Beatles vs. Rolling Stones. Blur vs Oasis. Pupo against Little Tony and of course PES vs FIFA. The dualism that characterized the world of football video games most of all has officially ended a few years ago Pro Evolution Soccer has become eFootballbut witnessing the definitive end of the FIFA franchise was still emotional. EA Sports FC 24 is now called upon to pick up the heavy legacy left by an eternal franchise.
This is in fact the first game after the end of the thirty-year marriage between the developer EA Sports and the FIFA – International Federation of Football Associationa pairing that has over the years redefined the world of sports video games.
In this review of ours we will try to understand if EA Sports FC 24 has met expectationsoffering us a totally new game or if, as many fear, it is just an update of the squads (and name) of FIFA 23.
EA Sports FC 24: ZENEGHEIM
The game opens with the characteristic, now iconic, voice of Andrew Anthony who pronounces the eternal phrase “EA Sports It’s in the game” (which as children we all crippled with ZENEGHEIM), but there is no time for nostalgia, especially when faced with the new home. The graphic interface has in fact been completely modernized: the classic (and now stale) horizontal conformation with the game modes leaves the field in favor of a much more elegant vertical list. Well yes, the initial feel is precisely that of a new era.
Scrolling through the menu we find practically all the game modes that we know wellfrom Kick-off to the canonical player and coach careers, passing through the essential FUT, which loses the F of FIFA and officially becomes only Ultimate Team. We’ll talk about it specifically in a bit, but first let’s start a quick game to understand how the gameplay has changed.
The gameplay: all the new features compared to FIFA 23
Although the presentation of the matches has been modernized with a new (and impressive) graphics, the feel of the matches remains the same, with Pierluigi Pardo and always enthusiastic Lele Adani to introduce us to the match in the commentary booth. Effectively the commentary is almost identical to the previous chaptersand even from the point of view of playing on the pitch it doesn’t change much.
A first novelty, perhaps the only one from a gameplay perspective, is the introduction of Playstyles (or play styles). These are 28 unique characteristics attributed to specific players (or players). Play styles are automatically activated during the match, depending on the athlete’s performance in the match. For example, if you have a team Haalandthe Norwegian giant of Manchester City chosen as the cover man of EA Sports FC 24, you will have the opportunity to take advantage of his acrobatic style to score incredible aerial goals.
Set pieces maintain the same mechanics as the previous chapter, with the possibility of choosing the exact point where the player’s foot will impact the ball. The curse and delight of the previous FIFAs were certainly the goalkeepers: well also in this case we find ourselves faced with impassable walls, capable of absolutely unrealistic saves. This, together with the unjustified absence of VAR, is perhaps the only real flaw of a game that claims to present itself as a hyper-realistic sports simulator.
Buy now with Mediaworld and start paying in January 2024, find out more!
Well instead the player AIswhich compared to FIFA 23 will tend to make more intelligent insertions in the attack phase, and to move more organically in the defensive transition.
Major improvements to graphics and sound
What gives a breath of fresh air to the gameplay is certainly the visual and sound aspect. There tecnologia Hypermotion V, which analyzed and assimilated the volumetric data of real matches, makes the players’ movements absolutely realistic. Also EA Sports FC 24 presents to us new camera movements and introduces us to first-person view for some animations. For example, if a player is booked, the game will show you the view of the referee while he takes out the card. The same goes for penalty kicks: the animation will put you in the shoes of the player who picks up the ball and places it on the spot.
However, we have conflicting opinions on the aesthetic performance of athletes and coaches. It’s true, icons like the footballer Sam Kerr and the aforementioned Erling Haaland they will be practically perfect, but go and look Simone Inzaghi o Giovanni Di Lorenzo and you will change your mind immediately.
The sound sector is once again impressive, which we had already appreciated immensely on FIFA 23. All the sounds of the stadium, including service announcements and fans’ chants, contribute to creating an atmosphere of immersion during the game phases. If you play at home, and are denied a penalty, expect to hear Curva B screaming for you.
The review of EA Sports FC 24: Career and Ultimate Team mode
Although the game modes are the same as previous chapters, these see the introduction of several new features. There Coaching Career, for example, introduces two absolutely new mechanics. The first concerns the choice of tactic. This allows you to direct your team towards a specific football philosophy. We are absolutely far from the realism and tactical precision of titles like Football Managerbut it is still an important step forward for those who dream of sitting on a bench.
The second novelty concerns i Athletic Trainers: at the beginning of each career it is possible to hire professionals who will improve a specific department of the team. A third new feature is the possibility of watching the match and managing your team from the sidelines, with one first-person view of the chosen trainer. Finally, as in previous chapters, it will be It is possible to play as an existing technician.
Ultimate Team: mixed teams enter the field
The most loved (and discussed) game mode of the entire FIFA franchise could not be missing: FUT. FIFA Ultimate Team now becomes solo Ultimate Team, maintaining the same game characteristics (Squad Creation Challenges, Player Agreement, objectives to be achieved in exchange for packages, Squad Battles, Rivals and everything else). Even in this case however, in addition to the graphic restyling, there are two main new features, one of which is much discussed.
First of all, the possibility of substantially strengthen the players in the squad. Yes, it’s true, the chemistry styles (which are also present in EA Sporta FC 24) gave a small boost to the characteristics, but here we are faced with enhancements capable of increasing the value of the entire card by several points. This new game mechanic is called Evolutions. In practice, by completing certain challenges, you obtain permanent upgrades to the cards you own.
The second innovation, certainly the most discussed, is the introduction of teams loose. In recent years, women’s football has made important progress, and FIFA has been able to welcome women into the game in a progressively more inclusive way. Now, for the first time, female footballers debut in Ultimate Team, giving users the opportunity to field mixed teams.
To do this the EA team had to rebalance, in a way that is not always realistic, the values of the cards. Sam Kerr’s gold card, for example, is even higher than Haaland’s gold card. All of this has obviously sparked several controversies over the unrealistic transposition of the players’ value. But there is one thing to say: Ultimate Team has never been a realistic mode. In fact it is a huge fantasy game transposed into the world of football.
Before writing this review we tried mixed teams in Ultimate Team for about a week, and we can say that the discussed compromise between realism and inclusiveness of EA Sports FC 24 is perfectly successful. It’s nice to see Sonia Bompastor celebrate a goal together with Roberto Baggio.
The review of EA Sports FC 24: summing up
After a week of playing we can only be satisfied with EA Sports FC 24. Of course, from a gameplay point of view there is no real revolution, but the important graphic upgrades, the small innovations in the game modes and the realism of Hypermotion V manage to justify the cost of the game. We were disappointed by the absence of VARwhich is now a very important element in the world of real football and which other games (think of Football Manager again) have already implemented.
EA Sports FC 24 is not a total revolution compared to previous chapters, but it is a good starting point for what is destined to be the new reference franchise for football fans.
PRO
- Graphic restyling
- Playstyles
- Realism of movements
- AI without the ball
- Balance between men’s and women’s football in Ultimate Team
- Visual and audio section
AGAINST
- Goalkeepers still too strong
- Game modes in Ultimate Team are identical to previous games
- Commentary copy of FIFA 23
- VAR is missing
- Gameplay identical to previous chapters
EA Sports FC 24 is available from September 29th su PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch e PC.