Premiere impressions of EA Sports FC 24. That is, FIFA 24 as it is, everyone can see

We’ve heard enough complaints about the Fifa series in recent years. We all realize that it’s the same game, sold in slightly different packaging every year. It is difficult to make an objection to this. Football itself bases its success on simple and almost immutable principles. Its virtual representation can therefore at best focus on better and better graphics and more faithful controls. There should be no revolutions in the core of the game.

What do we want from this FIFA (EA Sports FC)?

Of course, you can add new game modes, improve the menu, take care of something like the match atmosphere or make small gestures towards the gaming community, which knows what it needs and expresses its demands on social media. This is where Electronic Arts is sometimes rightly criticized for its laziness. Small changes from year to year do not justify the high prices for the final product. And yet every football fan wants to play with current squads and on active servers of the latest part.

Finally, the biggest recurring complaint is the Ultimate mode, which attracts the largest crowds of players and provides creators with a wide stream of income. Morally questionable packs of random cards introduce the youngest to the world of gambling, drain their wallets and keep them glued to their seats for long hours. But let those who have not been involved in creating their own team of superstars cast the first stone.

I would like to add a few technical issues that were not yet perfected on the day of release. The commentator didn’t work for me, and I had to explain it to the viewers on Twitch.tv, unaware even of my own helplessness – this was the creators’ responsibility. The game also froze before replays and in several other places, which is also a production error and not the fault of my hardware. It took me a long time to adjust the resolution and set the image on the appropriate monitor – it turned out that I simply had to choose display in a frameless window.

Playing FIFA (EA…) is like riding a bike – you never forget it

Ultimately, however, returning to FIFA (EA FC 24) after a few years of break was extremely natural. It’s like riding a bike, the muscle memory we develop stays with us for years. I was immediately able to play at a level that satisfied me and play with a virtual opponent. I will skip the issue of problematic reading of the gamepad, because it was probably Steam’s fault. Transferring the EA game to this platform is one of the biggest advantages. This is much more convenient than another unnecessary launcher for which I constantly forgot the password.

I looked at other reviews, but no one paid attention to the strange, unnatural faces of the players. So I have to admit that I’m probably the only one who feels this way. Perhaps I was spoiled by games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077. However, the faces of Mason Mount and Christian Eriksen did not look convincing, and Bruno Fernandes also looked a bit rubbery. Maybe it’s the PC version, or maybe a little more with the graphics options would help solve this problem.

EA Sports FC 24 is an enjoyable football simulator – that’s enough

It’s fun to play and that’s probably the most important thing. You can see some solutions that I didn’t recognize from the previous parts. You can release the ball on a run-in, which AI-controlled opponents especially enjoy doing. Receiving is not too easy, but it does not seem impossible and can be learned during training.

Dribbling seems a bit easier than in the previous parts, and you have to get a good position to shoot. The strangest thing, however, seems to be the overhead passes. More than once I had the impression that the ball was going completely to the wrong direction. I also felt that the ball’s flight path was lost in the air and it fell in an unnatural place.

An interesting solution are camera rollovers, showing some events from the eyes of the players or the referee. This increases the dynamics of the game and the feeling of participation in the match. At the same time, it can sometimes make us feel a little dizzy. The screams of football players, happy after scoring a goal, sound funny. The audience is still not convinced, but it is not as dramatic as it was years ago. The soundtrack is usually of a very high standard and allows us to discover a whole lot of songs and bands that we might otherwise miss.

EA Sports FC 24 is a quite well-made game that, even without a license, can easily be called “Fifa 24” among friends. If someone likes this sport, we definitely recommend sitting in front of the TV or monitor screen – necessarily with a good friend on the other pad. Of course, you can also play online or against the computer, but there is nothing better than doing happy dances with a good friend. We do not accept ties. You better practice your penalties!