As a seasoned football enthusiast and avid gamer, I must say that EA FC 25 has left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, I appreciate the overhauled tactics and the chaotic addition of Rush, which certainly adds an extra layer of excitement to the game. The long-overdue inclusion of several major women’s leagues is another welcome addition that broadens the game’s appeal.
When you fire up EA Sports FC 25 for the first time, you’re welcomed by football legend Zinedine Zidane himself. This ex-French international and multiple Champions League winner is eager to emphasize the importance of strategy in a video that resembles the beginning of a Football Manager game instead of EA’s usual football simulation. The introduction of FC IQ is responsible for this shift, as it highlights Player Roles prominently in a complete revamp of the series’ tactics. This major change, coupled with the new Rush mode, are the two standout new features EA Sports FC 25 can boast about. However, enhancements to the gameplay on the field and variety of game modes either show minor progress or none at all, giving the impression that the long-standing series has taken a small step forward.
In simpler terms, FC IQ powers most of EA Football Club 25’s advancement. The old system of strategies has been swapped out for a flexible set of new Player Roles that give your team more versatility in how it operates compared to before. This change has made it easier to manage the team-wide aspects of each tactic, allowing you to adjust only the depth of your defensive line and select a build-up style based on short passes, counterattacks, or a blend of both. After choosing a strategy and formation you like, you can then assign specific roles to each player to truly shape your team’s identity, striking a balance between risk and reward for each role and its effect on the overall performance.
Every playing position comes with distinct Player Roles that dictate a player’s movements and placement on the field, whether your team is in control of the ball or not. For example, a central midfielder can fit into one of five roles, ranging from a playmaker to a half winger. The latter role allows the center midfielder to move out wide, similar to how Kevin De Bruyne often plays for Manchester City. This movement creates opportunities for overloading one side of the pitch or delivering accurate crosses into the box, which might be more effective than the efforts of your winger or fullback. This added versatility provides new ways to create scoring chances and adds an extra layer of strategy to your tactical planning, making the whole process more intriguing.
As a football enthusiast, I often find myself tweaking the Focus of different roles on the field to suit my strategy. For instance, I might opt for a balanced approach with a half winger, encouraging them to switch between offensive and defensive play equally, or I could let them go all-out attacking, asking them to disregard their defensive duties momentarily and focus solely on pushing forward.
To occupy the empty area in the park’s center, consider using one of your defenders in a new position called a falseback. This role involves them moving centrally as an additional midfielder when you have possession. However, not all defenders can excel at this specialized task effectively. Each player is unique and may not fit perfectly into every role, even if it’s their preferred position. Role Familiarity helps determine the best setup for your team. For instance, Vinícius Júnior can play as a winger without any issues, but if he switches to a role he’s mastered at the highest level, like an inside forward, he’ll show greater tactical and positional awareness, leading to smarter runs and quicker transitions from defense to offense.
Building a team in Career mode or Ultimate Team is now more engaging than ever before. You can either devise a strategy and search for players who suit it, or focus on placing each player in their preferred position, which may alter the overall structure of your team. These decisions add an extra layer to team construction that surpasses simple numerical attributes like speed and accuracy.
The structure you choose, such as 3-5-2, 4-3-3, or anything in between, influences the configuration of your team during defense. The roles of the players within this setup may stay consistent when shifting to attack or could transform into something completely different. Luckily, there’s a useful setting that displays how your players will arrange themselves with and without the ball, adding diversity to the teams you encounter in gameplay. In practice, this means you might encounter two teams with identical formations, but due to how each individual player role has been customized, their playing styles can vary noticeably.
Enhancing the diversity in player movements and positions is terrific, yet it lacks a significant difference in the feel of EA FC 25 compared to the previous game. Although the overall speed of play has slowed, as usual at the start of each new cycle, the abundance of fresh animations, particularly during shooting, create some exhilarating moments and goals. However, these additions don’t set it apart as a significant advancement. There’s still an enjoyable football game to be played, but the improvements are minor, and it continues to grapple with persistent issues. Issues such as unreliable tackling and player switching, unpredictable goalkeeper performance–making spectacular saves only to allow easy shots on target–and it remains more effective to repeatedly use skill moves rather than strategically pass to break down defenses. It’s disappointing that these problems persist.
The current input delay in online matches creates a slow and annoying gaming experience when competing against others, interestingly enough, this problem doesn’t surface in the new Rush mode. However, attempting to play Rivals matches within Ultimate Team can feel like a laborious task. To add to the frustration, even the game menus seem to lag behind user inputs, making navigation in modes like Career and Ultimate Team tedious. I’ve also encountered frequent crashes on PS5, particularly when accessing the store or at the end of games.
In a similar vein to FC IQ, Rush brings an exciting new element to the game, swapping Volta with fast-paced 5v5 (one AI goalkeeper and four outfield players) matches that deliver nonstop action and numerous goals. These short, five-minute games take place on a smaller field and follow unique rules. For example, kick-offs mimic those in Rocket League, where both teams line up in their own halves before the ball is dropped into the center circle, leading to a frenzied rush towards the middle as each team vies for possession initially. In addition, offsides are only called when in the final third, and red cards have been substituted with blue ones that punish the culprit with a one-minute penalty in the sin bin. Overall, it’s a chaotic yet entertaining twist on regular games, offering a refreshing change of pace.
In the game, Rush is accessible across Kick Off, Career, Ultimate Team, and Clubs, offering multiple modes for play. The Career mode features youth tournaments, where you can manage your promising prodigies, enhancing their skills before they’re ready to join the senior team. On the other hand, Ultimate Team lets you engage in quick matches with random players or friends, selecting a player from your club to command. However, there might be limitations on the selection of players, and you’ll earn extra points for choosing players from certain leagues and countries to boost your XP for the season pass. Quick matches can sometimes be unpredictable when it comes to finding reliable teammates. Some players may neglect defending or passing, while others may not seem to understand the offside rule. Therefore, playing with friends is a better option if possible, as it’s easier to maintain a balanced game with only four players on each team.
In addition to youth tournaments, Career mode has been enhanced in several aspects. You now have greater control over customizing your experience, such as adjusting the strictness of your board’s demands and controlling the pace of player development. If you opt for simulation gameplay, you’ll also encounter unpredictable weather conditions, like wind influencing ball trajectory and rain making ground passes more powerful while causing occasional slips. Regrettably, these weather effects don’t apply to online games, but it maintains balance in the overall experience.
The latest update to Career mode now includes several prominent women’s leagues, which is fantastic news. Plus, you have the chance to embark on a Player Career as one of the game’s Icons, although it feels restrictive that you can only choose from four options when there are many more available in Ultimate Team. Nevertheless, who wouldn’t be excited to kick off a Career with Thierry Henry as the striker for Stevenage? These changes may seem minor, but every bit of improvement counts.
Regarding EA’s Ultimate Team, the primary source of income, there haven’t been many updates, and the ones that have come in aren’t particularly beneficial. For instance, even though you now need to win 15 matches in a week instead of seven for Rivals rewards, these rewards themselves have been reduced. This can be quite demanding when you consider other tasks you might want to accomplish in Rush, Squad Battles, and Friendlies. Furthermore, access to Champions, where the best rewards are found, has become more exclusive, with players now needing to win three out of five matches instead of four out of ten to qualify. This change seems influenced by the mode’s pay-to-win microtransactions, as those who spend more money have a higher chance of accessing top rewards.
There are several appealing aspects to EA FC 25, such as the revamped tactics, the thrilling new feature Rush, and some upgrades in Career mode. However, it’s not an outright success. The gameplay on the field has become a bit static, preserving its quality while also retaining its flaws. Changes to Ultimate Team seem counterproductive in their implementation. In the coming days, hopefully, problems like input lag and crashing will be addressed, but it’s doubtful that longstanding issues will be resolved. To put it simply, using footballer terminology, EA FC 25 offers enjoyable gameplay, particularly if you enjoyed the previous version. But instead of making a major stride forward, it seems content to maintain a mid-table position.
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2024-09-27 23:39