Sid Waddell once remarked how when Alexander of Macedonia was 33, he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer. 31 years ago, EA Sports released their first football game, FIFA International Soccer. They went on to conquer the world of football video games, and this week sees the release of the latest feather in their cap, EA Sports FC 25.
Welcome Back To The Club
Upon loading up the game, you’re beckoned into the digital office of Zinedine Zidane, who introduces ‘FC IQ’, pleading to you how tactics are the ‘brain’ of the beautiful game, and the crux of new gameplay additions to FC 25.
The initial moment you realise this, a wave of tired disappointment washes over you. But then, no. The suave and assertive Zizou nips this in the bud, exclaiming:
“Maybe you think tactics are dull, boring. You are wrong!”.
He’s right, there’s been an overhaul of the system, with ‘FC IQ’ consisting of Player Roles, Team Tactics, and Smart Tactics. Player Roles is the most interesting, the old system of work rates has been binned and now player movement is determined by their role, i.e. if you want your Erling Haaland to hang around the box and focus on scoring goals, he’ll do just that if you assign him the poacher playstyle.
These 31 different Player Roles feed into the revamped tactics system, a system which liberates the player allowing them to set their team up just how they’d like. Whether that’s emulating Pep Guardiola’s philosophy of controlling the game through possession or setting your XI up to hoof it up to a target man, there’s suddenly a bang of Football Manager off the whole thing, and that’s good.
Social Soccer
VOLTA is now dead, it’s gone, finished.
It’s been replaced with a new mode, Rush. Which is also 5-a-side, but now on a bigger pitch that maintains the core feel of classic FC gameplay while tweaking the rules to keep things fast and feeling fresh.
It’s class.
Rush is present in Ultimate Team, a shrewd move by EA to ensure the masses don’t overlook the joys playing matches in the fictional Nike Air Zoom Arena with your friends, as an American commentator provides some cartoonish narration that really pampers to the fun, social side of FC that’s most evident in Clubs.
Clubs is still the best mode in FC, and new features are frustratingly small but thankfully significant. The introduction of the ‘Clubhouse’ social space along with the return of relegation guarantees 12 months of pure theatre, tension and hilarity, and that’s what matters most.
Gracing The Pitch
Gameplay is never going to change drastically between titles, and nor do I think it should. The game feels slightly slower than FC 24, which almost compliments the new onus on tactics.
Career Mode expectedly benefits most from this change, where the major new feature (aside from FC IQ) is the ability to manage a select number of women’s teams. There is a dream that is an online career mode, but we’re still a while away from it being realised.
FC IQ and Rush permeate almost all facets of FC 25, which revamps your experience regardless of your preferred game mode. Finally through Rush you have a way to play with multiple friends online in the tour de force that is Ultimate Team, a feature which will undoubtedly be popular.
EA Sports FC 25 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but the new features do breathe life into the series. Returning players should be happy with the game because of these additions, and also because, to quote Nia Archives’ Cards On The Table from the FC 25 soundtrack, “When I’m with you, it’s always fun”.
Our rating: 7/10.
