EA Sports’ FIFA series has evolved rapidly over the last decade. Next-generation consoles have seen games become so realistic that you’d mistake them for a live game on television at first glance.
Ultimate Team has also developed into the biggest cash cow in the series’ history, leading to drastic changes about how each game is delivered to consumers. And the increasing number of esports professionals have really taken a steep rise! So let’s peep into the last decade of Fifa series and try to pick our favourite👍🎮
Fifa 20
With slow, laggy gameplay leading to dull matches and no real sense of enjoyment. Career Mode has been a disaster, Pro Clubs has not been redecorated and the introduction of VOLTA has done little to galvanise the series. And the server issues reached its peak without any hint of doubt!
Fifa 19
The Fifa lovers all over the world considered it a truly horrifying experience! While the shiny graphics were aesthetically-pleasing, the gameplay was simply woeful and the amount of glitches were simply laughable.
The introduction of goalkeeper movement sent frustration levels through the roof across the globe, while the La Croqueta skill move was essentially a cheat code.
FIFA 18
It had the balance between realism and entertainment, as well as not having glitches and gameplay bugs that pop up seemingly on a weekly basis. It was also the first game to have ‘Squad Building Challenges’, probably the funniest part of Ultimate Team right now after the sharp decline in gameplay enjoyment in the recent years.
Till now we have been trying to rate these editions from the worst to better, now let’s have a look into the top 5 editions from our point of view:
Fifa 17
The game which saw the introduction of ‘The Journey’ featuring Alex Hunter, but one which failed to deliver in so many departments. Gameplay often felt scripted (as it does to this day on FIFA 20) and AI defending was once again a major issue. Giant centre-backs keeping pace with lightning-quick wingers? That was reality. A slight improvement on FIFA 16, but not by much.
Fifa 16
Glitches were commonplace and trying to score goals felt an almost impossible task at times due to the overpowered AI defending. The graphics were stunning and there were a few new features, but all in all, it was just an annoying game to play.
Fifa 15
The game that will be remembered for one thing: Roma’s sweaty front three!
Seydou Doumbia, Victor Ibarbo and Gervinho tortured the defences on Ultimate Team, but the game as a whole was pretty decent. It was far from perfect and many controllers were hurled at walls due to strikers regularly turning into Usain Bolt, but there was definitely a considerable amount of enjoyment to be had.
Fifa 14
The first edition of the game on the latest generation of consoles was an absolute hit, with new graphics and animations combining perfectly with the slightly tweaked gameplay from FIFA 13. The Ultimate Team was still fun and the World Cup DLC that arrived in the summer was a lovely way to round off a great game. The headers and crossing were a tad overpowered, but it didn’t induce the controller-smashing rage that has sadly become routine these days.
As we are almost through the last decade of Fifa, readers must have started to reposition the list but such is the impact and physics of this game! A pro in one version seemed a damn noob on the other. So without wasting any more time lets conclude the list.
Fifa 13
The gameplay was sleek and the Ultimate Team received some truly groundbreaking innovations, most notably the introduction of Seasons, which allowed to actually build a rank within the game mode.
It was the year the game – and the Ultimate Team in particular – became the global phenomenon! Far from perfect, but streets ahead of the latest editions of the game in terms of enjoyment.
Fifa 12
An absolute beauty of a game! EA Sports introduced ‘tactical defending’ and ‘precision dribbling’ for the first time and it added the perfect sense of realism, without striving too far to achieve it. It still felt like a game and the likes of Career Mode and Pro Clubs were absolutely popping – as was the Ultimate Team. The only minor downside was the devastating effects of finesse shots, but given the game was so great, we can let that slide!
Fifa 11
Back when FIFA was fun and not the lethargic, micro-transaction based entity that it has sadly become. It was the second edition to have the Ultimate Team, but back then the game mode was an absolute hoot. The gameplay was actually quick and fun, the soundtrack was banging, it was the first game to utilise unique celebrations and it was just a great time to be a FIFA player. PlayStation magazine even gave the game a 10/10 rating, which is pretty much unheard nowadays.
It is very difficult to set a chronological order on this title, as it has changed upside down over the years but EA should definitely look into the fact of fostering a game with fewer glitches, bugs and scripting! The game unites billions from different regions in the world and it can’t be a piece of scrap really!
