It feels amazing to finally say that EA FC 24 is now in our hands! With EA Early Access, the pre-order package, and the Web App finally out, millions of players have scurried onto their PCs and consoles to get a head start in the very first title of EA FC.
EA Sports made a lot of promises stating how FC 24 will be the most dynamic and authentic football gaming experience yet, well we are going to put this to the test today.
With new features and gameplay additions in the game, here is our review-in-progress for EA Sports FC 24.
Comprehensive review
With the game released on 22 September 2023, enough time has passed now for us to give a full review on the good and the bad in EA FC 24 covering all modes and features.
Gameplay
With new improvements in gameplay made possible by HyperMotionV and PlayStyles put into FC 24, the gameplay in FC 24 has definitely changed. But is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well, firstly it is important to note that moving from FIFA 23 Ultimate Team where the majority of players had cards at 90+ rated and 90+ pace to then in FC 24 Ultimate Team using starter cards that are around 80 rated will always make the game feel more sluggish and slow.
But once you get used to playing with lower-rated players the gameplay is refreshing. Players feel balanced with pace not being overpowered this year, it feels like EA Sports may have gotten the balance right with pace still being effective but not too much. Dribbling as well was highlighted by EA Sports and it does seem to be better than in FIFA 23. There are still times when players dribbling feels heavy or a little delayed, however, we hope this is just because the game is currently in early access and it isn't a regular occurrence.
PlayStyles
The all-new PlayStyles and PlayStyles+ in EA FC 24 have been a massive hit, especially in Ultimate Team, however, there seems to be an issue with this new feature. The Finesse Shot PlayStyles+ has been very popular, for the fact that it is very overpowered with most finesse shots ending up in the back of the net. It is still early days in FC, so we expect this to be altered soon.
Outside of the 'Finesse Shot PlayStyles+'. the majority of other PlayStyles+ seem to be well balanced with this addition of PlayStyles in the game making each player have their unique style which goes way beyond the old system of 'traits'.
Matchday atmosphere
The overall matchday experience has been boosted by EA Sports in FC 24 with there being more of a build-up to matches and with new cutscenes, gaming has never felt as realistic as it does currently. The gaming experience is enhanced by the new FC 24 soundtrack which we believe to be one of the best soundtracks in a good few years!
The fans in FC 24 during matches seem to be more responsive to what is happening on the pitch, with cutscenes adding to this during half-time or post-match.
Ultimate Team impressions
FC 24 Ultimate Team has had a fresh lick of paint as the menu screens have been rebranded to match EA FC. With FUT being replaced with simply UT, Ultimate Team does look a lot more refreshing now. It is easier to jump from section to section with SBCs now having their own tab at the top of the screen!
The updated tabs in Ultimate Team do make it easier to navigate certain parts of the game which is definitely a nice touch!
Women in Ultimate Team
There were many concerns when EA first announced that women would be joining men in FC 24 Ultimate Team, were the concerns justified? The major concern around this was that the height of female players would potentially make the attackers overpowered as they would be hard to tackle or could potentially be very agile and nimble on the ball making it difficult to get the ball off them. So far, there are some players like this, with players being almost impossible to tackle unless you slide-tackle them.
Women players in Ultimate Team have allowed for many more options in the game such as the best left-back in the game now coming from TOTW 1, 87-rated PSG left-back, Sakina Karchaoui.
Evolutions costing FC Points
Evolutions is a new addition to EA FC 24 Ultimate Team, and fans are absolutely ecstatic about the potential of this new feature. Ultimate Team players now have the opportunity to grow and develop their very own players, as long as they meet the requirements.
However, one caveat of Evolutions is that some cost coins or FC Points. There are currently six available Evolutions on Ultimate Team, and the Relentless Winger version costs 50,000 coins or 1,000 FC Points.
We believe that advanced Evolutions have the prospect to be very good, however, including FC Points means that there will likely be more expensive Evolutions in the future, and players will likely not have the coins to complete them, hence adding real money.
This makes it harder for players to not spend money on the game, as the people who do will have better players in the Ultimate Team squad.
Season 1 Objectives are too much
Objectives in Ultimate Team are a great way for players to be rewarded for playing the game, by gaining experience they can build up the ranks and gain loads of items such as loan players, packs, and even untradeable players. However, in EA FC 24 it seems that the rewards in Season 1 Objectives may make Ultimate Team too easy this year. With level 5 being an 80+ x10 rare gold player pack and the rewards being more generous as you build up. Level 40 is an 87-rated Cunha who has insane stats, this should not be achievable too early on in the FC 24 cycle.
This could make the transfer market crash very early into the game and potentially make everyone have insane teams way too early. Season 1 Objectives are too generous and could start an early downfall in FC 24.
Overall score
EA Sports has started off the new title of FC with a solid game. With loads of new changes in Ultimate Team and more thought into gameplay this year, adding on the soundtrack to the overall gaming experience, EA FC 24 is starting off as one of the better games in recent years.
There are of course still some reoccurring issues with the game such as small fast agile woman players are very difficult to tackle. Glitches in both Clubs and Career Mode do prevent this score from being any higher, especially in Career Mode there are many bugs within cutscenes and the menus don't affect the mode entirely but still impact this score.
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