FIFA is back and in a whole new way. I’m just going to say it, is one of the best versions we’ve had in a long time.The FIFA video game has improved so much since we went to the frostbite engine, but this year the big bonus is EA acquiring the Champions League license which it has not had in a decade…. Honestly, I wasn’t going to buy this year’s version until they announced that they got the license and then I knew it would be worth the money. And guess what, I was right.

With so many improvements made to FIFA, I think you’d be crazy as a fan not to buy this version. In fact, when I got my copy the other night and I saw that glorious champions league mode, I jumped right in, playing with Liverpool as I took them to the top. And they will win this time. Yes, I’m definitely hooked. I don’t think I’ve spent $80 for a video game, but I happily  handed over my money to the GameStop manager and I’d like to think that I’m all the better for it.

This year’s version is not absolutely perfect, but it’s pretty close. I will get to my criticisms later. But after finally acquiring the Champions League license and unlike Pro Soccer Revolution actually having all the teams available that are in the Champions League this is why I bought this year’s Edition. Now you will still get a lot of the same features that you had in years past, including at a women’s tournament mode with national teams. But on top of being able to have the Champions League mode and all of its glorious mess, we also for the first time have the Europa League and the super Cup Tournament in career mode. Plus, don’t forget this is the third year in a journey story. Now I will admit that I don’t really play the journey story because it’s much more fun to create myself as a player playing Center Striker for Liverpoolp and be able to play myself in the career mode as I get to play in the international Cup champions league and the Premier League season is fantastic. Is one of the things that has always said EA’s FIFA apart from any other soccer game is being able to play with an against any team throughout the world and over 50 different leagues. But once a year I’ll leave and take the Irish national team and let them win the World Cup.

The biggest improvements in the game are when it comes to being able to move around and be able to cut much better when shooting. Also, there is a better Improvement when it comes to aiming the ball on penalty kicks or free kicks. The mechanics have definitely gotten better and just like the NBA 2K Series where they do just enough tweaking every year to give you a better experience FIFA has definitely done that as well making for a better soccer experience. Yeah I I know, I’m an American and I’m calling the sport the wrong thing.

Now the only minor criticisms I really have is sometimes the mechanics are so sensitive that I can’t get around defenders and get a shot off in time. I’m sure a patch would clear that up, but it’s always a study Evolution when it comes to improving the mechanics with the players. I’ve noticed the biggest difference in when I’m setting the sliders to give myself a Competitive Edge. Sometimes it’s a little too much in one or two points off in the slider can make it too hard to compete or you’ll run away with the game. I’ve also noticed that if there’s one team that FIFA really endorses even though they can’t  come out and say it publicly, it’s Liverpool because I don’t really have to adjust any sliders and I’m killing the competition. But even though the mechanics are absolutely perfect, it’s still an incredible experience, especially improve graphics which are definitely made for 4K TVs. That was the first thing that I noticed with the Champions League presentation…. but we also got a glimpse of it with the downloadable content of the world cup over the summer with FIFA 18. Now the only version that still hasn’t completely caught up with everything is the Nintendo switch version, but they’re a lot closer to being just like the PS4 and Xbox versions

So if there is any debate between Pro Soccer Evolution and FIFA when it comes to the better game, FIFA has definitely won the war by having the Champions League license and having a better presentation. I haven’t always been a big fan of the career mode, but I’m getting more used to it and being able to offer more leads like Europa or the super cup is even better. This is the FIFA game we’ve been waiting for… for at least the last decade.  FIFA is always the highest selling sports game because it is played throughout the world and well, some years it might be too easy to call if the game of the year so we don’t often include in our competition, I honestly have to say that it is definitely right up there for sports game of the year. I don’t even know if Madden can compete with it and it all has to do with the fact that they do have the Champions League competition as one of the mode. So if you’re a fan who still on the fence about whether this would be an improved enough version compared to…. Stop reading my review and go buy yourself a copy, it’s worth it.