REVIEW: IN FIFA 19, CHAMPIONS, RISE The Champions League is here! I’m not simply referring to the annual return of the Union of European Football Associations’ insanely popular football (nee: soccer) tournament. Electronic Arts has committed a huge coup with coins fifa as it’s the first title in the franchise to feature the European tournament in fully-licensed glory, along with the Europa League and the Super Cup.
The inclusion marks another step forward for the franchise in EA’s quest to create the total digital football experience. The addition of the world’s most prestigious international club tournament (my apologies to the Club World Cup) isn’t the only game-changing addition to the franchise. There are also numerous changes to the gameplay and to the game’s various modes. EA hasn’t reinvented the franchise from scratch nor has it simply applied a new paintjob of stat updates and nicer graphics. FIFA 19 is a wonderful midpoint of the two that provides what gamers expect along with a few things they’ve demanded and a few extra surprises. What's New?
In-game tactics have been redone this year to give the player more freedom to dictate their team’s preferred playing style. In previous FIFA titles, the left/right D-pad buttons controlled the team’s “mentality.” The default is “balanced,” and players had options to drop back on the field with a defensive mentality or push forward with an attacking mentality. It was helpful but very limited. Not so anymore thanks to Dynamic Tactics.
Dynamic Tactics gives players the freedom to edit each of the five mentality nodes (two defensive, one balanced, two attacking) as they see fit. For example, in my Career Mode, my chosen team’s balanced approach is a 4-3-3 that emphasizes possession. My most defensive approach, accessible with two presses on the left D-pad button, drops my team back into a 5-4-1 that emphasizes long balls and counter-attacking. Finally, my team’s all-out attacking approach, accessible with two presses on the right D-pad button, is a high-pressing 3-2-4 formation.Read More
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