All together now, and sing "THE CHAMPIONS!" EA Vancouver returns to the pitch with 19. Joining the party this year is a contest of the highest order; a notable omission that is now front-and-center in another well done entry.
Pomp, panoply, pageantry. All apt descriptors for the beautiful game’s most prestigious club competition. For years, FIFA‘s biggest (now only) rival Pro Evolution Soccer by Konami owned exclusive rights to use the UEFA structure in-game, including Champions League. This annual event features the best clubs from each top flight league in Europe, starting earnestly in September with group stage. A pool of 32 teams are divvied into eight collectives. The four in each compete a double round robin, creating a six game “home and home” series. Similar to World Cup, a win nets three points, a tie one, and a loss nil. The top two proceed to knockout stage while the third place finishers are relegated to UEFA’s consolation tourney called Europa League. Knockout begins in February and the tilts shift to a two-leg format, where the pair play home and away. The winner advances on aggregate scoring, which sums the goals in both games. The team with the highest total goes to the next round. In the instance of a tie, away goals decide the victor, with penalty kicks set as a last resort. It all leads to the Final in May, a one game winner-take-all match between the last two clubs standing! For the purposes of 19, there are a few ways the new agreement is featured. First is Champions League Mode. Pick one or more teams from the current qualifiers and play out from the group step. You can also remove and replace teams at your discretion or reshuffle the whole proverbial deck. Other play options will have the UEFA flavor as well, like progressing a club through Career to qualify for CL. EA has also said dashes will show up in Ultimate Team in different forms and fashions with planned updates.
Returning for the final installment is Hunter and Co. The Journey: Champions rejoins Alex with sister Kim and pal Danny Williams, each with their own future and fortunes to be decided. Danny has hit a boost in his budding career, competing for real minutes on a Premier League team of your choosing. Vying for selection on the United States Women’s National Team, Kim is striving to not only get tapped for inclusion, but become a real contributor to the country’s World Cup hopes. And Mr. Hunter is finding his way through all the controversy from last year. He’s still with the LA Galaxy of America’s MLS, but soon Europe comes calling again. Select either Athletico Madrid, FC Bayern, or Paris Saint-Germain to initiate another go in the heart of the footballing universe! You’ll bounce around among the trio, guiding their professional and personal lives. As in past FIFAs, you’ll have to consistently perform in practice sessions and actual games. Do well in training to boost attributes and move from reserves to subs to the vaunted Starting XI. Also be mindful of the manager rating. Get high marks in emphasized tasks, keeping the boss’s opinion positive. During conversations, you’ll be able to chose certain responses that’ll set Alex, Kim, and Danny’s temperament, tailoring relationships and on-pitch disposition. The Journey has been a worthwhile addition to the franchise. Here’s hoping something replaces this stable campaign option.
For a “traditional” single player outing, give Career a go! Per usual, there are two different avenues. Player has you either creating or picking a current pro and forging ahead to leave a lasting legacy. They’ll be certain benchmarks labeled Objectives set by the manager. These are expectations of your accumulated performances such as pass completion percentage, chances created, and average match rating. From game to game, you can select to only control your guy or take the reins of the entire squad. Manager mode sees you become the new leading man for any one of 19‘s licensed clubs. Objectives will now come from the front office, with points of emphasis ranging in importance. For instance, Domestic Success might require winning the Europa League while Brand Exposure measures t-shirt sales of high profile players you’ll want to sign. Setup Scouts to look for established and young talent that could serve the team well. New in this edition is Game Plans. Configure formation presets that can be switched on the fly during the course of matches by tapping left or right on the D-pad. Idiosyncrasies like player instructions and tactics are customizable for each, giving more distinction between Attacking and Defensive templates.
If playing across the World Wide Web is your thing, the Online section features all the usual suspects. Front and center is Seasons. Lock in for 1v1 matches with peeps within the same skill range by way of division rankings. Starting from the bottom at D10, wins and losses decide your position. Note that going on a bad streak can degrade progress, so take these game serious. Pro Clubs is the other big section. Customize a player, select a position, and team up with friends. Another ranked endeavor, you and yours will play other squads usually comprised of a mix between user controlled and NPCs characters. Cumulatively, this is where I’ve spent most of my FIFA time over the years and can’t wait to really get back to business with my group! Co-op Seasons and Friendlies round out the tab, giving a casual balance to what’s offered.
Arguably the most popular mode of the series remains Ultimate Team. FUT returns with the standard player and consumable item system. For those who may be unfamiliar, you build a team based around “cards.” An initial pack with players from a football crazed country like Germany, Brazil, or this year’s World Cup winners France give you a solid base to build from, with options to find workable chemistry. “Chem” ratings are determined by positive synergistic qualities between players. Categories like club, nationality, league, and position all have a role in the harmony of a group. The better the individual and overall score is, the more fluid and cohesive play on the pitch becomes. Additional packs can be acquired by trading in-game Coins or purchasing FIFA Points. To keep your players viable, consumables are necessary. Contract cards allot guys more appearances, which costs one for every cap. Fitness boosts their health meter; let it get too low and they’ll be more susceptible to injury. If one does occur, heals can be applied to reduce the amount of time they’ll be out of commission. Cosmetics like kit options and stadiums can also be added to the collection. All of the aforementioned are on a three tier Gold/Sliver/Bronze ranking standard. If you have specific people, places, or things in mind, check out the Transfer Market. Here you can sell or buy cards for fees set by sellers. To attain the best players, expect to shell out a cray cray amount of coinage. I mainly use the Market for consumables, as they usually go for cheap and I don’t have to gamble with the random uncertainty of packs.
When you have your peeps in place, it’s time to actually play ball! For local options, Squad Battles is worth a peek. CPU controlled FUT rosters from other teams across the player base serve as the opponent. To take on IRL clubs, Single Player Season features cup competitions at all difficulty levels, each with their own reward intervals. If you have 15,000 Coins laying around or feel like ponying up 300 FIFA Points, you’ll get a virtual golden ticket to the land of FUT Draft. Featuring only the best ballers from around the world, you’ll construct an all-star dream team against those of similar merit. Four wins in a row nets big prizes like premium gold player packs, but you won’t go away empty handed with a loss at any point. New to FUT 19 is Squad Building Challenges. Here you’ll trade players in return for packs by matching up dudes within listed parameters. An example is placing four cards down with at least three countries represented while retaining a certain Chemistry number. Once all the requirements are met, those chosen cards are exchanged for the promised loot. Again, those that are selected are traded, meaning they’ll no longer be in your catalog. And the cards opened in those packs cannot be listed on the Transfer Market. Ultimate Team doles comparable online options. Division Rivals match up Xbox LIVE members using that tested 10-to-1 division ladder. Competing throughout the week unlocks entry into the weekend FUT Champions playlist. The layout is modeled after Div Rivals with riches said to be elevated. And Online Draft works the same as offline FUT Draft against flesh-and-blood participants. Routine Friendly Seasons and Single Match round out the FUT pantry this season.
In terms of raw gameplay, FIFA vets will feel right at home with a few differences and additions. A great way to get acquainted with character control is heading over to Skills Games. These tutorial tuned mini events highlight the fundamentals of soccer with a “high score” incentive. The Basics section houses introductions to the concepts of: movement, dribbling, passing/crossing, standing tackle, and slide tackle. The first two on the list offer a new drill with tall padded dummies constricting your path. Running through this batch a couple of times clues you in on when to let up off of sprint. Getting past defenders and catching up with would-be ball handlers is key to advantageous positioning. Problem is collecting and retaining possession takes patience. Read: you can’t stay in high gear all the time. Unpin right trigger a second before and after a received pass or successful tackle, then hit the afterburners! Passing, Defending, Dribbling, and Shooting are the other Skills Games choices, all with various scenarios to navigate. If mastering the intricacies of 19 is apropos to your playing expectations, spending a fair amount of time here should yield desired results.
Trainer is back too with some nifty and helpful tricks. Full button suggestions and the direction arrow can be toggled. Pass receiver indicator charts a line from the player in control to approximately where a pass is going to end up, making arid travel less likely. Want to know the vertical trajectory of your attempts on goal? Shot elevation clues you in on the ball’s X axis flight path. Perhaps even more informative is the timed finishing bar. One of the gameplay aspects that requires attainment of new muscle memory every year is shot sensitivity. Letting off the button a fraction of a second too soon or too late can produce a try with no zip or one that ends up in the cheap seats. Double tapping B makes the meter appear above the player’s head, giving you a visual marker for what 19 considers favorable timing. Having your eyes drawn to something new is unfamiliar at first, but after a few matches it starts clicking and becomes super helpful. This one of the best additions of its sort in years. Another welcome change is to the mini-map. Now, opposing players show up as triangles while friendlies retained the circle design. Gleaning info with quick glances has become more efficient. Speaking of triangles, an empty one shows above the next defender in switching sequence. A singe tap of left bumper will register control to that footballer, eliminating the guessing game of FIFAs past. Substitution suggestions are another hold over, streamlining the process of getting fresh legs into the fray!
The feel of 19 is coupled nicely with its good looks. Character models remain fluid and detailed, from any camera angle or depth. Recognizable players like cover boy Cristiano Ronaldo, South American hero Neymar, and the 2017 Premier League Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah are all designed with signature panache. Stadium effects like lighting and shadows display nice contrast and color accuracy. To this point I haven’t noticed any notable instances of strange blurs or clipping, high marks for a pre wide release build. Crowd noise is like layered icing, acting as a pulse for the ebbs & flows of each contest. FIFA‘s trusted announcing pair of Martin Tyler and Alan Smith are back and handle the lion’s share of assignments. Joining them are Derek Rae and Lee Dixon, who are tasked with handling UEFA matches. Their contribution helps to relay the grand spectacle that is European football’s highest prize.
It’s entirely possible that in a few years the FIFA contingency may look back and misremember that for so long the UEFA branding was MIA. PES‘ lock on the contract was the lone bit of commercial clout Konami had over EA. Those days are now gone. That’s not to say PES will fall out of relevance. The past few releases have apparently shaped up really well and have competed with FIFA in the gameplay department. Having said, this is still the biggest sports release of the year worldwide and that trend looks to continue, particularly with the addition of Champions League. An awesome conglomerate of modes and playlists for local and Xbox LIVE play meet the regularly astute aesthetics in resplendent fashion. If this is an annual purchase for you, no reason not to spend the $60 yet again.
