The five FIFA that have marked the history of the franchise
FIFA INTERNATIONAL SOCCER
He played it up to the last with FIFA 95, which significantly improved its playability and graphics, and added the club teams (with the relative tournaments) to the roster of teams present in the game, but in the end we opted for him, if only because he is the progenitor. FIFA INTERNATIONAL SOCCER comes out on the market in December 1993 for SEGA Mega Drive, close to the Christmas holidays, and is immediately a success. Its isometric view, so different from those typically used by competing titles, from the side or from above.But above all a dynamic and fun gameplay, combined with a rather detailed graphics for the time, they lead him to conquer many fans. Many players dream of finding a copy under the tree (and even after) and the results are visible: for several weeks the game developed by EA Canada occupies the top of the sales charts of many countries, especially European ones, especially after being released. also on other platforms, such as 3DO, Commodore Amiga, MS-DOS, Sega CD and Super Nintendo Entertainment, just to name a few.
FIFA 98
For the second title in the series, we took a leap forward several years, up to the first PlayStation and FIFA 98. In reality, at least in the opinion of the writer, in those years the best was FIFA 99, but the edition we chose deserves the merit of having marked an important step for the growth of the entire saga. It was in fact the first game (and not only for the franchise) to give the feeling of being in front of a real match broadcast on television: real stadiums faithfully reproduced, players with real names similar enough for the canons of the period, and then shots, goals and celebrations that were something incredible for the time, despite an underlying slowness of the gameplay.Last but not least the commentary in Italian, the first, by the couple of commentators of the old Telemontecarlo, Massimo Caputi and Giacomo Bulgarelli, whom we remember with great pleasure and nostalgia. The phrase "... and the celebrations will last all night", repeated by the late former Bologna player after a normal friendly win, still echoes in the minds of thousands of fans. Finally, there are many championships and game modes, among which we remember the Road To World Cup, which allowed you to choose a national team among the various confederations to lead it along the entire route for qualification for the final phase of the World Cup in France ' 98, and the Indoor mode, which was dedicated to five-on-five amateur-style challenges.
FIFA 09
Another time jump, this time for an entire generation of consoles, the sixth, where the series did not shine that much in our opinion, to get to the most important turning point of the saga, the simulation one, which takes place on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is on this generation of consoles that FIFA transforms itself and finds a new dimension more realistic, managing for the first time in years to remove the scepter of the undisputed king of the genre from its long-time rival Pro Evolution Soccer. Between ups and downs, the Electronic Arts series dominates the period, attracting more and more gamers every year from the competition starting from the 2008 edition. But it is with FIFA 09 that it reaped the first fruits of change. > This chapter remedies the big flaw of the previous ones, that is the lack of physicality in the contacts between the athletes, which is definitively fixed, and on balance it is really a football simulation that gives the player full control of the game and tactics. Improved response to commands and animations, with believable artificial intelligence and a truly impressive number of modes and options, both offline and online. Of course, there are still some flaws both from an aesthetic and gameplay point of view, but in that period its level of completeness and simulation is not rivaled by any other product on the square. And then it is the game that marks the debut, albeit in the form of downloadable extra content, of FIFA Ultimate Team.FIFA 13
Freedom of control, the dream that a good part of the lovers football simulations have been chasing for some time and that has found real foundations since the latest editions of FIFA. 360-degree movement, complete impact on shots and passes, extreme reactivity of the players, all important concepts that have been improved and perfected over time, and that if we want with FIFA 13 reach the peak of the period: a real joy for the feeling of total control once you take the pad in your hand. The 2013 edition of Electronic Arts continues the path taken by FIFA 08 and tends to polish various aspects aimed at increasing realism.Then there are the various modes, which find in multiplayer the maximum interpretation and the real point of strength of this edition. Among these to report the new EAS FC Match Day, within which there are the options for friendlies, with the very intriguing news that if you are constantly connected to the EA servers, updates relating to the real matches of the week are downloaded, to the teams, to the form of the individual players, the list of injured and suspended players, the module changes made by the coach and so on, which affect their respective counterparts in the game.
FIFA 17
FIFA 17 is one of the most important chapters of the series because it sees the transition to the new Frostbite graphics engine, which replaces the previous Ignite Engine. Thanks to it, EA can complete a journey that began years earlier with FIFA 14, the debut title on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The system that manages set pieces is completely revised, as well as artificial intelligence, physics and collisions, which are rewritten according to the new engine. On the pitch it is not possible to do too much phenomena, but rather it is necessary to defend the ball and know how to turn it properly with the help of teammates, who, thanks to renewed routines that guarantee a greater number of activities without the ball.They also move intelligently to suggest passage or to create passages, respecting better the new attacking techniques and patterns even on inactive balls. The technical sector then does the rest: the visual impact is excellent, the most defined and clean line and one cannot but be dazzled by the perfection of the details, colors and lighting system of the video game. From this edition there is also a new mode destined to win the approval of the public also in the next two years, namely The Journey, a particular Story Mode in which it is possible to face a career by playing the fictional footballer Alex Hunter. And with this title we stop: now tell us yours, which FIFA do you consider the most beautiful or important for the series?
