The idea is FIFA 18 feels more fluid to play than previous versions, that the action looks smoother. It's a little harder to keep the ball under control, and the ball looks like it slows down sooner.
The players feel less floaty than they used to, as if there's an increased friction with the pitch. At first I thought FIFA 18 played slower than FIFA 17, but I don't think this is the case. The input lag I perceived with FIFA 17 is gone. What this means for how FIFA 18 feels to play is hard to say at this early stage, but shooting certainly feels more responsive. That's the essence of the Motion Technology system. FIFA 18, EA Sports says, triggers a new animation with each frame, which makes for a more fluid, responsive and realistic experience.
This is why players can often look so janky as they're trying to get in position to take a shot, make a tackle or even change direction. This is La Bombonera.įIFA 17 triggers new animations with each step a player takes. The stadiums have enjoyed a visual upgrade. Now, EA Sports' is partial to giving basic tech upgrades fancy names to make them sound a lot more important than they actually are, but at least in this case the premise makes sense. The idea that better graphics make for better gameplay seems to course through FIFA 18, and this is where the new Motion Technology system comes in. In real life a yellow card is at the ref's discretion, apparently, and they tend to do things differently from league to league. Do you get a yellow card for celebrating with the crowd, as you so often do in the English Premier League? EA Sports has yet to work that out, Prior tells me. It's a pretty cool thing to do, although I can see it joining the dab as an online troll celebration. I managed to do this a couple of times during my time with the game, sending Chelsea forward Eden Hazard into the arms of his adoring fans. In FIFA 18, after you score a goal you can run into the crowd to celebrate. You'll even see people pile over their seats to try to get to the goalscorer. When you score a goal and see the crowd react, you'll see more variation in celebration. The crowds in FIFA 18 certainly look better.
It's only when you take a closer look that you see the cracks in the design, such as uniform movement and twinning. At the event, creative director Matt Prior said the developers have tried to recreate unique atmospheres at a number of big stadiums in the game - and this extends to how the crowds work.įIFA's crowds are fine when you're playing a match. You get a great sense of an Argentinian atmosphere, with ticker tape on the pitch, unique flags, banners and even a car on the track that wraps around the field. I played a few matches in Boca Juniors' stadium, La Bombonera, and it looks fantastic. The lighting makes everything look more real, and there's a lot more visual density. But I was impressed most by the stadiums, particularly when played during the day. It's a marked improvement, with more detail across the board. To illustrate the point, EA Sports reps showed Chelsea forward Eden Hazard's face in FIFA 17, and then his face in FIFA 18. FIFA 18 is the game's second effort on the engine, and you can tell. My early impressions are that it looks better, has some useful gameplay improvements that make a lot of sense, and feels a tad weightier to play.ĮA Sports moved FIFA moved over to the Frostbite game engine for FIFA 17, and while it sparked a modest visual upgrade, I didn't feel like it made for a significant leap. At a recent event in London, I had the chance to go hands-on with FIFA 18 for a few hours.