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Jonathan White

It’s fitting that the two biggest football video games have seen this season as the time for a fresh start.
For Fifa and Pro Evolution Soccer, you can easily read Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – such are the star statuses of those involved and the fanboys’ need to pick one over the other, and decry those who chose different.
Fifa – with its trick stick and Volta small-sided mode – can long have been seen to be Ronaldo, while PES – now rebranded as eFootball – is more like Messi, perhaps.
Now with Ronaldo going to Manchester United and Messi moving to Paris St-Germain, the real-life footballers have switched things up and their video game equivalents have done likewise.


Fifa 22 opens with one of those cinematic cut scenes-cum-training activities that the series has been doing since the Journey back in Fifa 17.
This time it is in Paris and the star names come thick and fast as you negotiate the city’s streets and make it to PSG in time to train with Henry and cover star Kylian Mbappe.
Oscar and naturalised China players lead CSL Fifa 22 ratings
The adventure serves a dual purpose – to hammer home Fifa’s starry credentials and to introduce the biggest developments on the pitch, which includes new off-the-ball controls for attack and defence.
On a PS5 it looks and feels incredible thanks to the heavily-promoted HyperMotion Technology for animation and the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback.
You’ll find that out as your first taste of match action follows with Chelsea vs the PSG side of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe. So far, so Fifa but there are bigger changes ahead once you reach the opening menu and the big-name soundtrack starts up.


Sure, Fifa Ultimate Team is front and centre with the all-conquering mode of the game remaining its star selling point.
For those who have opposition to the online play and in-game purchases of FUT, there are plenty of other game modes with the most notable being the option to add your own club into the Career Mode.
That’s straight out of the golden era of Master League on PES and Fifa is all the richer for it. For fans of a certain vintage that might prove enough for them to swap to the EA Sports side after years with Konami.
Tottenham star Son celebrates Fifa 22 rating ahead of release
Career mode’s player mode has been given some love since Fifa 21 and is a chance for those who liked The Journey to at least recreate the football side of that as they look to break their players into the team by hitting their goals
Volta seems to have taken a back seat to Fifa 21 in the sense that there is no longer a story mode to tie it all together. Fun as it is, it is also not yet the Fifa Street remake that fans wanted. An argument could be made that EA Sports offer rich experiences in their North American sports sims.
Still there are more leagues than you can shake a stick at – the Indian Super League being the latest to join the stable – cups and everything else you’d expect, plus modes that you will likely never even play. Then there is also the increase of match stats to add TV broadcast-style insight in areas such as expected goals.


What’s missing are some of the clubs that Konami have signed individual or leaguewide deals with – Ronaldo’s at Manchester United but his former club Juventus are Piemonte Calcio, which is a bit jarring for a game so polished elsewhere.
On the pitch, Fifa seems a little slower, a little more of a simulation than a video game, a little more – dare we say it – like Konami’s PES has long been. Goals feel harder to come by and that’s a good thing.
The new runs are not going to be for everyone with more casual gamers less likely to feel the need but Fifa’s myriad modes means that there is something there for everyone and however they choose to play.
Fifa 21 review: most complete football game around delivers again
It feels like a winner right now, with any gameplay glitches outweighed by the sense that the football is more authentic.
First impressions will no doubt change over the course of the season but it’s Fifa and it is likely going to be a runaway success no matter what.
What really matters is how it compares to the new eFootball 2022, with the new Konami game officially released a day before Fifa 22.
Fifa 22 – officially released on October 1 – has been available on a trial to all EA Play subscribers and has been released early to those who pre-ordered the new game.
PlayStation 5 version of Fifa 22 played for review.


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Video gaming

Fifa 22 slows things down to breathe new life into series

Spurs star Son Heung-min celebrates a goal with his trademark celebration in the Fifa 22 video game. Image: EA Sports/Fifa

Fifa 22: Oscar and naturalised China stars lead Chinese Super League ratings

Shanghai SIPG's Oscar gesturing to fans during the team's 2020 Chinese Super League win over Beijing Guoan. Photo: AFP

(200830) -- DALIAN, Aug. 30, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Ai Kesen (2nd R) of Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao celebrates after scoring with teammate Fei Nanduo (1st L), Anderson Talisca (2nd L) and Paulinho during the 8th round match between Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao and Shanghai Greenland Shenhua at the postponed 2020 season Chinese Football Association Super League (CSL) Dalian Division in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Aug. 30, 2020. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi in football’s rich list, Andres Iniesta only player based outside Europe

Cristiano Ronaldo congratulates Manchester United teammate Bruno Fernandes after a goal against Newcastle United in the English Premier League. Photo: EPA

(201207) -- DOHA, Dec. 7, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Yang Shiyuan (L) of Shanghai SIPG FC vies with Andres Iniesta of Vissel Kobe during the round 16 match of the AFC Champions League between Shanghai SIPG FC of China and Vissel Kobe of Japan in Doha, Qatar, Dec. 7, 2020. (Photo by Nikku/Xinhua)

Fifa 22: Tottenham star Son Heung-min celebrates rating ahead of release

Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the English Premier League match against Watford. Photo: EPA

Tottenham’s Son Heung-min marks Fifa English Premier League team of season honours

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min scores during the English Premier League win over Sheffield United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Photo: DPA

Fifa 21 review: PES rival more packed than ever with overhauled Career Mode

Former Manchester United, Marseille and France star Eric Cantona in Fifa 21. Photo: EA Sports

Sport

Football


Long running EA Sports series slows it down on the pitch this season as goals feel harder to come by but it looks and feels great
Revamped Career Mode – with a touch of PES Master League – offers alternative for those not sold on Fifa Ultimate Team



Long running EA Sports series slows it down on the pitch this season as goals feel harder to come by but it looks and feels great


Esports

Fifa