FIFA 19

Kicking it a little further.

It’s often said that football’s a game of cliches. Commentators and pundits are only too happy to lean on a lexicon of well-worn expressions to describe the game, and after two decades of fierce rivalry between FIFA and its perpetual adversary Pro Evolution Soccer, there’s a glossary of cliches just for their relationship. They all ring absolutely true of each series’ latest installments, too: PES is once again superior on the pitch but remains twenty years behind in presentation, while FIFA’s wealth of official licenses and modes will make for a superior overall package.

Those high production values are especially apparent in FIFA 19’ s story mode, The Journey. This is the concluding chapter of Alex Hunter’s earnest and enjoyable rags-to-riches tale, told once again via a mixture of cutscenes and on-pitch action. This time Alex, his sister Kim, and childhood friend Danny Williams all have deep career paths that can be cycled at will, shedding the previous structure in which Kim’s big break for the US women’s national team was an aside in Alex’s story, for example. The new structure works well, depicting the sport in a broader focus than before, across domestic and international fixtures, and the mens’ and womens’ competitions.

The on-pitch improvements aren’t always easy to spot, but they’re there. Jostling for the ball now feels less like two players locked into a canned animation with a predetermined outcome, and more like a physical simulation of two solid bodies that’s not to say it’s easier to muscle past defenders en route to goal across the board, but it does mean the strength and speed player stats carry much more meaning in FIFA 19.

Depending on your threshold for corniness, you could argue it’s worth it for The Journey Alone, and although PES feels like the more organic, spontaneous and subtle game of football, EA Sports’ latest effort isn’t far behind it.