Player3Podcast

This Tuesday, September 23rd sees the release of this years installment of EA Sport's FIFA 15. I have gotten a chance to play the EA Early Access for the game and have several different aspects to pull out. Remember, this is Incredibly Quick so these impressions don't jump deep into any of the various game modes offered by FIFA 15, but rather looks quickly at various aspects of gameplay. Remember to follow us on Twitter @Player3Podcast for up to the minute news, podcasts, streams, and articles.

1. Visuals/Sound
Fifa 15 shows how a thousand tiny changes add up to a large improvement. While Fifa 14 was passable in terms of graphics, Fifa 15 feels like EA's first real run at next-gen soccer.

Player models have improved. With EA's new head-scanning technology, the player models (especially those in the EPL) have been brought to life with photo-realistic faces.
 

Alongside better player models, in general, the action on the pitch is much more detailed. When Fifa announced subtle things like shoulder barging and jersey grabbing, I didn't think that those things would play that big a factor in terms of visuals. However, after just a couple games, I could tell that if one of the countless new animations was triggered, you could see them. If somebody went up to win a header, you could see them win it. If a player grabbed another's jersey, you could see the fabric stretch. All of these tiny features add up to an incredibly immersive experience.The goalie have been overhauled with new logic and over 50 new save animations, and the enhancement shine even against the CPU. Saves using legs, amazing stretches, down to just straight flailing for the ball and hoping for the best have all found there way into the game. Positioning has also been enhanced, and I noticed that it was very hard to score on computer controlled goalies.The stadium is where I saw the biggest improvement. The crowds add a presence to the stadiums, with team specific chants and appropriate emotional reactions based on the events on the pitch. If you are controlling the away team, there is something extremely gratifying about a game silencing goal. And the inverse, if you score a go ahead goal for the home team the crowd goes wild.The most impressive small touch, in my opinion, is the real time field degradation. In the 6', I performed a slide tackle that left quite the nasty mark on the pitch. At the end of the game, that nasty mark was still there. Players leave footprints as they run, and if you accelerate, they pull the pitch up even more. All of these small marks remain on the field for the duration of the game and add up to a wrecked playing surface by the end of it.Visually, FIFA 15 sets the bar extremely high for soccer titles. It is the most realistic looking game to date, as all yearly iterations of a game should be.

2. Controls
Fifa has always been a title dictated by how good the player can be with the skill stick. Fifa 15 takes some of the skill play off of the right stick and puts it into simply knowing how to utilize turbo and the left stick. While the right stick plus modifiers still give you the ability to do step overs, flicks, and rabonas, but you can now beat your man off the dribble with just the left stick.

The speed of the Fifa series has been another point of contention in the series with many people claiming that the quick pace gives it an arcade-style. Others claim the speed makes the game play more open with the opportunity to create in open spaces. Fifa 15 does nothing to alleviate the argument as it maintains the quick pace of play. However, the physics take away some of the quick changes of momentum. Players will lose their balance if they try to change direction too quickly. Movement must be intentional in order to avoid this, and that alone does wonders for counteracting the speed the game plays with.

3. Gameplay
The gameplay itself is very challenging, even against the CPU. Computer controlled goalies make much better decisions, and defenders to a better job adjusting to whatever strategy you may be playing (dump and chase, feed the box, widen the pitch, etc.).

Online play was sketchy at best. Out of multiple attempts to connect to an opponent in online seasons, I got an error about "NAT type" probably 80% of the time, despite having an open NAT. These were also issues that plagued Fifa 14.

Overall, FIFA 15 is a great improvement over an already well-polished over last years title. It is a must buy if you are a soccer fan.