FIFA 14 Xbox One and PS4

The next gen versions of the UK’s favourite sports sim have better graphics and gameplay, but what do they give up in return?
Whether you consider the launch line-up of exclusives for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 to be disappointing or not the fact is they haven’t been the biggest sellers. Call Of Duty: Ghosts is the best-selling non-bundled game on the two systems so far, with FIFA 14 the biggest overall thanks to an official bundle with the Xbox One. But was its success deserved and is the PlayStation 4 version worth picking up on its own?

Having played both the next gen versions of the game (there is no Wii U version, so that term can be used perfectly accurately) it’s surprising how different they are from the current gen iterations. All the gameplay changes are for the better, but at the same time a number of prominent game modes have been lost. However, the graphics are better and although the underlying game is fundamentally the same this isn’t the quick and dirty port that many new consoles have suffered with their debut FIFA game.

The effort EA has gone into with the next gen versions is interesting because the biggest problem with the current gen version is how little it really advanced the series. Not that it didn’t make improvements, but whether for inspirational or technological reasons there was no big new idea to make it a must buy. First touch, shooting, and dribbling were all revamped, but although the end result definitely feels different to FIFA 13 it’s arguable whether it’s actively better.