‘FIFA 22’ game review: Next generation goals, almost

Although 2022 is not here yet, the 2022 edition of FIFA is here, just in time. There’s another chance to hear that familiar ‘EA Sports, it’s in the game’ episode in a new installment of Soccer (or Football, if you’re American). With competitive eFootball 2022 having a tough time as the worst-reviewed game on Steam, the way is open for FIFA to retain its crown. This year, EA rolled out the first upgrade to the next generation of sports games for the next generation of console owners, we’re intrigued by what’s to come.

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FIFA 22 has a fascinating introduction that throws in David Beckham, Lisa Freestyle and Thierry Henry to help you dribble the ball through the bustling streets of Paris in a wonderfully tutorial introduction. Instead of a traditional story, FIFA 22 has a career mode that lets you manage your own football club. You can get really finicky here at Chance Creations with tactical goodies that let you design your team’s offensive style. ted lasso prepared me for it. You not only play as a club manager but also jump into the shoes of a player as you take on other clubs in fantasy matches.

From building your crest to customizing your team kit, even building and customizing your stadium, you can start playing pro right away or choose to grow your team from a new batch of players And then become a supporter – it’s up to you. If managing your club exhausts you, you can jump in the game and have some control over things.

FIFA Ultimate Team — a microtransaction-riddled dream team mechanic also known as FUT — is largely the same as last year, with the same loot boxes, though there’s a handy preview mode to see what you’re after. What to buy… Here’s the danger Volta, the street football mode we loved in previous FIFA games, makes a comeback and benefits from new changes. The real question here is why Volta doesn’t have its own game or DLC that will make the FIFA 22 experience feel less crowded and more focused on the stadium and larger goal elements of football.

new boost in technology

Now that the mods are out of the way, the new mechanics can only be broken into universal and new consoles. There’s a new intuitive passing system using the controller’s thumbsticks – a minor change but a huge leap forward in getting the ball to the right player in the heat of the moment. The much-hyped Goalkeeper AI rewrite feels more natural but it’s still a bit Butterfinger-y.

The biggest changes only come to the new console and the most welcome among them is fast loading times. Another notable tech boost is Hypermotion which is marketing EA slapping motion capture sensors on 22 real players and then inputting the raw data of over 4,000 new animations into the game; The result is a surprisingly natural-feeling game. The players running across the pitch on my screen felt like I was watching a real live match. Added animation reduces feedback, making the match a bit slow, and this fluidity looks and feels quite impressive on a 4K television at 60 frames per second. Still, there’s a certain gravity, speed, weight, and speed that you automatically adjust as it feels more, well, human. It’s an interesting way for the series to move forward.

The game’s machine learning also processes unique contextual animations to ensure players change their speed and angle to view the ball in a more human way. You can also expect advanced player humanization that enables on-field signaling and communication between players for a more social and team-centered experience. And what is a team without fans? Enjoy more audience reactions and animations for scoring.

This game looks incredible. The hypermotion animations look incredible, plus players showcase their emotions on the pitch with very realistic stadium animations, just bringing that warm feeling of the game to your living room, minus the pitch smell. EA has also put significant effort into ball and mesh physics and the DualSense controller on the PS5 takes advantage of haptic feedback very well here.

Other tactical features include teammate containers, player-based difficulty, and disruptive blocking, but there are all-too-basic pitfalls of buggy, slow menus and AI rubber-banding issues.

Given the unavailability of next-gen consoles this year, it’s a shame that FIFA 22’s new Hypermotion doesn’t make it to PC or Last Gen. But it’s still a worthy upgrade on any platform.

The author is a tech and gaming enthusiast who hopes to finish his science-fiction novel one day