FIFA 14

FIFA 14 isn’t a leap into the future of the series; it has a lot in common with the version of FIFA 14 that's already out. There are real flashes of potential, though, and hints at where it may go in the future – the sheer variety of animation, cognisant players, more palpable atmosphere – but what FIFA 14 on next-gen consoles does right now is add an impressive visual layer to an already brillian...

“EA Sports owns the virtual pitch once again in ‘FIFA 14,’ a marginal current gen upgrade that excels for remembering to stick to the fundamentals.”

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Note: The main text is from the current-gen review, and the additions from the PlayStation 4 version have been added below.

The 12th man.

In spite of the lack of a standout new feature, FIFA 14 is a great game that remains as fun as ever.

Ultimately, FIFA 14 is a refined culmination of the past 7 or 8 generations of football game on current generation consoles. It’s been tweaked and polished into the best FIFA yet.

Now comfortable and confident with its position right at the very top of the football gaming league, FIFA remains a solid and reliable choice this year. But with Pro Evolution Soccer slowly but surely closing the gap between itself and EA's consistent franchise, does FIFA 14 do enough to secure its lead?

Updated graphics and player visuals are what make FIFA 14 worth picking up. The stadiums and fields look spectacular, though some minor issues with gameplay elements can bring the game back down a notch. For a title that may not have been rushed, but definitely hurried for launch, EA Sports did a good job in getting soccer fans their fix.

FIFA 14 does a terrific job of differentiating levels of soccer competition around the world, which is rare. But there are so many different modes of play that players of just about any skill level or familiarity can hop into FIFA 14. For a sport I’m still learning, that accessibility is FIFA 14’s most impressive accomplishment.

So it’s still a great game should you love it and get on with the new system, a terrible one should you not. And as mentioned, you can put the old system back on, but why buy a new game if you want to play the old one? So do feel free to ignore the score and read the text of the review before making a purchasing decision. Or play the demo, it really is there for a reason this time.

Next-gen platform reviews for cross-generational games thus far have been an exercise in copy and pasting the last-gen, tweaking a few paragraphs regarding the graphics, then bosh, job’s a good’un – unless you’re Battlefield 4 in that case, what with it’s 64-player multiplayer and 60 frames per second. FIFA 14 is the true exception to the rule, bringing with it a new engine, shiny new next-gen vis...