EA WTF Have You Done To FIFA 14
This should be my review for FIFA 14 on the PS3 but instead this is an open letter to EA Sports so they can explain WTF is going on with the bug ridden FIFA 14 on the PS3.
I have been a FIFA player for years and always look forward to the latest yearly update. The subtle changes over the years have always been a welcome addition. So with FIFA 14 having a massive overhaul I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a review copy.
Now this is where I ‘m torn. Yes EA sent me a review copy and therefore my head says I should try and do justice to EA Sports and try and stay in their good books but, my heart says stick my head above the parapet and do what I always try and do; tell the truth to our readers.
So what is wrong with FIFA 14 on the PS3?
Lag, Graphics, Commentary and gameplay. Infact the whole game is a fucking mess.
When you first fire up the game you are greated with a great looking easy to use menu system in the style of windows 8. Everything you need is right there in front of you. However the first problems soon become apparent when you try flipping between menus and you are introduced to your first lot of menu lag.
I started the career mode and headed straight over to change my squad. Once in the squad menu our friend lag returns. Moving between players is a nightmare with up to 10 seconds delay when moving between each one. Now try selecting a player to change with another player; it’s near impossible.
After what seemed like 30minutes of trying to change my players around, something that should only take a couple of minutes max, I started my first friendly match.
What is immediately noticeable is how poor the graphics look. The players when playing, as opposed to in a cut scene, are near impossible to identify. What put the final nail in the coffin graphically was when my wife entered the room and said this game looks ‘Old Skool’.
Next the gameplay. The frame rate is all over the place, it seems to stutter down to below 30fps and then shoot up to 60fps without warning. The players also glitch all over the place and there have been a number of occasions where one of my AI controlled players was fouled off the ball by an invisible player. The AI seems to have taken a step backwards from years gone by and now doesn’t have a clue how to move into space. For some reason the AI controlled players seem to like to stay behind the ball instead of making those real ‘lifelike’ runs into space or trying to draw defenders.
Going back to graphics, try playing in the rain. For some reason if you play in the rain the graphics again take another knock and if possible, look even worse. EA Sports seem to think rain looks like white streaks of paint which are all straight lined and all go in one direction; think of an old PS2 game and the graphics are pretty much on par with that.
Next up is the commentar. What has happened to the massive data bank of recorded commentary that EA Sports have gathered over the years? Throughout every game the commentary team talk about the same thing and it’s not long before you develop a sense of dÉja vu. There is also massive problems with the commentary team talking about stuff that has not happened in the game or talking about a different game altogether. During every game I have played thus far I have heard the commentators tell me about RED cards that have not happened, injuries to players that are fit and have full health or talk about the shot I have taken even though I was taking a throw in.
Overall this game is a fucking mess and should not be available to the masses. If I hadn’t have been lucky/unlucky enough to have been sent a review copy I would have taken the game back to the store where I had bought it from and demanded a refund.
So EA Sports what is going on with FIFA 14? Are we playing a rushed out dumbed down next-gen port? Or did you really think that this game is the best that your development team could produce?
