It’s that time of year again as EA puts out the latest instalment of their annual Football/ soccer sim, except this year, after the end of a long-time deal with FIFA, EA Sports FC 24 has emerged from the Ashes of where the FIFA series once stood.

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However, despite a new name and a complete rebrand of menus and UI EA Sports FC 24, still has the same clubs, kits and players that have been present in previous years. While it’s wrapped up in a shiny new graphics system and updated gameplay the question remains; is it any good?

Tika Taka- How Has EA Sports FC 24 Updated its Gameplay For this New Game?

While the title may not be the huge revolutionary change some fans had hoped for, the updated gameplay features such as the “Play Style” system as well as new AI and defending features show that EA have come to win over fans.

The PlayStyle system is by far the biggest and best addition to the game. Each Playstyle gives players in your team special stat buffs and technical abilities that bring a new level of immersion.

PlayStyles give each player in the game a unique flavour that mirrors their real-life counterpart and makes players look beyond the base card stats when building their teams.

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In Ultimate Team, cards that are marked with the PlayStyle + ability have special skills and traits that are distinctive to them and only given to the very best players in the game.

For example, the Dead Ball specialist style makes players lethal at set pieces such as corners and free kicks giving them a better chance to provide a perfect delivery or score a wonder goal.

This year EA have also leaned into giving players as many iconic players and special cards to play with right from the get-go. In Ultimate Team players have access to a brand-new feature unique to this year called Evolutions.

The handy upgrade system lets you level up players by completing gameplay challenges and objectives, boosting their stats permanently and unlocking a new differently designed version of their player card.

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It’s weird to see an almost RPG-like element in a sports game, (outside of Blood Bowl of course), but it really does work to provide players who want to play to win rather than pay to win, more options to strengthen their teams.

EA has done its best to give off the feel of a classic Panini sticker book year with the huge number of players available to obtain from launch. With classic players appearing as icon and hero cards the nostalgia is at an all-time high in EA FC 24.

Although the gameplay is still a virtual sim of the “Worlds Game”, this year’s gameplay does feel more natural and fluid, unlike recent entries. With each tackle, shot and save, EA FC 24 gives players the most enjoyable football experience all from the view of their couches.

With fantastic-looking player models and the use of the Hypermotion animation system, which uses real-life motion data from professional players and AI learning to create ultra-responsive player movements, make every wonder goal and pinpoint pass feel rewarding.

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This year’s gameplay is the best it has been in years, the only issue to flag is that it feels more punishing than previous years.

While there are options to adjust how AI-assisted your match experience will be, in comparison to previous EA football titles EA FC 24 has a steep learning curve.

The title does give players an in-depth, (and at sometimes condescendingly easy), tutorial I would still warn those fans of previous FIFA games to be ready to drill this year’s new gameplay changes into your fingers.

Golden Goal- Does EA Sports FC 24 live up to the Hype?

EA Sports FC 24 exceeds in what it planned to give players; A Brilliant football sim. However, it is not without its faults. Although game modes such as Pro Clubs and Career Mode have seen massive improvements over previous versions, uber focus on Ultimate Team still leaves much to be desired.

This year Pro Clubs has made the leap to cross-play, however, a consistent number of glitches, server issues and random disconnections really put a hamper on this iconic 11-man co-op experience. While both the player and manager career mode have seen some sizable upgrades they still fall flat.

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The atmosphere surrounding the gameplay in Manager Career Mode is awful giving more the Etihad on a Tuesday night, rather than a World Cup Final. Although there are ‘Dynamic Match Intros’ in play that mimics the package you would see with TV football coverage, the lacklustre “Tactical Visions” tweaks lead to a frustrating game mode overall.

On top of these mode-specific issues commentary also feels stilted this year. With the new additions of Guy Mowbray and Sue Smith bringing a new commentary style to the game, lines still feel cobbled together and unnatural despite the pair’s solid line delivery.

Overall, if you are looking for a brand-new Ultimate Team experience with some fantastic new features and some tough but rewarding gameplay EA Sports FC 24 is worth checking out.

7/10

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