With GTA V hogging up limelight on the Internet, you can be forgiven for forgetting about EA Sports FIFA 14, coming out on 27th September. In this newest installment, we are promised a more realistic experience; EA have put in plenty of work into the game.
Be it the FIFA Ultimate Team, Pro Clubs, Career Mode or just a one off friendly, there is no doubt that you want to finish the game on the winning side. However, adapting to a new game does take time, so we’re listing down some neat tips to play FIFA 2014 like a pro 🙂 Let us know if you found them useful.
5. Shield The Ball
In FIFA 14, gone are the times where you have to press LT/L1 to execute skill moves; now it is all about shielding the ball at all costs.
One of the main things about the demo is that speed isn’t as dominating in this game, and shielding the ball could be a good way to make up for this. It will allow you to keep the ball and give you the option to bring your teammates into the game, which is likely to be more successful than just running down the wing.
4. Choose Your Formation
Choosing the right formation is essential for you to put together a winning team. There will be many formations to choose from on FIFA For example, if you like your game dominated by your wingers and getting crosses into a big front man, then a formation of 4-3-3 would suit you fine. Even try playing wingers on the opposite side to their weak foot. Make sure you have the right personnel to the formation and then you are on your way to making your team one of the best.
3. Saving & Scoring Penalties (With Style)
Whether it is from a clumsy tackle and unfortunate handball or you just haven’t managed to beat your opposition in regulation time, we all have to face a penalty at some time. There are two options you have when you are trying to save a penalty; you can be reactive or proactive.
Being reactive means that you wait till the ball has been kicked and then follow the direction the ball has. This can work well as it means that you have a good chance of going the right way, but if the penalty is struck well, then normally the keeper will have dived too late to reach the ball.
Proactive would mean that you guess before the ball is struck. It does mean you are going to be able to reach those well struck penalties, although on the downside you can look rather foolish if you go the wrong way, or they try a Panenka chip.
When playing online, a good tactic is to bounce on the line prior to the kick, making it look like you are going to dive, leading the player to put it down the middle; then you just stand there making the save.
There are three different ways you can do it. The most standard one is to put some finesse on your shots by holding on RB/R1; this puts a nice flight onto the ball and looks sweet when the ball goes in the net.
Another is to stutter your run up by pressing B/Circle. This can fool the goalkeeper and sometimes you can see their movement, meaning you can put it in the other direction, though this can be a risky move and the target does move much faster once you have paused the run up.
2. Crossing
As the commentators say, “There is no better sight in football than a headed goal”, and to get a good headed goal, you certainly need a good cross.
First of all, go onto the main menu and access “Customize FIFA” to decide what cross assistance you want. The semi assistance is the one I recommend, as it gives you enough control over the power of the cross without being top hard to get used to, whereas manual gives you full control.
1. Shooting
Part of this new and more realistic footballing experience is the “Pure Shot”. Basically, in FIFA 13 the shooting wasn’t very realistic, and your body had to be in the correct position to take a shot.
In FIFA 14, due to the Pure Shot, it means that now the player you’re controlling will consider where he is on the pitch, which is his favoured foot and adjust him so he can get set to hit the ball. Because of this, I advise you to attempt more shots, due to the fact that this year, your player will naturally adjust to the position.
Another new improvement is the “Real Ball Physics”, meaning that you will see a new variety of ball flights. Certainly, this year we might see some of the best goals you will have ever witnessed on an edition of FIFA.
