FIFA 19 Review: Our first play of Uefa Champions League, House Rules and the end of The Journey in EA Sports annual classic
New modes, teams and leagues in new edition
It’s back. The game that is as hotly anticipated as the football season itself during those long offseason months. Fifa 19 is essentially more of the same, the formula that has taken the series to the top of charts worldwide
The first thing to note is that Fifa has got the rights for the Uefa Champions League from rivals Pro Evolution Soccer and they make this point from the off.
The familiar theme bursts out before a tifo of cover star is held aloft in the crowd. New voices in the form of Lee Dixon and Derek Rae on commentary duty. The game drops you into a Champions League final between Juventus and PSG – Ronaldo’s former club are out as are their great rivals, the poster boys of FIFA’s rivals.
Here if anything the gameplay feels at times a little more like the lauded PES than Fifa 18. Slightly slower and with new timing mechanics for shots and headers, there is a learning curve. There are also lessons that it perseveres to get them right. A Kylian Mbappe bullet header from the edge of the box and Edinson Cavani chipping the ball up with his first touch to turn and volley against the bar suggest that going through the training modes will pay off.
What else is new? The Kick Off mode adds some jeopardy to the classic football format. While you can play 11 v 11 as normal, the “House Rules” formats offer new takes. Headers and Volleys is one, another reminder that this is a key part of the new edition, as is the self-explanatory Long Shots and Survival, where you lose a player every time you score. No Rules removes offside and fouls for something a little bit more like the schoolyard, with each of the modes reminiscent of the “Slappers Only” option on Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64, a game that is still being played as multiplayer two decades on.
In single player, the career mode is given a new lease of life beyond the updated teams, kits and stats for the new season with the inclusion of the Chinese Super League and some very tasty transfer budgets. Playing with SIPG unleashes Hulk’s left foot, one of the most powerful in the game and just one of many reasons to try the CSL.