The fall season brings with it two things every year: plenty of leaves, and new iterations of most EA Sports franchises. The studio has made some hefty additions to FIFA 19, starting with its significant re-acquisition of UEFA Champions League and Europa League rights. Beyond adding the most prestigious club-level competition in the world, FIFA 19 comes armed with plenty of other content to stand out from the pack: there's new kickoff modes, much better physics, and enhancements to most of the existing game modes. Tied in together, those elements create what has turned out to be one of the best FIFA releases yet.
The new kickoff modes are a fantastic introduction to break the monotony that is often the bane of annualized franchises. Instead of permanently playing dull, dreary friendly matches in each kickoff game, gamers can now opt to jump into a cup final, or play both a home and away legs to determine the winner. Beyond this, the new house rules options introduce some of the most fun new content: survival mode ejects a random player from the player's team when they score a goal, creating some truly ludicrous gaming moments as both sides lose portions of their squad. No Rules allows for a no-holds-barred grudge match without offside or foul calls, while modes like Headers & Volleys Only encourage unique approaches to play.
The new kickoff modes add plenty of pomp and circumstance to an under-serviced mode that routinely gets a lot of action from gamers playing with their friends, and EA Sports is eager to encourage the drama. Players can now associate accounts to their gamertag in order to track statistics of their head-to-head records against friends, showing statistics like win ratios, where goals are typically being scored, and the number of red cards. Kickoff mode is all about banter and bragging rights, and FIFA 19 has really hit the nail on the head with this iteration.
The improvements made to the game's real player motion technology may not make for a snappy headline, but they do a world of difference through every game mode. Players will strike at the ball in much more realistic manners, minimizing the robotic movements that can ruin the authenticity of a match. Player jostling and collisions are now much more visceral, and as the mud flies and the pitch becomes dogged with referee spray lines and divots it becomes very apparent that EA Sports has done a fantastic job crafting an authentic atmosphere. FIFA 19 looks fantastic, but it also feels more accurate to the real thing than any of its predecessors.
Tactics have also seen a total overhaul in FIFA 19, allowing gamers to further customize a team's playstyle in terms of how quickly they press after a heavy touch from the opponent, or whether the fullbacks should overlap like in the modern game. These tactics can then be switched on the fly, where previously players would have to navigate to the menu. Much like the quick substitutions of last year, these changes help make the experience much more immersive and deep without disturbing the flow of the game itself.
A new optional high-stakes game mechanic called Timed Finishing has also been introduced to general gameplay, allowing players to add a new layer of difficulty as they attempt a shot. Completing a quick timed sequence successfully will add vigor and aim to their effort, but messing up the additional mechanic will see the player fluff the shot. Its optional inclusion is likely aimed at series veterans, adding a nice new layer of meta-game when it comes to when it's worth taking that risk.
The studio's microtransaction monster, Ultimate Team, has also undergone some restructuring. Online Seasons has now been replaced by Division Rivals, which fills the same purpose while allowing players to qualify for the weekend FUT Champions events. As players purchase card packs and build up their squads, they'll notice many of the rarer cards come with even more over-the-top introduction sequences.
With curated daily and weekly challenges combining with weekend tournaments, it's clear that EA Sports is keen to keep gamers coming back to Ultimate Team. It's a fun and addictive mode, though not everyone will agree with the loot-box style experience that makes Electronic Arts unfathomable amounts of money each year.
Much as in previous years, Career Mode has ultimately proven to be stagnant once again outside of the obligatory UEFA and Europa improvements. While some minor adjustments have finally been implemented (Major League Soccer now has the correct number of playoff spots, for instance), there are some large cracks beginning to show in the mode's lack of focus from EA Sports. English clubs don't even have the correct transfer deadline, and players still can't do much to customize their own manager. The same can be said for Pro Clubs, which feels exactly the same as it did in the last iteration. These modes are largely overshadowed by the leaps and bounds of progress from the likes of new kickoff, Ultimate Team, and The Journey, but it'd be nice to see them not almost completely ignored.
Alex Hunter is back to conclude his storyline in The Journey, and EA Sports' cinematic storyline mode has a few new tricks up its sleeve: players will now jump between playing as Alex, his sister Kim, and Williams. While many of the scenes dive into campy cliché territory, the quality behind the scenes - and the interwoven storyline itself - are a continuing breath of fresh air for the franchise. Players will make some tough choices as the UEFA Champions League provides a fitting climax to Alex's story, and new inclusions like developing squad mentor relations and a cameo retro game featuring Alex's Grandfather make The Journey a fun experience that is quite different from the rest of the modes.
In an annualized franchise, many gamers question if a yearly iteration is 'skippable' or not. There is little room for doubt this year: FIFA 19 is a must-have for fans of the beautiful game. EA Sports has injected plenty of new life into the franchise with its fun take on the new kickoff mode and the long-awaited re-acquisition of Champions League and Europa rights, and has greased the wheels of a smooth machine with significant upgrades to the game engine, tactics, and its popular modes like Ultimate Team and The Journey.
FIFA 19 is available now on PC, PS3, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Game Rant was provided an Xbox One code for this review.