After playing past FIFAs and watching real-world football, we realized that we weren’t quite capturing how emotional it feels to score a goal. In FIFA 14, we want people to really feel that emotion of scoring great goals. In addition to the emotion in the context of a match, great goals are achieved by either (or both) great finishing and fantastic build up play.
The major changes and innovations we’re bringing into gameplay this year enable players to create and feel those exhilarating moments that happen when they’ve assembled plays their own way through midfield.
Finishing is both earned and rewarding in FIFA 14. We’re transforming the tempo of the game and inspiring players to build possession through midfield rather than sprint down the wings during box-to-box matches. Last year it was too easy to fall down into creating the same cheap chances over and over again. Major changes to dribbling — with new features like Protect the Ball, Sprint Dribble Turns, and Variable Dribble Touches — create more of a midfield battle, and make the magical moment of a goal more rewarding.
Protect the Ball is a new mechanic that, by holding L2, will enable you to protect the ball using your body from a defender. This allows you to have more time with the ball, wait for your teammates positioning, and control the tempo of the match by holding more possession or waiting for play to develop.
Sprint Dribble Turns enables you to really turn into every direction at sprint speed while preserving momentum. You’ll have more control at pace, momentum is preserved, and turning to go in any direction while sprinting feels just right. Rather than just sprinting straight towards the goal line for a cross, players will feel like they have the control to take on an opponent one-on-one with speed.
Variable Dribble Touches is the First Touch Control of dribbling, introducing fewer perfect touches and more uncertainty when dribbling at speed. It removes the robotic feeling when sprinting. Variable Dribble Touches introduce attributes-based variety on touches when players are sprinting, adding more player personality into the game — one of the most requested pieces of feedback we get from our fans. The feature also encourages you to really think which player is dribbling.
These innovations inspire players to build play through midfield, but two features — Pure Shot and Real Ball Physics — truly transform shooting in FIFA 14 to make every shot feel real and rewarding when you hit that perfect strike.
With Pure Shot, players now adjust their approach angle when the shot is started, looking for a more suitable angle for hitting the ball. They also understand the phases of shooting and will adjust their stride and pace to hit the ball. New animations support this, making every shot feel real. Pure Shot doesn’t mean that shooting is now more difficult, it means that it’s just right.
Real Ball Physics is all about the pinnacle of when the player connects with the ball, and this, combined with Pure Shot, can create the exhilaration of scoring we’re looking for. We’ve studied a lot of real life ball data and we made a massive overhaul to our ball physics system and formulas. As a result, the ball will travel authentically through the air on new flight paths and trajectories, enabling players to strike the ball with force from distance, drill low rising shots with accuracy, and blast dipping and swerving shots.
We’ve also introduced new step-based locomotion technology. Locomotion governs how players move on the pitch and touches all areas of gameplay. We’re calling this feature Precision Movement because it makes every step count. Players will plant, pivot, cut, and shift momentum realistically with a game-changing effect on play. Player acceleration and deceleration is also more realistic, players feel more grounded, and manage their momentum with distinct foot plants and push-offs. It feels like football.
FIFA 14 is the pinnacle of eight years of development on the PS3. In addition to delivering the emotion of scoring, we also have 13 different game modes, including FIFA Ultimate Team and new Co-op Seasons. Plus, it’ll be easy for players to bring their FIFA 14 experiences from PS3 to PS4. Ultimate Team roster, progress, in-game items, and in-game currency are all accessible from either console, and EA Sports Football Club progress and Career Mode rewards will also travel to the new consoles.
Enjoy the game!
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