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FIFA 15 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3) review: FIFA 15 is still the best on the pitch

FIFA 15 is easily the most realistic soccer game out there, even if it at times feels a bit over-the-top.

Jeff Bakalar Editor at Large
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Jeff Bakalar
David Carnoy
4 min read

It may come as a shock, but EA Sports' FIFA franchise is the best selling sports game under the EA umbrella. And yes, that includes Madden. Even though most Americans' interest in soccer spikes only once every four years, the rest of the planet is emotionally invested in the game year round.

FIFA 15 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3)

The Good

FIFA 15 is a polished and overall refinement of last year's game. Players feel more natural controlling the ball and the new goalkeeper animations look fantastic.

The Bad

Defense in FIFA 15 has a tendency to feel underpowered and less impactful than we would prefer.

The Bottom Line

FIFA 15 is easily the most realistic soccer game out there, even if it at times feels a bit over-the-top.

Developed by EA Canada, FIFA 15 promises to up the ante yet again, in an attempt to deliver a soccer simulation unlike anything else out there. And for the most part, the franchise has been able to do just that.Where other EA Sports franchises have begun to teeter, FIFA has remained a strong, reliable powerhouse.

So as the never-ending quest to craft the ultimate soccer experience moves forward, is this latest iteration worth its asking price?

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EA Sports

At the launch party for FIFA 15 in New York, we overheard someone asking one of the guys who was running one of demo rigs what was really new about the game.

He kind of rolled his eyes and, apologizing for his lack of enthusiasm, said, "Well, the grass looks more realistic."

Needless to say, he didn't appear to be an employee of EA Sports, but his comment does have a glimmer of truth behind it. Because FIFA 15's improvements feel largely presentation-focused, the game doesn't look starkly different from last year's, which was quite impressive in its own right. Cosmetically, the visual refinements fall into the minority of noticeable differences.

Want more? See GameSpot's coverage of FIFA 15.

That said, there are gameplay improvements, many of them subtle, which makes FIFA 15 a better game than its predecessor. Some of these you'll notice immediately, such as the way the players handle the ball -- it's more natural, with skilled players having better control while making tighter turns (EA says its "Player Control" dynamic heightens the responsiveness of player movement, giving athletes more control and personality on the ball). The players' appearance also is slightly more true-to-life.

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EA Sports

But other enhancements only become noticeable after you play for a while. So-called "emotional intelligence" has been added to the game, so players now recognize situations that trigger reactions you'd expect. It's a fine tuning of sorts, likely only to be recognized by soccer diehards. In other words, a player is going to appear upset when he gets repeatedly fouled (and maybe even confronts an opponent) or shanks an easy goal opportunity. EA says there are over 600 potential reactions that could be triggered within the game. However, the players don't utter profanities in English or any language.

The defense and team tactics have been refined and when playing against the computer artificial intelligence (AI), you'll see more fouls and yellow cards (previously, the computer opposition rarely seemed to get yellow card for a slide tackle, and fouls were few and far between). It certainly makes for a much more realistic match.

Goalkeeper AI has also been completely revamped so they play more like real keepers, complete with new animations. We noticed keepers not handling the ball as well they did in previous games, particularly when encountering hard, low shots. There's now more chances for rebounds here, but there's still plenty of acrobatic saves to gawk over.

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EA Sports

Not surprisingly, this year there is less repetitive game commentary as well more realistic stadium sounds, with crowd-specific chants and crowd reactions to goals and misses now fully integrated into the game (alas, saucier, profanity-laced chants have not yet made it into the game).

And yes, the field does look more realistic, showing wear and tear as the game goes along, with every stadium from the Barclays Premier League rendered beautifully.

There are plenty of other little improvements, including some new features in the highly popular FIFA Ultimate Team mode (in a nutshell, that mode allows you to build your own custom team and play matches to earn coins to upgrade your team), updates to the career mode, online play, and improved set-piece control.

Playing defense in FIFA had always been a sticking point for us in years past, and this season there isn't much we've noticed aimed to improve that experience. It's not that defensive maneuvering isn't there, but that it's not as effective as we wish it were. Too often it feels easier to dribble through a player than it is to challenge one.

While it's still very much a simulation game at its core, we found a few instances where the gameplay began to drift into hyperbole. Perhaps it's an issue of an inappropriate difficulty setting, but we played a number of games that ended with a total of 10 goals scored. 2014 World Cup aside, that's not something you see too often.

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EA Sports

All said, FIFA 15 feels like a much more polished product, from top to bottom. To appreciate all of its upgrades is a slow burn, which continues to surprise us the more we play it. There a smattering of ah-ha moments where you say to yourself, "Oh, that was new" or "That's more realistic." Ultimately, it allows us to confidently declare that FIFA 15 is a better game than 14.

CNET verdict: Still the best around

FIFA is EA Sports' most popular franchise for a reason. While a lot of this year's improvements feel incremental, the majority of them are welcome additions to an already impressive series.

For more, check out GameSpot's coverage of FIFA 15.