Hello there. I hope you’re doing well wherever you are. I’ve just recently turned 34, which makes me feel pretty good. I’m sure this isn’t a universal thing and I’m just a bit (ironically) odd, but I like it when my age is an even number. I can’t explain it, so I won’t. I guess it’s similar to people who never set their television volume to an odd number. In any case, this has nothing to do with what I’m writing about today. I’m writing about the FIFA football computer game series, for which my love started with FIFA 98 (hey, another even number!). Let’s kick off.
The release of the PlayStation was a pivotal moment for me. I had always been into computer games and consoles. I had an original Nintendo, with games like Super Mario and Duck Hunt (complete with the Zapper gun that you shot at the TV). I then had a Super Nintendo, playing the likes of Street Fighter and Mario-Kart (the first game I ever completed and one that I still back myself to beat anybody at, as long as I can be Yoshi). But the shift to the PlayStation felt seismic.
The improved graphics, the faster gameplay, the more complex stories and adventures. It was an exciting time. And as much as I enjoyed Tomb Raider and Tekken 2, my real love was for FIFA 98: The Road to the World Cup. I’d never played a game quite like it before, but I seemed to pick up the controller button configuration quickly and I couldn’t get enough of it. And those that played the indoor football mode in the game will know what a great feature that was too.
It’s probably hyperbole to say my life changed with this game, but when I consider how many hours I’ve spent playing FIFA, perhaps not. I bought every iteration of the game (there’s one released each year) for the next eight years after and each one consumed vast quantities of my life.
And then I stopped buying them. Looking back, I think my last one would have been FIFA 2006. Given I turned 18 in 2006, this makes a lot of sense. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the games anymore, but I was going out with friends, on top of studying at university and working a part-time job, and didn’t have as much free time as I used to. I basically went 10 years without playing, with the next game I bought being FIFA 16.
Of course, the game had changed immensely over my decade-long hiatus. Yes, the graphics were obviously much improved. But more than that, there were now various online gaming modes. I hate playing FIFA online!
There are two online modes (I think): FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) and a standard one v one mode, where you play against another online player somewhere in the world. I basically missed the boat with FUT; the feature was released in 2009. Had I been playing FIFA at that time, there’s a chance I would have got hooked on FUT. But as it is, I just can’t be asked to get going with it. I’ve tried once or twice and was bored to tears.
And don’t get me started on online one v ones! The quality of your opponent rarely matches yours; you’re either getting pumped 5-0 or you’re smashing them 5-0. And that’s if you get the chance! I like to think I play with honour, so even if I’m getting a good thrashing, I’ll carry on until the bitter end. However, so many online players will simply quit the game as soon as they’re a goal or two down. So instead of playing full matches, you end up playing a minute or two at a time. Throw in players who refuse to skip their goal replays (regardless of how good the goal was) and the vagaries of Internet connections, and you have a recipe for disaster.
No, for me, I like to keep things simple. Old school, some might say. I stick with what I know: Career Mode. Now, there are two types of Career Mode: Player or Manager. I don’t tend to do Player ones, as I find them a bit boring. Basically, you create a player and you guide them through a football career. You play in matches, do training, and (if you’re bloody lucky!) get transferred to different clubs. As far as I’m concerned, Manager Career Mode is the only worthwhile FIFA mode.
In Manager mode, you do everything. You pick which club you want to manage and then you have to decide on everything whilst guiding the club through season after season. You choose which formation(s) your team plays and what tactics the team adopts. You decide which players are in the starting 11 and who is on the bench. You set training drills for the players. You decide which players you want to sell/loan and which players you’d like to buy. You can hire scouts to find potential transfer targets in different regions. You can do the same to recruit young players to your academy. On top of all that, your board set you objectives at the start of each season that you have to try to meet.
I appreciate that this probably doesn’t sound that exciting when you’re reading about it, but I love it. You really can get engrossed in your career mode, to the point where I sometimes think about my squad plans when I’m not even playing the game. I’ll be walking to work when a thought will pop into my head, “I really need to upgrade my left back…”.
For those reading this who somewhat regularly play FIFA, here are some of the Career Mode challenges I try, in an attempt to keep the game fresh:
Rags to Riches
Take the lowest rated League 2 team and guide them up through the leagues. I have very fond memories of taking Accrington Stanley (Who are they? Exactly!) all the way to the Premier League title. Although the Champions League eluded us…
Best of British
Take any team and put all non-British players straight onto the transfer list. You’re only allowed to buy British players. This makes the game much more difficult. Originally I planned to do an English only squad, but I was playing as Arsenal and couldn’t bring myself to sell Kieran Tierney. The Scot was just too important.
Multicultural
Almost the exact opposite of the above, this time you’re looking to bring in as many different nationalities as possible. With one catch: you can only have one player per country. So, if playing as Arsenal, you can only keep one of Saka, Smith-Rowe, White, or Ramsdale. Want to bring in Haaland? You’ve got to sell Odegaard first. You’ll find yourself scouring the Asian and South American markets, looking for hidden gems to flesh out your squad. Lots of fun!
Well that’s me for this week. I know this subject wouldn’t have been everyone’s cup of tea so, if you’ve read all the way to here, many thanks. Your support is appreciated. My next blog post will be focused on streaming services, so I hope you’ll join me again for that one. Until then, take it easy.
Rob Recommends
Euphoria – TV – Sky – 7/10
I don’t know. I don’t know if this show is good or not. I don’t know if my rating is accurate. I don’t know quite how to review it. I’ll start by saying that I’m probably not the target audience for it, so there’s that.
The best way I can describe it is to compare it to fashion (another area I’m not suited to talk about). If you’ve ever watched something like Ru Paul’s Drag Race, you’ll have heard the term ‘high fashion’. Euphoria is high fashion. Very stylish and expertly crafted. Zendaya is phenomenal as the lead.
But is it good? I found myself not overly caring what happened to most of the characters, which isn’t a great sign. But then again, there were moments that really were entertaining. I think this is the sort of show that will divide opinion more than most. I suppose you should give it a go and see for yourself? I don’t know.
A Rob Blog 