1st game in a month - reaction, it’s bad
May 13, 2020 4:52PM
edited May 2020
In the midst of quarantining, i just played my first Fifa game in a month.
My only conclusion is that this is in fact the worst sports game ever made. I’ve been playing sports video games since Sega genesis. Fifa was my favorite over the years, no longer. Seeking a new brain drain to take up the time.
I just played for the first time in a month and I’m embarrassed for myself and for the developers and everyone who is still addicted to this travesty.
There is not a single aspect of the gameplay that i enjoy. Scoring feels tedious.
None of the goals are creative or fun, they’re just redundant manipulation of the same old gameplay mechanics over and over again. Every goal feels the same.
Like going through the motions to achieve an objective, being careful to stay within the lines of what the game deems acceptable / appropriate moves and countermoves, so that players don’t do something stupid or random pass or shot error is incurred.
Worse, the game is out of touch with the movement and physics of the real game. So what they’ve done is created a game that moves at a slow or “realistic” pace, but with none of the technical beauty or creativity. Like a hybrid of realism and arcade, lacking the design quality and skill to achieve the goal. It is a massive fail and shocking direction on behalf of the designers.
1. How we have put up with headed balls being the way they are for so long i have no idea - i decided to count, Vigil Van Dijk - 9 headers in the game, 7 went to defenders. 87 heading accuracy and 90 jumping. What on earth is Fifa doing? Over the course of this year i think i scored 3 headed goals off of corners (until i moved to short corners). To put in perspective, Liverpool scored 13% of their EPL goals in ‘17-18 from set pieces. This game has set piece goals around in the .001% of goals category.
3. Reactions / pace - players are in quicksand and react to the balls like grandparents trying to chase a problem child. Mane is losing a run at open balls to Tiago Silva?
3. Ball mechanics / game physics - almost entirely broken. Does fifa actually think professional players take 3-4 seconds to settle a lofted pass? Does every player really stop running when the ball is passed to them? Does every player take 2 seconds to react to every pass? Are balls really bouncin uncontrollably all over the pitch? Is every goal some sort of exaggerated and identical build up with no creativity or movement in tight spaces?
Fifas before ‘19 weren’t perfect, but i remember them being fun (while also being occasionally frustrating). But the common denominator was FUN. We scored way too many goals from way too many absurd angles, but it was FUN! Now the game has locked us into playing 1 style, 1 way, and it’s boring all day long. There’s no balance.
I started laughing at the end of my match, annoyed with myself for playing so long this year but happy that I’m finally over it. Although i will miss being able to play a football game. I don’t like PES much either. Suppose I’m retiring.
If folks are still investing in Fifa that’s their problem. I truly believe that this disaster is the tipping point for the franchise that gets the community to start pulling back from the game.
Unfortunately even if I’m right, that means it’s a few years before the company recognizes it, addresses it, and starts taking real action.
It also likely requires a lot of strategic change across the corporate structure, development teams, and product teams.
If $ are good, they may deem it too risky to rock the boat until things go really far south. Doesn’t paint a picture for improvement in the near term.
Sad.
My only conclusion is that this is in fact the worst sports game ever made. I’ve been playing sports video games since Sega genesis. Fifa was my favorite over the years, no longer. Seeking a new brain drain to take up the time.
I just played for the first time in a month and I’m embarrassed for myself and for the developers and everyone who is still addicted to this travesty.
There is not a single aspect of the gameplay that i enjoy. Scoring feels tedious.
None of the goals are creative or fun, they’re just redundant manipulation of the same old gameplay mechanics over and over again. Every goal feels the same.
Like going through the motions to achieve an objective, being careful to stay within the lines of what the game deems acceptable / appropriate moves and countermoves, so that players don’t do something stupid or random pass or shot error is incurred.
Worse, the game is out of touch with the movement and physics of the real game. So what they’ve done is created a game that moves at a slow or “realistic” pace, but with none of the technical beauty or creativity. Like a hybrid of realism and arcade, lacking the design quality and skill to achieve the goal. It is a massive fail and shocking direction on behalf of the designers.
1. How we have put up with headed balls being the way they are for so long i have no idea - i decided to count, Vigil Van Dijk - 9 headers in the game, 7 went to defenders. 87 heading accuracy and 90 jumping. What on earth is Fifa doing? Over the course of this year i think i scored 3 headed goals off of corners (until i moved to short corners). To put in perspective, Liverpool scored 13% of their EPL goals in ‘17-18 from set pieces. This game has set piece goals around in the .001% of goals category.
3. Reactions / pace - players are in quicksand and react to the balls like grandparents trying to chase a problem child. Mane is losing a run at open balls to Tiago Silva?
3. Ball mechanics / game physics - almost entirely broken. Does fifa actually think professional players take 3-4 seconds to settle a lofted pass? Does every player really stop running when the ball is passed to them? Does every player take 2 seconds to react to every pass? Are balls really bouncin uncontrollably all over the pitch? Is every goal some sort of exaggerated and identical build up with no creativity or movement in tight spaces?
Fifas before ‘19 weren’t perfect, but i remember them being fun (while also being occasionally frustrating). But the common denominator was FUN. We scored way too many goals from way too many absurd angles, but it was FUN! Now the game has locked us into playing 1 style, 1 way, and it’s boring all day long. There’s no balance.
I started laughing at the end of my match, annoyed with myself for playing so long this year but happy that I’m finally over it. Although i will miss being able to play a football game. I don’t like PES much either. Suppose I’m retiring.
If folks are still investing in Fifa that’s their problem. I truly believe that this disaster is the tipping point for the franchise that gets the community to start pulling back from the game.
Unfortunately even if I’m right, that means it’s a few years before the company recognizes it, addresses it, and starts taking real action.
It also likely requires a lot of strategic change across the corporate structure, development teams, and product teams.
If $ are good, they may deem it too risky to rock the boat until things go really far south. Doesn’t paint a picture for improvement in the near term.
Sad.
Post edited by Ballsantini on
4
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Comments
I agree with a lot of what youre saying. My issue is none of this stuff is new. The first fifa came out in like 1992. This company is well capitalized and could devote the time and resources to creating a quality game if felt compelled.
The issues have compounded themselves year over year. And the alterations continue going radically one way or another.
But something simple in the takeaway is the game shouldnt be boring or “unfun”. None of my friends play anymore because theyre like this sucks im bored out of my mind.
To your point, The bifurcation of arcade and simulation is a reasonable one that should alleviate the balance issues the game faces.
A group of us played pro clubs every year and loved it. In FIFA 20, EA ruined clubs because of a new skill point system they introduced.
Skills that give +5 finishing but -3 dribbling or some other ridiculous rubbish similar to that.
Tall pro's are now useless because well tall players are unable to play football, according to EA.
Once you've earned all skill points, which is a total of 127 I think, you then have to grind your way from a player rating of 85 all the way up to 90/91/92 or whatever the highest rating is.
Considering I played near on 300 games and only got to 87 rating and every one of those games was mind numbingly boring I honestly can't understand how people have played enough to get the highest rated pro. They must be easily pleased.
EA clearly do not give a toss about other game modes, why would they? They don't generate millions of pounds like Ultimate Team.
The company are charging people full price year on year for the new game, £50 yet very minor minor things are changed. It's basically a copy and paste job, change the colour of the menus and update the players. Change the game speed a bit and introduce it as a 'new feature ball control version 3' or some crap they try and sell.
It is daylight robbery yet people purchase it year after year because they have no competition. It's a disgrace really and I see no end to EA's dominance.
We should all follow the example that Belgium have set with them not allowed to spend money on the game. I honestly think EA would produce a decent game with effort put into it if that were to happen, and God I hope it happens.
Because clubs is now awful, I play ultimate team...
Funny that.
So why do you keep giving this ❤️❤️❤️❤️ company money by spending money on FUT??
The only money I spent is 25 quid when me and my mate when halves on the game and shared it on ps4
How can you virtually remove heading from the game of football? Same down the middle tactics for most now.
Fastest strikers still caught when through on goal?
Ping pong tackling.
AI gets worse with every update. A rebounded shot yesterday came back to my Midfielder edge of box. He was running the other way back into position till I took control. AI?!?!
This game has been frustrating for the past 5 years. You'd lose games before that of course but you'd never feel you were being cheated by the game itself to contribute to your defeat..
The answer is not to buy but I've said that for a few years now..
Football and video games are so exciting that EA will have to cater to more types of players, especially with the existing discontent. EA has so many resources and licenses, EA has to find a better and better compromise and no longer focus on its own blinders. There are also customers who pay and participate in the survival of EA.
A player with more patience will prefer a more constructive simulation style, a player with less patience will prefer stronger and faster gameplay. Inconsistencies ... it's another subject but one that contributes to the overall quality of the game.
This type of procedure will be much better for helping developers. Again, there are different types of players, they can achieve perfect development, some players will not like the gameplay because they do not adhere to it, this creates divergences.
Personally, without counting the anomalies, I am for a game with more power, simplicity and reactivity, Fifa 20 is far from being in this case.