FIFA 15: Analyzing Early Reviews and Scores for Highly Anticipated Video Game

If you live in North America, then Sept. 23 was one of the biggest sports days of 2014: FIFA 15 officially hit stores.

Few sports video game franchises have delivered year in and year out the way that FIFA has. EA Sports continues to produce great games, finding a way to make each edition a little better than the last.

Here's a look at how FIFA 15 stacks up with last year's version on Metacritic. (Note: Metacritic scores for FIFA 15 could change as more reviews come in.)

Platform	FIFA 14	FIFA 15
PlayStation 3	86	---
PlayStation 4	87	82
Xbox 360	84	---
Xbox One	88	85

One of the problems with having such a highly regarded video game franchise from year to year is that improving becomes increasingly hard to do. The standards are set so high that anything less than perfection is viewed as a disappointment.

EA Sports knew better than to radically overhaul what's been such a successful series and opted for more nuanced additions to this year's installment.

One of FIFA 15's bigger features is "Emotional Intelligence." No longer will the 22 players on the pitch be emotionless automatons. According to EA Sports' official site, "Players now respond to pivotal moments on the pitch—bad tackles, missed chances, epic goals—as they would in real life."

Nick Channon, a senior producer on the game, explains the addition in a little more detail below.

Emotions are part of what makes sports great. Imagine seeing a player score a winner in injury time and then calmly walk back to the center circle as if nothing happened. Everybody hates the non-celebration celebration.

One of the perceived drawbacks to the new feature is that players may react at the most inopportune time. IGN's Chris Schilling, who scored rated the game an 8.3 out of 10, described one such moment after he delivered a sliding tackle to Eden Hazard when playing as Manchester City right back Pablo Zabaleta:

"

Meanwhile, his fellow Argentine Sergio Aguero, anticipating an unfolding counter-attack, accelerated into a sprint. But instead of running forward as I squeezed the right trigger, Zabaleta suddenly held both hands up, as if to say 'no foul'. By the time the player responded to my prompt, Nemanja Matic had seized upon the opportunity, intercepting the ball and launching another Chelsea sortie.

"

Isn't that the problem with emotions in general, though? Your heart almost always overrules your brain. Players reacting positively or negatively to an on-field event to their team's detriment isn't something unique to FIFA 15. You see it all the time in real life.

In past editions of FIFA, the user was sometimes beholden to whatever the computer decided to do. It didn't feel that you were so much controlling a player as being along for the ride.

Speaking from experience, one of the smaller frustrations was when a ball was on its way out of play for a goal kick, but the user-controlled player continued pursuing it. Eventually, you conceded a corner that never should've been conceded.

Trying to ward off on-rushing defenders also became an exercise in futility at times as you prepared for the eventual collision and hoped for the best.

Game Informer's Matthew Kato gave FIFA 15 a 9.25 out of 10 and highlighted the revamp in player control as one of the reasons for doing so:

"

The title's crown jewel is its excellent gameplay. Players' possession of the ball feels a lot less pre-determined than in previous years. This goes well with the refined dribbling and defensive tackling, presenting a coordinated package that feels more organic and real, like you're playing by your own whims and not negotiating imposed constraints. Shirking off a challenge and retaining possession, or conversely winning the ball after a tackle and starting the counter attack happens fluidly. A foot race between two players for a free ball feels like a real contest, with physicality and unexpected ball baubles coming into play. Finally, there is freedom in FIFA.

"

Part of what makes soccer so exhilarating is watching players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Eden Hazard and Arjen Robben weave their way through the opposition's defense.

With the tweaks to dribbling and ball control, FIFA 15 gives you the ability to pull off those mazy, incredible runs.

Another nice improvement in this year's game was improving the play of goalkeepers. In the past, their reactions were at times predictable and unrealistic.

That's certainly not the case in FIFA 15, where goalkeepers play much closer to their real-world counterparts.

GameSpot's John Robertson, who gave the game an 8.0 out of 10, wrote that he was impressed with how the game's developers have made goalkeepers more human:

"

Nowhere is this more obvious than with goalkeepers, whose new animations make them instantly more lifelike in terms of both look and behavior. Their movements are more diverse, allowing skilful players to perform a range of spectacular gymnastics in an effort to keep the ball out of the goal. More importantly, their movements hint at a keeper's basic thought processes, which does a great deal to humanise keepers and shake that feeling of playing against a pre-programmed machine.

"

Premier League fans will also love FIFA 15 because of the full integration of the league into the game. In addition to having all 20 EPL stadiums, FIFA 15 boasts the full EPL set of broadcast graphics. Rarely has it felt more like watching the real-life equivalent.

Having that kind of authenticity only serves to give each of your games that big-match feel.

EA Sports didn't reinvent the wheel with FIFA 15, but when FIFA 14 was one of the best sports games of 2013, very little change was necessitated. You wouldn't ask Messi to start playing centre-back.

The game's developers upgraded in a few key areas and strengthened a few problem areas from last year. As a gamer, you couldn't have asked for much more.