Press Row Podcast - FIFA 15 Review Roundtable

[Steve_OS]

The 102nd episode of the Press Row Podcast dives into two main topics – the individual panelists’ impressions of FIFA 15 upon release as well as a lively discussion of the ongoing viability of annual sports game releases on the new generation of consoles. By the time the crew is done, they’ve touched on FIFA 15, Madden 15, MLB 14 The Show, The Golf Club, NHL 15, NBA 2K15, and NBA Live 15. With the huge gap in quality between the sports games at the top of the heap and those at the bottom, the challenges faces by everyone involved – consumers, developers, publishers – are more apparent than ever.

Joining us this week:

• Bryan Wiedey, PastaPadre (@pastapadre)
• Chris Sanner, Operation Sports (@Chrissnr)
• Owen Good, Polygon (@owengood)
• Samit Sarkar, Polygon (@samitsarkar)
• And your host, Richard Grisham, GamesRadar/OXM/@GAMER (@richgrisham)

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Run Time: 1 Hour, 41 Minutes

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[snimat]

Hello podcasting team.

FIFA 15 is no true representation of the sport. Explanation to follow.

I'm a dedicated football (soccer) fan, player and video game player. For me, football is truly the beautiful game. As a European I'm following all the action in my domestic German league as well as other international leagues and especially the magic that happens in Champions League and Europa League. Unfortunately, my dedication for the sport is not matched by my talent. Thanks to luck, willpower and good condition I managed it to play in the lower to lowest amateur leagues for quite a decade. On top of that I'm a huge PES fan boy. Also I had a good time playing FIFA 14 in co op with a friend of mine.

Whilst FIFA 15 impressively captures the buzz and broadcasting around the event of football, it falls short when it comes to the soul of the game: The flow of the game and tactics on the pitch. Nearly every game in FIFA feels the same. There is no measurable difference between teams like Juventus or Borussia Dortmund. Eventually they all play the same: a fast paced ping pong style of football with action and "memorable" moments happening all the time. Every FIFA game looks like a European semi final with one side eagerly pushing towards one away goal that keeps them from being elminated. The focus of FIFA is in creating nice looking highlight moments.

PES IMHO replicates the true flow of football. With build up play, changing pace and the need of creating space for passes into the danger zone between midfield and defense. Also PES emulates the different play styles that distinguish players from each other. In football, defending is an art style. FIFA is mostly defending for you on it's own. PES will give you the chance of doing mistakes in your defense. I had a hard time of scoring goals against opponents that dropped their game pads when losing in FIFA.

Additionally, you'll rarely see one player who's not Messi or Zidane doing ridiculous skill moves in the penalty area. Getting behind an opponent is a mixture of speed, the right moment and skill. But not skill alone.

One of you mentioned that he is learning football and football tactics from FIFA. You're not going to learn the magic of football or the difference between tactics on the pitch. You're going to learn the content of a highlight DVD.

Best regards. Keep up the good work.

Matthias

[snimat]

Hello podcasting team.

FIFA 15 is no true representation of the sport. Explanation to follow.

I'm a dedicated football (soccer) fan, player and video game player. For me, football is truly the beautiful game. As a European I'm following all the action in my domestic German league as well as other international leagues and especially the magic that happens in Champions League and Europa League. Unfortunately, my dedication for the sport is not matched by my talent. Thanks to luck, willpower and good condition I managed it to play in the lower to lowest amateur leagues for quite a decade. On top of that I'm a huge PES fan boy. Also I had a good time playing FIFA 14 in co op with a friend of mine.

Whilst FIFA 15 impressively captures the buzz and broadcasting around the event of football, it falls short when it comes to the soul of the game: The flow of the game and tactics on the pitch. Nearly every game in FIFA feels the same. There is no measurable difference between teams like Juventus or Borussia Dortmund. Eventually they all play the same: a fast paced ping pong style of football with action and "memorable" moments happening all the time. Every FIFA game looks like a European semi final with one side eagerly pushing towards one away goal that keeps them from being elminated. The focus of FIFA is in creating nice looking highlight moments.

PES IMHO replicates the true flow of football. With build up play, changing pace and the need of creating space for passes into the danger zone between midfield and defense. Also PES emulates the different play styles that distinguish players from each other. In football, defending is an art style. FIFA is mostly defending for you on it's own. PES will give you the chance of doing mistakes in your defense. I had a hard time of scoring goals against opponents that dropped their game pads when losing in FIFA.

Additionally, you'll rarely see one player who's not Messi or Zidane doing ridiculous skill moves in the penalty area. Getting behind an opponent is a mixture of speed, the right moment and skill. But not skill alone.

One of you mentioned that he is learning football and football tactics from FIFA. You're not going to learn the magic of football or the difference between tactics on the pitch. You're going to learn the content of a highlight DVD.

Best regards. Keep up the good work.

Matthias

Here is a review from more dedicated FIFA players that gives my rant some objectivity:

http://news.futhead.com/posts/xaors-cave/29746-xaors-cave-fifa-15-review

Best regards
Matthias