Bring FIFA World Cup Fever Back to Life w/ FIFA 15

“GOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!” That’s an exclamation many soccer fans have come to recognize. Either they rejoice a a sweet score by their favorite team or the mumble under their breath when a point is “stolen” by an opposing team.

How the 2014 FIFA World Cup Was Different

Last year, the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil saw new heights of popularity. Even non-fans of soccer got caught up in the international competition. Though Frans is from Europe, he has only ever been a casual observer of soccer games. He didn’t pay much attention to the sport unless it was a major event, similar to how some people only watch American football during the Super Bowl. FIFA 2014 was different.

For the first time the almost 15 years of our marriage, I heard him cheering and grumbling during games. It was so weird! I even said, “Uhm, did I just hear you talking to the tv?” Even after the champions had been decided, I found Frans downloading soccer game apps and checking scores of regional league games. What was going on?!

FIFA 15 Brings the FIFA World Cup Back Into Your Home

Not too long after, though, his football fervor died down. However, a glimpse of it has reappeared lately. I received FIFA 15 from Electronic Arts (EA) to review for our Xbox One. While I was playing, Frans started chatting along with the game, adding commentary, shouting at the players, and cheering along with my team, as if he was watching the 2014 World Cup all over again. It was hilarious!

Then, we jumped onto a two player game on opposing teams. It was such a blast stealing balls from each other and trying to score off each other’s misplaced passes and sloppy shooting 🙂 Here’s a quick doodle that Munchkin made of us while we were playing:

Close up graphics are pretty good. Facial details of professional players make them recognizable but their movements are kind of “blocky.” On the field, however, gameplay is smooth and the constant movement across the field is seamless. The inclement weather adds a nice dimension of real life physics in play, as does the emotional reactions of the players. The announcer commentary is right on and pretty fun much of the time.

FIFA 15 Gameplay

The controls can be fairly overwhelming with all the intricate moves you can do. My generally anti-video game husband was glad to see they was a simple two-button control scheme he could choose. Since I only know the basics of soccer, that’s the option I select as well. Not having to worry about a billion special moves lets us just enjoy the game. Sadly, the Kinect can only be used for voice commands and not for gameplay.

Fans that know the players by name and teams and understand the intricacies in each technique will like the advanced level of gameplay that FIFA 15 offers. You can create your own specialized teams, choose a career mode, or challenge other football (not to be confused with American football) enthusiasts.

We were so surprised by how much we enjoyed FIFA 15. Even Munchkin had fun playing together on it. I only wish we had a bigger television (currently have a  32-inch) so the one-on-one games were easier to see.