Developer: EA Canada
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platform: PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Tested on: PS4
FIFA 19 – Review
Only a few things seem to remain constant in our everyday lives; the days of the week, the paycheck at the end of the month (for some), smelly breath when waking up, and a yearly iteration of FIFA and PES. This time we’re taking a look at FIFA 19, which promises us an elaborate story mode, women’s football and a hefty amount of teams to choose from, with improved mechanics and a whole lot of online content. We were quite eager to put our football gear on, sit on the edge of our seats and try to make a few hat-tricks in the process.
Story
In FIFA 19, we pick up the story from where it left off in FIFA 18’s story mode: The Journey. This mode returns for the third time in a row and lets you make your name and fame as a pro soccer player under the name of Alex Hunter.
This time the story starts off with you playing a match for Arsenal as nobody less than Jim Hunter in his glory days. You only need to make a goal with Jim Hunter because it will be his 100th career goal.
When you progress further in the Journey you can make decisions based on which answers you select to give. You’ll be able to play as Alex Hunter, Kim Hunter and Danny Williams. Each part is focused on certain objectives each of them needs to reach. So your part as a gamer is pretty important, because of the fact that you’ll decide their fate.
The flow of the story is pretty straightforward. You get cutscenes in-between matches and certain events which will let you progress in the storyline. Sometimes a semi-long time passes before you get the next piece of the story, because of the number of matches and training exercises you need to complete.
Graphics
The graphical prowess of FIFA 19 is very impressive as the player models all look extremely detailed and realistic. EA has come a long way from the blocky figures that used to run after a pixilated ball, into something that looks quite realistic, especially when zoomed out. The fields used in the game all feel like proper representations of their real-life counterparts, and there’s more than enough to behold. The fans in the stands look properly animated and aren’t flat 2D models like in many sports games to this day. The only negative remark goes to the forced cheers after every goal, which does get a bit repetitive after doing this for the hundredth time.
The UI is quite simple for the most part, but when playing on easier levels, it can become a bit bothersome as all commands are often displayed over the character you’re controlling. While this serves as a proper reminder, it can also become a bit annoying when playing on a smaller TV, as things do get cluttered from time to time.
Sound
As commentators are a big part of the match in a football game, it’s only natural that the developers spend some time adding more and more voiced commentary to the game. This time we are treated to around 20 to 30 standard voiced lines, where of course they are adapted depending on the player’s name who is in possession of the ball, who was responsible for a goal, or a foul and so on. Sadly, when hearing some lines for the umpteenth time, they do get tedious and annoying.
The music in FIFA 19 is by no means bad, but it’s not a stellar soundtrack either, it’s just present and it does help make the time go faster when browsing through the many menus the game has to offer. Overall the music feels a bit on the safe side, but it’s still decent music as it is fairly recent pop music.
Gameplay
FIFA 19 is a sports simulation game that revolves around soccer. Each year the mechanics, story mode and graphics get a little rework. There are a lot of different ‘modes’ in this game to make it fun and exciting even after playing it for the millionth time.
In this game, they make use of some different modes like The Journey, Career Mode, Ultimate team and some others which will let you compete with your favorite team against the computer, friends or online players.
The Journey we practically explained in the story, because of the fact that the Journey is the closest to a story FIFA 19 gets and it is pretty tedious. Some parts can feel really long because of the number of matches and training exercises you have to complete.
In the career mode, you can choose a team to coach or just be a player. Your decision will let you start off and get some feedback in the form of tweets and earned or failed objectives. The goal is to become the best as a player or become the best coach with your team.
Ultimate team is the online mode where you can create your dream team by opening packages which can be bought with in-game currency or with real money. This process takes a bit of time, how long will depend on what a team you want to own. The team you make needs to have a certain synergy or team spirit, otherwise, passes can fail horribly. This can be achieved by having players from the same league or the same country.
When we look at how it feels to play on the field, we can assure you that it feels very realistic. The only thing what seems to stand out is the fact that defending is much harder than attacking, which can sometimes cause a bit of trouble. You can also do tricks according to how good the player you use is. So all by all, they get scary good at imitating real-life soccer.
Conclusion
FIFA 19 does offer a lot of options for those looking for a great simulation title. While defending seems to be painstakingly harder than attacking, the game does has a great story mode for a simulation game. The graphical prowess of the title is most impressive but the commentary can get tedious after a while. Most of all we found ourselves in the Ultimate Team mode, which is a fun and expansive mode. Those who loved the previous iteration, will surely be able to play this one to their heart’s content.
FIFA 19 - Review,
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