The final press day at Gamescom contained maybe the biggest game series I’ve played – FIFA, and this year’s edition, FIFA 19. I’ve been playing pretty much every FIFA game since 2004, and it’s one of those games that always ends up in my collection.
Gameplay changes on FIFA 19 include the new “Active Touch System”— an overhaul of player control, “timed finishing”— where the kick button may be pressed a second time to determine the exact moment the ball is actually kicked, “50/50 battles”— a system for determining how likely a player will win loose balls, and “Dynamic Tactics”— which allows players to configure strategies, and switch between them in real-time during a match. FIFA 19 introduces the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup competitions to the game, after their licences with Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer expired. The game will have support for promotion and relegation between the Champions League and Europa League.
Immediately, that FIFA feel is present, and that’s just at the menus! By all means, if you’ve played a FIFA game before you’ll know what to expect. FIFA 19 isn’t a revolutionary new game in the series, but it’s still a solid game. Now that EA has gotten the license for the UEFA tournaments the soccer world is even more believable than before. Once I got into a match I was struck by how well everything worked. Playing as my beloved Stabæk (vs Strømsgodset) the well-working “Active Touch System” is a great addition to the gameplay. As usual the game is slightly unfair if you’ve got quick players – as in; a slow defender doesn’t stand chance against a pacing forward. I’ve yet to find a way to counter that, but that might just be me(?).
Regrettably I only had 30 minutes of gametime to get an impression, which is way too little time to check out all of the new stuff. The little I did get to check out was very good though, the gameplay is working like a charm, there’s lots of licensed players and clubs. And I am sure that the addition of UEFA tournaments will be a success. I can’t wait to play more!
