Update: Read my full review of FIFA 19
As a sports-loving gamer, there are a few big dates on my calendar every year. Football Manager, Formula 1 and FIFA are games which get annual updates which naturally means they also take large lumps of my life every year too. Fresh off the back of the World Cup and with the Premier League season right around the corner, we don’t have long to wait for the latest instalment of the FIFA franchise. Here’s what to expect from FIFA 19.
FIFA 19 Will Feature the UEFA Champions League
Would you believe, back when I was in college, our gaff was a Pro Evolution Soccer house. The game boasted superior controls and gameplay to FIFA at the time although you had to live with made up team names and lots of lookalike logos. This was down to licensing but still, PES has been the reason the FIFA franchise was unable to integrate the UEFA Champions League into what is now clearly, the most popular footy game on the market.
PES has wained in recent years and I haven’t heard of anyone playing it in a long time. Coinciding with this is FIFA finally bringing the UEFA Champions League to their 2019 game. Yup, FIFA 19 will have the Champions League. This is awesome news as you’ll now be able to lead your favourite clubs to Champions League. FIFA 2019 will also feature the Europa League and the Super Cup along with a new commentary team specifically for these European games.
Alex Hunter Returns
We first met Alex Hunter in FIFA 17. Hunter is a young, up and coming footballer whose career you take control of. You train him, build up his skills and make decisions in his life to decide how it all pans out. It’s a surprisingly addictive area of the game with fairly compelling storylines too. I say surprisingly because once you get hooked with online gameplay, it’s tough to go back to playing the computer. For some reason, playing Hunter’s career has always been fun for me.
In FIFA 19, Hunter is off to Real Madrid to chase down a Champions League dream. EA Sports flexed their muscles a bit and showed off their influence in the football world by hijacking Real Madrid’s third-kit launch, a kit which is fantastically made out of plastic recovered from the ocean. Official Real Madrid social media accounts and Read Madrid players helped make this look like an incredibly authentic transfer.
I can only assume at least on Real Madrid fan has been left wondering who the hell Alex Hunter is.
Timed Finishing
Tweaking the shooting system is always a brave move from EA Sports. When the shooting system changes, so too do the elite players of the game. Everything that you were familiar with goes away and you need to relearn FIFA’s sweet spots. FIFA 19 will introduce the idea of timed finishing. Like all games so far, you tap shoot when you see your goal scoring opportunity. Then you tap again to try and find a sweet spot for your shot.
Naturally, it’s risk and reward, so get this wrong and you’ll barrel your shot up into row Z.
While I’ve yet to play FIFA 19, I know how this kind of system feels. If you’ve ever played Gears of War, I imagine this time finishing system will be very similar to the Gear of War reloading system where you tap to reload and then tap again during the sweet spot to load even faster.
Dynamic Tactics
Ah the days of four-four-two. They are so far behind us. Football has an impossible number of tactic configurations, yes over the past few years when playing online you’d have to be able to react quick to setbacks, often within a thirty second window. FIFA 19 introduces Dynamic Tactics which means you can prepare a few ideas before you start your game and then quick-select this during the game. Reacting like a real gaffer is key to success in FIFA 19; just look at how many gaffers they got involved in their promo:
FIFA 19 Demo Release Date in Ireland
Unfortunately, I’ve yet to see a confirmed demo date for FIFA 19. However, it usually launches two weeks ahead of the full game.
FIFA 19: Irish Release Date
FIFA 19 will be available to buy in Ireland on 28 September.
