Sunday, September 22, 2024

Early Game Review: 'EA Sports FC 25'

Merging the technique and savvy of a seasoned veteran player with the spark and daring of an up-and-coming star, "EA Sports FC 25" tears up the pitch with a vigorous soccer sim ready to capture players imaginations as the MLS heads to the playoff and international club leagues get into the swing of their new seasons.

Due out Friday, the game dazzles with its motion-captured play styles, astounding attention to visual detail and herculean effort to capture hundreds of real-life players, stadiums and uniforms. Serving as an ambassador for the beautiful game, the sim soaks up the nuances that make up the cultural tapestry of the global passion, crafting a fitting tribute to the sport that captivates the globe. 

Like its cover star, 21-year-old British dynamo Jude Bellingham, "EA Sports FC 25" bursts with energy, pep and creativity. Fresh menus and musical backgrounds infuse a sense of urgency into every game mode, giving the game a refreshed feel that drives home the point that the reinvented franchise has firmly entrenched itself as a post-FIFA icon.

The onfield action gets a major upgrade in the form of FC IQ, an AI upgrade that allows players to adapt to tactics and evolving game situations on the fly. The change emulates the real game in the ways opposing managers act and react to opposing strategies, and how player leadership manages to shut down holes in execution that emerge as the game unfolds. 

The upshot: You can't stick with go-to strategies and expect them to work the same way every time. If you fail to keep up with the way the opposition adapts and deploys counter-strategies, you'll be left in the dust.

Also new is the 5-on-5 Rush Mode, which takes on the easygoing yet hypercompetitive feel of pickup matches. Gathering with friends and strangers, you take part in a mini-MMO experience that feels ripe for esports adaptation. It will be fun to see the ways this mode evolves as the community begins to embrace it.

Goalkeeping has also gotten a refresh. Gone are the cookie-cutter animations and behavioral tendencies from years' past, replaced with a suite of dynamic styles that replicate some of the most notable players on the scene.

EA's second year without the FIA license shows some holes in its mosaic of real-life teams. A few Italian Serie A clubs, including Inter Milan and AC Milan, are swapped out for dummy squads with goofy names, and you won't find the Belgian national team or Canadian women's team in this game. To level things off, there are some returning squads and first-ever appearances, including Azerbaijan's Qarabag and the Finnish women's team.

Ultimate Team continues to stake its claim as one of the more entrancing card-based fantasy squad builders around. Chemistry-altering Hero and Icon cards are fresh new touches that allow you to spice up your roster as you build toward international domination.

Manager and Player Career modes benefit from all-around improvements. In a nod to gender equity, in which the franchise has been leading the way in the sports realm since its FIFA days, you can now embark on a career as a female player.

Whether you're a dabbler who likes to get a sense of the way teams look and play around the world, or a die-hard who wants to replicate your favorite team's successes and make up for its failures in the virtual realm, "EA Sports FC" gives you the toolbox to live out your dreams to the fullest extent. The anthems have been sung, the whistle has blown and it's time to get set for kickoff.

Publisher provided review code.

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