STACK #192 Oct 2020

GAMING FEATURE

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FIFA 21 hits this month from EA Sports.Taking a look forward to the next iteration of the annual frontrunner soccer sim also means having a look at where it’s already been… Words Dan Nicholson HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION W here FIFA 20 delivered a collection of gradual improvements over the past few editions, FIFA 21 looks like a sizeable step forward, with new gameplay mechanics and game modes. Here are some of the biggest things to look forward to...

2. The “Fundamentals of football” have been overhauled, including manual headers, improved through balls and long passes. All of these changes seem focused on giving more manual control to some gameplay mechanics that have been in desperate need of a refresh. 3. The FIFA franchise has been gradually moving away from arcade gameplay to more realistic simulation, and to this end comes the addition of a new natural collision system. There’ll be less spills and more accurate impacts when players clash. Instead of players tumbling over each other in a less cartoonish version of a Takeshi’s Castle challenge, you’ll notice players keeping their feet more often and running to get back into the contest quickly.

1 . One of the big concerns from players of FIFA 20 was the lack of speed in play. Slowing down proceedings to focus on agile skill-based plays essentially turned every game into a trial for the Brazilian national team. Twists and tricks are all nice to have, but not at the expense of fast end-to-end play. With this in mind, the agile dribbling system has been reworked, making for more speed in attack and more danger in defence. Whichever side of the ball you’re on, there’ll be a whole new world of speed and dazzling foot skills to contend with. Many of these skills seem to have been drawn straight out of the VOLTA game

The “Fundamentals of football” have been overhauled

mode, which could make for absolute chaos in the full-sized game!

10 OCTOBER 2020

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