The inconsistencies carry over to dead-ball situations, too. Team-mate positioning is extremely questionable, often leaving huge gaps for smart opponents to exploit, and they’re less likely than last year to make intelligent overlapping runs, even when you couldn’t make it clearer that you’re looking to play them in. And yet at the same time they’re prone to horrendous mistakes, letting daisy-cutters through their legs and exhibiting wildly unpredictable behaviour when the ball breaks loose in the penalty area. A range of new save animations and improved intelligence means goalkeepers are more capable of responding to rebounds and deflections. They even celebrate each goal with equal fervour regardless of context: I couldn’t tell the difference between the reaction to my scoring the 13th goal of a 14-0 win and Barcelona edging El Clasico by the odd goal in five thanks to a last-minute winner by Neymar.Īt least they’re consistent, which is more than can be said for the AI.
They’re noisier than in previous years, but that’s also true when you’re performing badly.
However, while the fans may be more animated in an emotional sense, they’re still the same cardboard cutouts, and their reactions don’t always correspond to what’s happening on the field. This is the sort of thing FIFA has done well for a while, and this year it does it better than ever before. It’s about animation and atmosphere: players will more frequently react to on-field incidents, and crowds will bellow team-specific chants from the stands of all 20 authentically modelled Premier League stadiums. This year, EA Sports is aiming to play up the game’s emotional side, and it achieves this almost entirely through its audio-visuals.