Hello gamers, friends and passer-byers. JoK[ishl]er here to talk about something important … gaming, Not PC gaming, but console gaming and if you’re wondering, “No, I don’t think it’s better than PC master race”, but I enjoy it nonetheless. But enough of the emotional talk, down to the football legacy FIFA.

History of FIFA

I have played a lot of the FIFA games, and my earliest recollection of the game is FIFA 2001 on the PC believe it or not! And without a doubt since then the game has made absolutely PHENOMENAL improvements. Actually popular YouTube channel, gameranx, has a video on the history of the franchise from the beginning till FIFA 17, and if you’re interested here is the link:

FIFA 17 vs FIFA 18

Now why do I spend hundreds of Rands every single year to get the same game, with the same mechanics, with only graphic updates and team updates? Well for those who know me, I am a huge football fan, Manchester United if you must know. But every game has the ability to download the latest team sheets, the only thing is that you will play with the older kits. It’s football, who cares about the fashion?
But I digress, FIFA 17 was a huge step for EA as they had used a new Frostbite engine to bring in a new game mode, The Journey. This engine added a whole new experience to the game, allowing gamers to get a feeling of what it’s like to be a youngster called up to the big leagues. It honestly brought together two of my favourite EA games: The Sims and FIFA.
Now FIFA 18 has continued the use of the Frostbite engine, and The Journey mode is a continuation from where we left off in FIFA 17. Now besides the graphics being clearer, and features such as the fans and player expressions have been drastically improved the game has a more realistic feel to it.
In my opinion I have to admit that the most impressive upgrade in the latest installment of FIFA is the dribbling and ball handling skills. Now I play on the Professional difficulty which gives the AI some challenging skills but not making the match too hard nor too easy… that’s for my play style though, maybe you have a different one?
But the dribbling … oh my god the dribbling … in space of one year EA have managed to give the game one of the most realistic upgrades to the gameplay to make the game the greatest installment. In FIFA 17 I was able to dribble circles around the AI, nailing all skill moves such as a nutmeg, or dummying the AI in going left and sprinting right. When I tried to do the same thing in FIFA 18, I lost the ball … repeatedly. On closer inspection and playing, I realized that the ball no longer sticks to your foot if you’re dribbling and protecting it. AI actually tackle the ball, not falling for the tricks anymore but able to anticipate and actually win the ball from you. It is for that reason that I have not been able to put the controller down and try to perfect my skills in this game.

Final Rating

Being a fan of the game and playing more than 8 installments of the franchise it is without a doubt that I can say FIFA 18 is the greatest installment of the FIFA franchise, bringing the realistic football simulator to the next level of realism. The fact that I cannot win as easy as before on the same difficulty on the previous installments keeps me encapsulated in the game wanting to perfect my skills and maybe … just maybe push the difficulty up to World Class.

Find it on Steam: R849.00
IGN rating: 8.1
Metacritic: 84%
JoK[ishl]er: 9.1