In the Age of the Internet, where we request everything faster and our awareness spans shrink to that of a goldfish, it'spleasant that both PES and FIFA are slowing down. It's a orientation aimed at making soccer games more realistic, but upto and including FIFA 17, it had caused EA's series to suffer, with every title since FIFA 15 feeling less reacting than its predecessor. Finally, with FIFA 18, the franchise has managed to arrest its decline, and while the series' latest entry still feels slow, it at least feels a little more responsive, and less frustrating as a result. Combined with outstanding presentation and more ways to play than ever, FIFA 18's on-pitch improvements represent the beginnings of a recovery for the series.
FIFA
17's problem, I realized after far too many sleepless nights, was that
it slowed players' turning speeds to Titanic levels but left much of the
rest of the game at a higher velocity. That meant you could sprint
pretty quickly, but would take an age to accelerate or change direction.
This is still a problem in FIFA 18, where players' continued slow
turning circles and lengthy animations can feel like there's a
split-second of input lag--but their slower sprinting does mean the
game's speed as a whole feels more consistent.
Receive the latest guide for FIFA 18 with secret tips and tricks 
This results in a more thoughtful game that's less
concerned with beating defenders using trickery or pace and more
about--as your youth coach probably told you every week--letting the
ball do the work. AI teammates now make more frequent and intelligent
runs to give you greater options when you're on the ball, and players'
first touches keep the ball closer to their body, finally making driven
passes a viable option in the attacking third. Unfortunately, however,
non-driven passes remain as limp as before: long passes and chipped
through balls still slowly float towards their target before inevitably
getting cut out, and ground passes are similarly weak, rarely possessing
enough zip to carve a defense open.
Receive the latest guide for FIFA 18 with secret tips and tricks
Many attacks end in
your wingers or full backs crossing the ball into the area or an
attacking midfielder having a pop from the edge of the box. It's a good
job, then, that these are the areas that have seen most improvement.
Shots carry a little more weight than before and are responsible for the
game's most satisfying moments--seeing a volley fly into the top corner
is a great feeling, and it happens far more frequently in FIFA 18 than
last year. Crosses, meanwhile, have been reworked, dropping the old low
cross in favor of a new three height system: holding R1 / RB while
crossing produces a driven, ground cross; L1 / LB creates a floaty ball
similar to FIFA 17's efforts; and just the standard X / Square input
whips the ball behind the defenders with pace. Crucially, unlike last
year, it is now actually possible to score by crossing it into a target
man or poacher, and doing so feels better than it has in any FIFA to
date.
Receive the latest guide for FIFA 18 with secret tips and tricks
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