This past week has seen a number of new games announced. One of those has come from the behemoth known as EA, for one of those yearly big releases in gaming, FIFA 14. Whilst still only announced for the current-generation of consoles, FIFA 14 still looks to add features to the yearly title. Many are probably hoping that FIFA 14 will also make it out for the next generation of consoles, but regardless of that fact, we’ve combed through some of the initial updates provided by EA for the new game and have come up with the top 3 features to be excited about in FIFA 14.
3) 2nd Chance Tackles
Let’s face it, as good as FIFA is as a football simulator, the tackling aspect of the games aren’t that good. Players sometime find the most inappropriate angles to tackle from when you want them too, giving away cheap fouls. In FIFA 14, EA are looking to improve the tackling mechanic by introducing what is known as ‘2nd chance tackles’. What this means is that players will be able to pull out of a tackle (if they react quickly enough) and make a second attempt at it. EA have indicated that this will allow players to combine different tackle types and that they can recover quicker too. This is a very interesting mechanic and hopefully it will go someway to improving the tackling aspect in the game.
2) Improved Finishing
Another touted improvement in FIFA 14 is an improved finishing mechanic. To make better shots, players can now stutter their footsteps as they are about to shoot. Supposedly, this will increase the accuracy of your shots. Not only that, this will also improve the animation within the game when a player shoots, making it look more realistic. Players will also adjust their positioning in order to create the best shooting angle from wherever they are in the field. This sounds great in theory, but one wonders if this may make things a bit too easy. Undoubtedly, only the top ranked players will be able to pull off all these moves and execute them well, but most top players were already really good to begin with. Hopefully EA can achieve a nice balance with this setup.
1) Protect The Ball
An additional feature being introduced in FIFA 14 is what is being called the ‘protect the ball’ mechanic. This mechanic is actually a major change, as no longer will there be a button to press to perform skill moves. Skill moves will now be setup to work straight from the right analog stick without additional button inputs. This has been adjusted so that a new button could be created that allows the player to keep much better possession of the ball. With this new arsenal at your disposal, EA believe you will be able to build up attacks from midfield in a proper fashion much like in real football matches, rather than rely on counter-attacking football that seems to be the norm in FIFA games. While I am all for more midfield play though, hopefully this doesn’t stifle out our defensive options. Perhaps this is why EA have adjusted that tackling mechanic I mentioned earlier.
What about you guys? Have there been other mechanics that peak your interest? Or do you feel that this is just another carbon copy of old FIFA games? We are still at an early stage for announcements of new improvements to FIFA 14, hopefully EA will have more to offer us in the coming months.
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