in turn felt like a huge upgrade from 13). The flow of the game felt miles better even if individual defending and some arcade tendencies were still there. City pushed at the end of the half for a goal and I was able to get a 2 on 2 with Sturridge and Lambert vs. the fullbacks and the ball was put into the net with Lambert crossing to an open Sturridge who had got in front of his marker. Later in the second half when City had scored a penalty (more in a second) they really put full pressure on to hunt down the equalizer. I honestly felt the change even before the announcers let it be known what was happening. It was great. I have not played enough to truly judge the defending but I have seen what other people have said. The penalty I conceded was when I relied too much on the R2 button like I would have in FIFA 14 and clumsily took down Jovetic. It looked great and felt real. My biggest concern with FIFA 14 was that even when you were playing teams divisions below you in cup competitions there would be a lot of individual movement from the team and skill moves that honestly your average League One player would not be capable of handling. The demo is hard place to gauge that but I found at least Man City pushed the ball around a little more and weren’t always doing the same thing. Progress perhaps?

There are some similar presentation elements but they’ve been expanded on to make it feel fresh. I’m a Premier League player so right away I was in my glory with the new presentation overlays, facial scans and actual referees. Being a Liverpool fan I was completely sucked into the experience of the game. The supporters looked brilliant, the stadium felt like Anfield down to the electronic adboards showing Liverpool sponsors. In the past where supporters would default to singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” after big goals (as opposed to it being a game opener and a closer during wins in real life) I was beyond the moon when after my first goal they began singing “Fields of Anfield Road”. That’s honestly some high quality ambiance there. I’m quite curious how many Premier League clubs are going to get similar treatment or if it is going to be a case of a few of the bigger clubs getting special treatment…I know City supporters do the Poznan…but will West Ham supporters sing about Bubbles? Will Chelsea fans wave plastic flags? Will Spurs just automatically try to target any player that Liverpool is interested in?

The facial scans are on par with 2K’s NBA scans and the emotional aspect is quite cool.

All in all, I just want to play more. I want to sink into the sliders, I want to start my season. Overall I find the game looks miles better than 14 which felt like a huge leap from the previous Gen. Crazy!

[kerosene31]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

The first 10 games I played I kept on playing like in FIFA 14, i.e. press the ball carrier way up the pitch. Needless to say, I got murdered - not just in possession but also in giving away a ton of scoring chances against me.

Unlike FIFA 14 (and previous versions of FIFA), this year the CPU takes advantage of your midfielder being out of position to devastating effect .

But the real question is - why did you choose to put your MF in that position?

If the CPU beats your MF with a move, they have all the space to drive towards goal, which accentuates the feeling of "where has my midfield gone". In real life any coach will tell you that it is criminal to take a midfielder way out on his own to push the opponent and sacrifice the team shape.

I've gone to legacy defending and avoided the pressure button. The issues are:
-The team doesn't hold their shape anyway. The back 4 is a nightmare.
-The CPU just slices through me anyway (might be my skill, but on pro?)
-I can't possibly switch players fast enough to fix it, even with RS (maybe some of you can?)

I hate to be one of those guys who fears change in games, but I just can't figure out defending.

[Hutton]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3 - Soon For PS4

One thing that I've not really seen mentioned here very much, or at all, is the new "Emotion" system EA was all nuts about.

I barely see any player emotion or reactions as all. Cahill got sent off on a straight RC for a tackle that prevented a clear goal scoring opportunity 25 meters from goal and my fouled player hardly even reacted. In almost every match I play the CPU seems to get a very early YC, but there's never a reaction or confrontation of any type from the fouled player or teammates. The YC'ed player never appears upset with the referee about the card. There just really not that much going on at all "emotion" wise that I've noticed.

In fact, after playing the xBox360 FIFA WC game last night for an hour I'd have to say that I saw more "emotion" and reaction from my players in that game. I missed a sitter in front of goal from a nice cross, and the crossing player appears to motion like "It's okay mate, I'll feed you again".

I certainly hope EA didn't forsake proper defensive brainpower for this "emotion" engine. Maybe it's just the effect of being a demo "Friendly", and league matches will matter more?

[Zac]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3 - Soon For PS4

One thing that I've not really seen mentioned here very much, or at all, is the new "Emotion" system EA was all nuts about.

I barely see any player emotion or reactions as all. Cahill got sent off on a straight RC for a tackle that prevented a clear goal scoring opportunity 25 meters from goal and my fouled player hardly even reacted. In almost every match I play the CPU seems to get a very early YC, but there's never a reaction or confrontation of any type from the fouled player or teammates. The YC'ed player never appears upset with the referee about the card. There just really not that much going on at all "emotion" wise that I've noticed.

In fact, after playing the xBox360 FIFA WC game last night for an hour I'd have to say that I saw more "emotion" and reaction from my players in that game. I missed a sitter in front of goal from a nice cross, and the crossing player appears to motion like "It's okay mate, I'll feed you again".

I certainly hope EA didn't forsake proper defensive brainpower for this "emotion" engine. Maybe it's just the effect of being a demo "Friendly", and league matches will matter more?

Hmm, I've seen a lot of player interaction from it. Guys pushing each other after a hard foul. You foul the same guy twice and his teammates come over to get between you. If you take a great shot that gets saved a teammate will come over and pat you on the head/back and talk you up, others will clap. If you do it again they shake there head, etc.

I've also seen it after a goal. I scored and the player I scored with tried to do the run into hug, but the second guy kept pushing him back, until finally on the third time they chest bumped. Never seen that before.

Its not drastic, they don't zoom in on all of it. You just have to pay attention to the players during normal play situations. Its there, but subtle.

[BL8001]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

I've gone to legacy defending and avoided the pressure button. The issues are:
-The team doesn't hold their shape anyway. The back 4 is a nightmare.
-The CPU just slices through me anyway (might be my skill, but on pro?)
-I can't possibly switch players fast enough to fix it, even with RS (maybe some of you can?)

I hate to be one of those guys who fears change in games, but I just can't figure out defending.

The fear I have. And it may just be unfounded/because it's a demo/etc

But FIFA has been around for decades, I have not seen these defensive issues of just flat out wandering away from the ball by the back 4 in previous FIFA's and I have in fact played every single FIFA ever made.

The gameplay from 14 to the WC game evolved slightly for the better in my opinion.

So with that foundation in place and no reason that I can see for the back 4 to be mindless this has me concerned.

More than anything, I know from last years NG offering that there was never a gameplay patch.

So if the back 4 play like this in the full game...I worry it won't be fixed for the whole cycle of the 15 title.

Nobody knows, and nobody will until we get a chance to play the full game next week with EA access. I have my fingers crossed that this is fixed because as it stands now I have zero trust in my back 4 doing anything but getting out of the way of the CPU attacker so it forces me to chase the ball with a FW (even deep in my zone) and try my hardest to win it back so my back 4 can't be exploited.

A side note to this...when your back 4 just moves apart to allow the cpu attack through and your keeper comes out and makes a majestic save it sure would be nice if the new EMOTION engine kicked in and he got in the face of a CB and barked at him.

Instead the keeper just turns and walks back to his net clapping his gloves together.

[Hutton]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3 - Soon For PS4

Hmm, I've seen a lot of player interaction from it. Guys pushing each other after a hard foul. You foul the same guy twice and his teammates come over to get between you. If you take a great shot that gets saved a teammate will come over and pat you on the head/back and talk you up, others will clap. If you do it again they shake there head, etc.

I've also seen it after a goal. I scored and the player I scored with tried to do the run into hug, but the second guy kept pushing him back, until finally on the third time they chest bumped. Never seen that before.

Its not drastic, they don't zoom in on all of it. You just have to pay attention to the players during normal play situations. Its there, but subtle.

Okay good to hear. I'll have to pay closer attention.

The post goal celebration stuff is fantastic. In a goal that chelski scored against me (I posted a YT vid of it earlier) the interaction between Oscar & Diego Costa was tremendous, some chest pushes leading to an eventual chest bum celebrating the nicely taken goal. It was a thing of beauty, it was also shown in close up style on my screen right in my face after I conceded a horrific goal so it couldn't be missed!

Maybe I was just expecting more in game emotion, but I'll pay closer attention during my next game.

[BL8001]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

Yeah the emotion stuff is pretty wild. In most EA titles they put these type of changes front and center and you can't miss them and you see almost all of them in your first 6-7 games and by game 10 you are sick of seeing them already.

This go in FIFA 15 they are subtle and if you aren't looking closely you will certainly miss them.

I dig this way because it may (and hopefully will) mean that dozens of games in we will still be seeing new reactions and displays of emotion by the players that we haven't seen before.

[orion523]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

Because the game has made such a stride forward in mimicking the real sport, any bad decision you make this year will be more noticeable because the CPU will punish you more than previous years! In other words you need to understand the game of football to play this game successfully and having fun.

The first 10 games I played I kept on playing like in FIFA 14, i.e. press the ball carrier way up the pitch. Needless to say, I got murdered - not just in possession but also in giving away a ton of scoring chances against me.

Unlike FIFA 14 (and previous versions of FIFA), this year the CPU takes advantage of your midfielder being out of position to devastating effect .

But the real question is - why did you choose to put your MF in that position?

If the CPU beats your MF with a move, they have all the space to drive towards goal, which accentuates the feeling of "where has my midfield gone". In real life any coach will tell you that it is criminal to take a midfielder way out on his own to push the opponent and sacrifice the team shape.

People noticing a gap in midfield - do you take notice of the fact that you take your midfielders forward to challenge the CPU ball carrier? Do you also notice that your forwards are way up the pitch doing nothing? This is not what you see in real life, where forward press the ball carrier and the midfielders manage space, close passing lanes and keep the shape of the team.

The beauty of FIFA 15 is that it requires you to think like in real life. No longer can you afford to push up and take unnecessary risks. This year you loose shape and the CPU burns you. You take a MF out of position at your peril. Of course there are situations where you can chase the CPU with a MF and even double up on them, but you need to choose the location of your battles and apply logic according to the context.

In my limited time with the demo I have come to realise that you need to press with your forwards much more whilst you leave your MFs to keep the shape. When the CPU enters your half your press with your wingers (not with the central MFs). In real life you will see wingers helping full backs all the time, the same logic applies here, because if you take a winger out of position that does not have such a dramatic devastating effect on your shape compared to when you take a central MF out of position.

The conundrum with newer games is that for the first time, you need to change your mindset and actually understand the sport you're playing. That is why I feel the game would not appeal to people who have the older FIFA way of playing ingrained in them. Also, I don't think the game would appeal to people who do not understand football strategies. It is for that reason that I don't play basketball games. I know NBA 2k15 is supposed to be stunningly accurate of the sport it reflects, but that is also my problem in that I don't understand basketball strategies and as such the beauty of game is "lost on me". More and more games have lost the appeal for casual gamers because of this, but it is inevitable as developers are really pushing the boundaries of gaming. In fact the only way to implement appeal for the casual games is for the CPU not to punish your mistakes and sloppiness. You will notice that on lower difficulty levels the CPU will miss easy chances and put the ball wide when it is much easier to score - that's a mechanic which I hate and it's only there to compensate for your inability to close the CPU down successfully and make you feel like you are actually a contender...

True, the CPU has an abnormal pass success % and a way to keep the ball which is very unpredictable, but with the aid of sliders I think you can tone this down.

FIFA 15 rewards players who are patient, keep the team shape and only take risks in areas which do not lead to direct scoring chances.

Naturally not everything is great. On way too many occasions your AI controlled full backs do absolutely nothing when the ball is away from their zone. They are literally a waste of space. In an ideal world when the play is away from their zone they should be pushing up field and alleviating the pressure off of the MFs's shoulders. Then they can easily return to their position if the ball starts moving towards their side of the pitch. But I am hopeful this can be adjusted in the strategy screen.

This is a fargin brilliant post.

[orion523]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

For those of you struggling with player switch, you can put it on auto, and believe it or not it works quite well.

[BrianFifaFan]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

PC brethren, REJOICE! Moddingway has demo expanders up!

[equilibriax]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

PC gamers: GMG has a 20% off code for nearly all games on their site. I just preordered FIFA for $48 USD.

[Gnemi]

Re: FIFA 15 Demo Available Now on Xbox One, 360, PC, PS3, PS4

The fear I have. And it may just be unfounded/because it's a demo/etc

But FIFA has been around for decades, I have not seen these defensive issues of just flat out wandering away from the ball by the back 4 in previous FIFA's and I have in fact played every single FIFA ever made.

The gameplay from 14 to the WC game evolved slightly for the better in my opinion.

So with that foundation in place and no reason that I can see for the back 4 to be mindless this has me concerned.

More than anything, I know from last years NG offering that there was never a gameplay patch.

So if the back 4 play like this in the full game...I worry it won't be fixed for the whole cycle of the 15 title.

Nobody knows, and nobody will until we get a chance to play the full game next week with EA access. I have my fingers crossed that this is fixed because as it stands now I have zero trust in my back 4 doing anything but getting out of the way of the CPU attacker so it forces me to chase the ball with a FW (even deep in my zone) and try my hardest to win it back so my back 4 can't be exploited.

A side note to this...when your back 4 just moves apart to allow the cpu attack through and your keeper comes out and makes a majestic save it sure would be nice if the new EMOTION engine kicked in and he got in the face of a CB and barked at him.

Instead the keeper just turns and walks back to his net clapping his gloves together.

I think it's true that, after official release, there weren't significant changes to gameplay in FIFA '14. However, the difference between the demo and retail releases were fairly drastic IIRC.

Nonetheless, I have noted the issues others are commenting on with shambolic defending, but I'm cautiously optimistic that these issues are demo-only. They're also a great deal less noticeable on higher difficulty settings. I'm pretty sure the default difficulty for the demo is Semi-Pro, so I sure as $%#@ hope people aren't moaning about gameplay on the demo's defaults. We all know how crap this game is played on lower difficulty settings / Normal speed.

The *one* thing that's sticking out heavily for me at the moment, to pick a nit, is the bombing down the wings. Far too much space allowed out there and even ordinary fullbacks seem to outpace their markers. It reminds me of FIFA '13 in the worst possible way. I *do* like that it seems easier to create separation from defenders if you're in control of a winger/MF with skill and pace. FIFA '14 completely effed that up IMO. I'm very much on record here at OS for detesting "Skill Moves" and I pretty much refuse to use them. Unfortunately, in FIFA '14, that meant that my players were almost incapable - or heavily impaired - when it came to creating separation. I cross my fingers that simple L1, sprint, or L2+R2 mechanics can do that for me.

I did play FIFA '14 last-gen, keep in mind.

Oh, final note, Glennon has been trolling the hell out of this thread, but his YouTube post was pure gold. Keep that stuff coming and I won't mind the trolling!