FIFA 18

No summary available

Solid improvements and a strong story make EA's game a top flight player.

Ultimately, FIFA 18 introduces enough new ideas to suggest it’s not sitting on the laurels of its success. However, it’s a simplified experience, one that fails to embrace the complexity of football at the highest level. Its focus on attack makes for spectacular matches, but they often feel like extravagant offensive training sessions than a proper match with depth and strategy.

FIFA 18 is the best FIFA game in years. There are some obvious flaws — some of which are more frustrating than others — but as a complete package, the series is making progress, once again.

The improvements are slight, but this is still the best FIFA has been in several years – in terms of gameplay as well as just presentation.

“I always want it loud,” he said in 2013 when describing the differences between his all-action Borussia Dortmund side and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal. “He likes having the ball, playing football, passes. It’s like an orchestra.”

FIFA 18 is by no means a perfect game, the lack of customization and emotionless animations from players puts the game back a few steps, but this is not a bad game. Whether you have been on a FIFA hiatus or you are a long-time veteran, you should come back to this series -- if only for the single-player content.

But FIFA 18 is still seductively deep and delivers excitement. It gave me the feeling that there is still so much to learn about what appears to be a rather straightforward sport, and that the game would gladly help me understand. This is always the time of year when I ask myself why I don’t just spend all of my time playing FIFA, and FIFA 18 poses the question more forcefully than ever.

Beating Manchester United 5-0 in the FA Cup Final as Birmingham City.