Fifa 22

[sportdan30]

I've been relatively luke warm on FIFA over the past few years, but this write up has me very interested.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianmaziq ... 7b20b02356

[tjung0831]

I received my beta invite which is live now. I’m gonna check it out here in a bit

[10spro]

I received my beta invite which is live now. I’m gonna check it out here in a bit

Lucky you. From what I’ve read so far, if you’re a career player you’re in for a treat.

[tjung0831]

I received my beta invite which is live now. I’m gonna check it out here in a bit

Lucky you. From what I’ve read so far, if you’re a career player you’re in for a treat.

I played 4 play now games and the game just felt right to me...loved the pace of the game. It feels quite a bit different from FIFA 21 especially in how the players respond. It’s likely a purchase for me.

[AcemanPR]

I received a beta invite as well. Going to have to give this a shot over the weekend.

[pk500]

Very early initial impressions, on Professional setting:

-- CPU midfield defense is tighter. You can't just scythe through the midfield or haul ass up the wings like in FIFA 21. Like this.
-- CPU is more direct bringing the ball through the midfield and relying on individual play than the more gradual buildup of FIFA 21. Not sure I like this.

VERY early days, but this is definitely a gameplay evolution on the XB1 (not Series X/S). Tweaks, not overhauls.

[sportdan30]

Very early initial impressions, on Professional setting:

-- CPU midfield defense is tighter. You can't just scythe through the midfield or haul ass up the wings like in FIFA 21. Like this.
-- CPU is more direct bringing the ball through the midfield and relying on individual play than the more gradual buildup of FIFA 21. Not sure I like this.

VERY early days, but this is definitely a gameplay evolution on the XB1 (not Series X/S). Tweaks, not overhauls.

Agree on both your points. Against Sheffield United with me using Chelsea, they were quite direct with pushing the ball up the pitch. Felt a little strange as one would think they'd want to try and control possession. Because of that, they had several turnovers and I controlled the possession pretty much the entire game.

The pitch looks pristine on the Series X. Really nice. Player models look slightly better, but more so from afar because of the lighting.

Crowds in general look the same.

I think the biggest thing I notice is the control. Dribbling and one on one moves are very responsive.. passing seems tighter and overall just better...hard to describe until you play it.

[dbdynsty25]

Trial is out - and it's incredible. What an upgrade. A lot more PES like in that the ball takes weird bounces, the players are a lot more fluid and controllable, the keepers actually look to get rid of the ball quickly to counter attack. The downside is I still haven't seen a single cross by the CPU...which is a big problem if you're looking for realism. They rarely attack on the sides...choosing to go up the middle a lot. That said I've only played squad battles, so it could be different against "real" teams in exhibition play. I'll test that later, just didn't want to burn up my 10 hours already.

With my rewards from playing FUT 21 - somehow I got a Lukaku (88), Son (89) and Cavani (85) in the packs. LOL...hell of a way to start a team I guess. Usually I gotta grind and grind for weeks before I even get an 83 rated card!

[10spro]

That’s good to know cause based on earlier footage I was saying is this next gen visuals? Realism with Fifa? Will. Ever happen, especially FUT mode.

Look forward to my rewards.

[dbdynsty25]

That’s good to know cause based on earlier footage I was saying is this next gen visuals? Realism with Fifa? Will. Ever happen, especially FUT mode.

Look forward to my rewards.

I said nothing about the visuals. That said, they are garbage. Last years graphics were a lot cleaner. They've introduced some motion blur and shot blur that is REALLY distracting. The player models are also much to short and squatty, especially taller defenders. It's almost distracting how bad the graphics are compared to last year. I don't play for the graphics, I want the gameplay, so I didn't mention it before. But it's a downgrade for sure.

[pk500]

Trial is out - and it's incredible. What an upgrade. A lot more PES like in that the ball takes weird bounces, the players are a lot more fluid and controllable, the keepers actually look to get rid of the ball quickly to counter attack. The downside is I still haven't seen a single cross by the CPU...which is a big problem if you're looking for realism. They rarely attack on the sides...choosing to go up the middle a lot. That said I've only played squad battles, so it could be different against "real" teams in exhibition play. I'll test that later, just didn't want to burn up my 10 hours already.

With my rewards from playing FUT 21 - somehow I got a Lukaku (88), Son (89) and Cavani (85) in the packs. LOL...hell of a way to start a team I guess. Usually I gotta grind and grind for weeks before I even get an 83 rated card!

Wish I could share your enthusiasm. FIFA 22 feels like a sidegrade to 21, at best.

Complaints:

-- You nailed it about the lack of variety in CPU attack. It's almost all route one, straight up the middle of the pitch, in the Play Now mode. That's always been a problem with FIFA, but I saw at least a few attempts at crosses or switching fields of attack in the midfield or defensive end by the CPU in FIFA 21. Not in 22, at least so far.

-- Cards and fouls. Another big annual flaw of FIFA rears its head again. Where are the fouls by the CPU? Where are the cards? Seeing very few so far.

-- Neutered superstars. FIFA 21 at least finally made an attempt to differentiate superstars from average players. When Messi or Ronaldo had the ball and in your control, you could be more dangerous than with an ordinary player. Same with the CPU when it controlled these maestros. But it seems that FIFA 22 once again has been homogenized. There's just not enough gap in skill between the great and the good.

FIFA has lapsed into the same rut as every EA Sports franchise. Most of the development emphasis is placed on online play and transactional modes like FUT, where most players live. Gameplay seems to be last on the developers' task list. If they have time, great. If they don't, oh, well.

Appears to me EA had some time to work on gameplay for FIFA 21 and not as much with FIFA 22. Other than slightly improved ball physics and slightly tighter midfield marking, I'm not seeing many gameplay improvements.

But to neuter the few PES fanboys on this board, Pro Evo has atrophied FAR more than FIFA. Konami has completely screwed the pooch with that game, degrading it from the best soccer sim and one of the best sports sims, period, to a borderline arcade game of soccer.

Now that I've finally been able to play The Show on Xbox this year, it has become the benchmark for console sports sims for me. FIFA 22 doesn't come close to stacking up to The Show's brilliance, which is a shame because I follow global soccer way more than Major League Baseball.

[Dave]

Oops 1

[Dave]

I said nothing about the visuals. That said, they are garbage. Last years graphics were a lot cleaner. They've introduced some motion blur and shot blur that is REALLY distracting. The player models are also much to short and squatty, especially taller defenders. It's almost distracting how bad the graphics are compared to last year. I don't play for the graphics, I want the gameplay, so I didn't mention it before. But it's a downgrade for sure.

They really are bad during gameplay, what an odd development. The player movement seems less smooth to me, but it has been quite a while since I played FIFA 21 and I only played one game last night. The transition from running to sprinting felt really abrupt, in particular. It could be the rust but my passes went to a different player than intended a lot more frequently than I remember too.
[/quote]

[Dave]

Oops again

[Dave]

Wtf!

[pk500]

Whiskey or beer last night, Dave?

[10spro]

Here’s the thing. The game feels definitely slower compared to 21, it feels like you need to build your play accordingly and while passing may not be an automatic thing, trying to find that open man, trying to bridge-in your play can be more challenging than 21 as the AI will intercept your attempts, at least on World Tour level which is what I am playing so far on FUT mode.

All players seem to drop back and pressure you more once you’re 3/4 into their pitch, and if you’re facing a team with an average of 85+ on attack with speed, you better be good on D. Their wing play maybe limited but the midfielders seem to be more active with the forwards’ attack and not as static as years’ past.

Even thru passes are more difficult to thread but I do prefer this years’ pace better. We all discussed about the non-next gen visuals already, haven’t touch the “Play Now” or any other mode for that matter yet as I try to give a quick head start on the grinding Ultimate team mode.

Goalkeepers will need to be nerfed for sure, they are all Supermans and it is much more difficult to score one on one. Maybe I should try one of the Star players on Play Now and see if its the same. Skill moves are harder to pull as well, they are some new ones this year that can help in the opponent’s danger area but you have to be perfect at it.

[Dave]

Whiskey or beer last night, Dave?

LOL, never keep clicking through an error, obviously!

[pk500]

I'm starting to see a bit more variety in buildup play by the CPU as I play more games. Encouraging.

[dbdynsty25]

I'm starting to see a bit more variety in buildup play by the CPU as I play more games. Encouraging.

It also really depends on the level you play. Anything World Class or under is abysmal...once you crank the difficulty, it gets a lot more varied.

[10spro]

Don’t quite understand why, but playing this game on the Xbox One X seems like a smoother experience for me than the r better than the regular version, I have been playing it on my older console.

Is it because it has less animations than the new gen console making it at the moment more responsive?

FUT is solely the mode that I play on, grinding games through division rivals and squad battles in general, much tougher to score where patience this season is key in building your scoring chances instead of pure pace.

Passing can be tricky and here’s hoping they can fix the super-goalies on their next patch.

[10spro]

Much needed first title update for this game that will hit PC gamers first and usually 3-5 days later for console players.

My main beef which are superhuman goalies and finesse shots outside the penalty box will be toned down, once inside the box your players will have better chances at scoring and another one I recall is the zebras conceding less PK’s for non existing fouls.

Couple of other ones regarding corner kicks, good start EA.

[sportdan30]

Enjoying the heck out of this title for the first time in many years. I'm purposely staying away from OS and the slideritis threads.

[10spro]

Enjoying the heck out of this title for the first time in many years. I'm purposely staying away from OS and the slideritis threads.

Rumors are that EA will rename this incredible $$$ maker for this outstanding license brand next year. EA controls over 17.000 names, 300 teams, over 30 leagues and numerous stadium names. And apparently not so the governing body of FIFA.

So why keep feeding the hand that doesn’t quite give you all the best?

EA made about 5.6 billions last year in revenues despite the pandemic and FIFA alone made 2.2 billions largely with the success of Ultimate team over the years.

I agree this years game is more suitable to the more casual audience, buying the best players will not necessarily guarantee a win, and while the first patch is on the way to fix a few much needed issues, the game is much harder this season to control in UT mode.

[10spro]

As mentioned above, football games will have an interesting look next year. FIFA will no longer coexist with EA as they’ll release the game under a new name. And while Konami hopes to clean up their own mess there’s this new UFL game that’ a supposed to test the water as well.

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/fifa-says-it ... shers-now/