Why You Love Playing FIFA – And Hate Football

The following article may get me incinerated by hardcore fans. A friend got me to write what I really think and feel about one of entertainment's greatest names - the FIFA series - after 25 years at it. Ultimately, I'm a fan, but I'm heartbroken by the current experience. Maybe you are too...

Maybe “hate” is a really heavy word. Dislike. Disapprove of. Have a distaste for the sport, have never been inclined to participate in a match using only two rocks as a goal and kicking them over the curb every time a car came in sight. Ultimately, something you’re not too fond of.

It’s hard to know from a mere bystander’s point of view if the hair on your arms raises when your country’s national anthem is played in a meaningful international match. If every time your favorite player makes a run with the ball, your heart skips a beat. That’s the kind of love I’m going for, even if you won’t find me in front of the TV all that often spending countless hours following my team or any international leagues.

I play FIFA. That’s it. I do it for the love I have for the sport, for the challenge I expect it to provide, and most importantly, for the fun that I can only find every so often after EA has seriously destroyed the series over and over again.

You load it up on your PlayStation, Xbox, PC, or any of the other famous and shining weapons of choice. The famous four letters that have been around since the 90s, and the same that every year, just like your New Year’s resolutions, bring the promise that it will be all better, all different, all new - except it won’t.

New Face, Old Heart

FIFA used to be fun. I mean, real fun. I remember the first time I spent time around it as my Sensible Soccer floppy disk was almost too worn out to even be mentioned – nevertheless, I had a backup, just in case!

It was 1995 when it landed on my lap, and FIFA International Soccer got to run on my snail of a computer. It was a whole new world of fun, even if it lacked some of the charms that Sensible Soccer delivered. The pace, the furious search for a goal, the ability to discharge most of my teenage frustrations in every well-designed play. By well-designed, I obviously mean two or three linear lines of passing, with an incredible header by Marco Van Basten.

AC Milan was the real deal, and my knowledge of International Football benefited much from this simple title where little men seemed to move at the speed of sound. FIFA itself was a whole different ball game, with a unique pace, and a beautiful experience, but one where I don’t recall spending that much time, effort, or passion.

That changed around FIFA 97 and 98, where I remember a more complete catalog of reasons to spend countless hours. Slowly, EA was taking over the experience, and little games such as Sensible or Kick-off were never again to be seen playing the big leagues.

Fast-forward 25 years, and I’ve reluctantly purchased the previous edition (that’s FIFA 20, for those wondering), certain that for the past few years EA has been the one really playing with us all. And unfortunately, it hasn’t even been a fun game, a decent match, a joyful opportunity to delight us.

Again, I had regrets, in the same way, I had with FIFA 19, and the one before it. That same feeling got me to refrain from purchasing FIFA 21 and head back to PES - more on that on another occasion.

The Same Kids on the Block

I won’t dive into deep waters. I’ve played PES since its first-ever release, and if only that PlayStation could speak, it would surely tell me off for being too tired from countless hours of nail-biting matches against my friends. Endless nights of single-player galore to ensure I could gain that edge by knowing how and when to press the right button to trick, outplay, score, win.

It was incredibly challenging but equally rewarding once you got the hang of it. Games simply don’t like to challenge you anymore, in fear that you may - and probably will - opt for something else. That’s most games, these days, with the occasional exception.

PES and FIFA are different games which only resemblance is the core of the sport they both try to emulate. Whilst one aims to try and innovate – and often fail, especially considering most recent years – the other seems to believe it got it right, and therefore, knows you’ll be back for that Big Mac of a game every year.

I’m not going to focus on the online experience, which, I ultimately believe contributed to the destruction of what the game was about. Whenever anything grows beyond the fun experience it should deliver and tries to become a supermarket, you know things will be going south fast.

My apologies if I’m not into FUT, Ultimate Team, or any of the other fascinating challenges where I can be outplayed by children with far more free time than I, far too much knowledge about button combinations, and by far a greater obsession for victory than fair play. I like Career Mode – that’s FIFA for me, in a nutshell, and for many others out there belonging to the Millennial age group.

Career Mode is a frustrating, time-consuming, broken, and fascinating experience. It’s occasionally great, but it too often fails to deliver a decent football match. In fact, it’s the most frustrating gaming mode you can spend time on. Period.

The Terminator Squad

Pick a team. Any team.

Considering I’m Portuguese, I play with SL Benfica, and at a later stage, I’m more than happy to take the seat as Portugal’s manager. I aim high, but not at the highest level. “Legend” should pose enough challenge, in the same way Call of Duty: WWII above-average difficulty makes you sweat for positioning, run for cover, and give it your best at the right time.

There is a quid pro quo to great gaming. You input skill, experience, talent, and the outcome should resemble gratification, fun. Not with FIFA, as its noble lineage has certainly outgrown such petty concepts.

Forget about difficulty settings when you set them higher than average. It seems too obvious that its developers, thirsty for an addictive online experience, have forgotten how football is played, how a match can go either way, and what both individuals – talented and otherwise – and the input of a team can do to impact the outcome.

The last few years of FIFA have been an invitation where we’ve accepted mockery and happily paid for it. Not mentioning the almost absent improvements on its aging engine, something I’d gladly accept if the experience was indeed fun AND challenging, but all too often, you’re playing a heavily scripted game that resembles something from the 90s arcades – again, without the talent and the fun associated.

Portugal faces India. A friendly match, with names such as Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Jota, Bernardo Silva, and the gang. It’s a powerhouse that no team would feel comfortable facing, and though I’m not much of a follower when it comes to India’s greatest football names, I can surely notice that my players are running on heavy mud whilst India’s have blades on ice.

Hundreds of stats, dozens of tuning options when it comes to settings, and you’re the one eating mud out on the pitch. You never know what to expect - and not in a good way - since you may get a fairly even match, or you’ll face your worst nightmare.

This happens all too often, and it doesn’t matter whether you have Messi, Ronaldo, Neuer, and the rest of the all-star team of your dreams in your line-up. Sometimes, you won’t win. Not only that, but you’ll lose perversely and frustratingly.

I imagine that somewhere out there, peripheral manufacturers love this game. I can imagine the broken Dual shock remotes, keyboards, screens. Furthermore, I can imagine people ranting at dealing with impossible odds, against an opponent that is made up of the Terminator’s finest. I imagine divorces, people moving out, a flood of Humankind’s worst emotions, and I’m trying to remember you’re right - this is JUST a game!

Not a pass missed, not a clearance that won’t end up in your opponent’s feet, not a kick that won’t curl, bump, slide and end up with you down on the scoreboard. It’s mission impossible, and you’ve paid for the ride. It’s not fun, and this isn’t the reason why anyone plays games - it can’t be.

The Next Level of Nothing

FIFA may be just fine for those that look for a challenge to take online – I don’t know. I’ve played it a few times, won and lost, got my opponent to disconnect when he was down 3-0, and all the usual abuse you’d expect from a school night in. It surely is interesting and adds a level of excitement and adrenaline to it, but it’s not my cup of tea.

Turning the score against an able opponent – a human one – is something that brings light to your day. And if you’re a sportsman, as I consider myself to be, so is losing against someone that truly outplays you with style. Play against your friends and yes, FIFA is an able game, and a fun one to feature on your shelf.

FIFA 21, 22, 23, and the next ten titles to come out may not be a part of my lifelong collection. They won’t because I finally demand real evolution that is worth my money, and not one that is about more realistic hair, sweat, or shirt placement. 

Graphics are important, and it’s great when they’re glorious, but after I’ve just spent a few hours enjoying Cyberpunk 2077, I’ll hardly be impressed with the looks of a stadium or the resemblance to any of football’s greatest, unless they move with grace and I can easily tell the individual traits of each star against its real counterpart.

Unless there is a true revolution in play, something that I’d invite EA’s top minds to dive deep into, then I’m out and won’t even make the bench. It’s only whenever the decision is made to clear up their minds and pick up the old titles that the sense of fun from simplicity may come around.

Flow, pace and an AI that can actually outplay you with a smart move, a flick of genius, an unexpected turn. If you don’t refuse to chase up an unbeatable opponent, then there’s nothing wrong - whatever makes the sales chart. This year proved it yet again, with the same issues, the same game engine, the same “new features” that a single patch could deliver.

It may be so that you disagree – and why shouldn’t you? – but by loving FIFA, it may be that you really hate football.

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