Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Rematch player in red jersey
Sports Games Rematch dev says FIFA is "so disconnected from how it actually feels to play football," but his game "feels more dead-on"
Rematch
Sports Games Forget FIFA, Rematch is the most authentic football game I've ever played – right down to the very worst bits about playing IRL
Madden 26
Madden NFL Madden 26 preview: Scott Hanson delivers ESPN NFL 2K5 half-time show vibes at long last
Sloclap
Sports Games Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
College Football 26: a player running while holding the ball
Sports Games College Football 26 preview: EA says “We listened” with 2,800 new plays and 300 coaches
Sloclap's Rematch and FromSoftware's Elden Ring Nightreign
Sports Games I spent 75 hours unlocking every trophy in Elden Ring Nightreign, only for Rematch to steal its thunder with a single hat trick
Rematch players celebrating in a large stadium
Sports Games "The essence of football is not in the rules": Rematch's creative director on nailing that five-a-side feeling and making a game "about kicking a ball rather than kicking heads in"
  1. Games
  2. Sports
  3. FIFA 15

FIFA 15: Hands-on impressions of EA's showpiece kickabout

Features
By Ben Wilson published 9 June 2014

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

No winds of change in this arena

No winds of change in this arena

Youre unlikely to sell many videogames by emblazoning its different, but the same! on the front of the box, so EA coming up with other slogans such as Feel The Game for FIFA 15 is probably a good thing. But make no mistake: this is very much last years effort with some necessary tweaking and tuning.

Heading and through balls needed a bit of balancing after FIFA 14, and neither are as all-powerful as they are in that game. Both mechanics still require work--I missed a string of easy aerial chances during my day-long hands-on--but a change had to be made. Unquestionably improved are ball control, which now offers an even higher degree of intricacy, and player intelligence.

The latter goes for your lads as individuals--making sensible runs into space, or shepherding rather than diving in when the last man--and as a team. Earn a late lead and the computer now smashes desperation balls into your area; trail with seconds left and its forwards look to retain possession near the corner flag.

Its still not quite on a par with playing against a real human, but its closer than weve seen before from FIFA, PES or any of yesteryears footballing line-up.

That Feel The Game mechanic wasnt me taking the mick, either. It pertains to emotion, with everything that happens on the pitch affecting your players off-the-ball animations. Depending on the current context of the game they encourage team-mates or lambast them after bad misses, and might shake off an early foul before losing the plot completely on the back of a late one.

For now this is strictly an aesthetic deal. EA is keen to avoid calls of scripting so youll never see your midfield headcase losing it to the point of getting red carded, but it certainly adds to the story of each match. Visually, anyway.

Those expecting EA Canada to rip things up and start again will be disappointed in FIFA 15, on this evidence. But it doesnt need massive change at this stage. After a year of improvements across the board, subtle changes are the key to another big season for those creative Canucks. Its an approach that looks likely to pay dividends. The question now is, will the same ring true for Liverpool?

Page 1 of 5
Page 1 of 5
Preaching to the converted with that advertising, surely?

Preaching to the converted with that advertising, surely?

Page 2 of 5
Page 2 of 5
Next gen's worth it just for the 3D crowds, eh?

Next gen's worth it just for the 3D crowds, eh?

Page 3 of 5
Page 3 of 5
Lens flare has enjoyed a resurgence on new-gen

Lens flare has enjoyed a resurgence on new-gen

Page 4 of 5
Page 4 of 5
There he is, the virtual Mr Messi

There he is, the virtual Mr Messi

Page 5 of 5
Page 5 of 5
CATEGORIES
Xbox One Platforms Xbox
Ben Wilson
Ben Wilson
Social Links Navigation

I'm GamesRadar's sports editor, and obsessed with NFL, WWE, MLB, AEW, and occasionally things that don't have a three-letter acronym – such as Chvrches, Bill Bryson, and Streets Of Rage 4. (All the Streets Of Rage games, actually.) Even after three decades I still have a soft spot for Euro Boss on the Amstrad CPC 464+.

See more Xbox One Features
Read more
Rematch player in red jersey
Rematch dev says FIFA is "so disconnected from how it actually feels to play football," but his game "feels more dead-on"
Rematch
Forget FIFA, Rematch is the most authentic football game I've ever played – right down to the very worst bits about playing IRL
Madden 26
Madden 26 preview: Scott Hanson delivers ESPN NFL 2K5 half-time show vibes at long last
Sloclap
Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
College Football 26: a player running while holding the ball
College Football 26 preview: EA says “We listened” with 2,800 new plays and 300 coaches
Sloclap's Rematch and FromSoftware's Elden Ring Nightreign
I spent 75 hours unlocking every trophy in Elden Ring Nightreign, only for Rematch to steal its thunder with a single hat trick
Latest in Sports
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 has the biggest game file size on Switch 2, and is releasing as a code in a box despite advertising a game key card in its trailer
Rematch players celebrating in a large stadium
"The essence of football is not in the rules": Rematch's creative director on nailing that five-a-side feeling and making a game "about kicking a ball rather than kicking heads in"
FC 25
FC 25 Path To Glory tracker with all Women’s Euro 2025 cards
Rematch
Rematch players have discovered that flopping around the field is faster than sprinting, but Sloclap is going to stop the flop
Rematch
"Chasing safe bets is a death sentence": Rematch devs had no desire to simply chase FIFA or Rocket League, but they spent years planning out their hit football game
Sloclap's Rematch and FromSoftware's Elden Ring Nightreign
I spent 75 hours unlocking every trophy in Elden Ring Nightreign, only for Rematch to steal its thunder with a single hat trick
Latest in Features
Alexej Manvelov as Akram Salim in Dept. Q
I’ve seen countless crime dramas, but Netflix’s Dept. Q and Poker Face season 2 are rewriting the sidekick archetype for the better
Emma Mackey and Fiona Shaw as Sofia and Rose in Hot Milk
Sun, sea, and strained relationships: Andor's Fiona Shaw and Barbie's Emma Mackey play a mother and daughter on the brink in new drama Hot Milk
Two menacing gingerbread men look intimidating while a candy person waves from a cage
I didn't expect to like the latest D&D book, but after an utterly stupid adventure I'm all in on Dragon Delves
Mion and Rena look uneasy in the classroom in Higurashi: When They Cry
The Silent Hill f writer's debut game was basically the original Doki Doki Literature Club, and it's still terrifying me 23 years later
Promotional image showing the Everdark Sovereign version of Gaping Jaw in Elden Ring Nightreign.
If Elden Ring Nightreign wants to keep me around to buy DLC, it needs to lean into Dark Souls so much more
Quantum Witch screenshots
This stunning 2D "plotformer" is the ultimate cottagecore fantasy with an extra dose of mystery, sapphic witches, and a giant lady who fights you
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...