EA Sports has pulled the curtain back on FC 24, its first post-FIFA football video game. You can check out IGN’s FC 24 hands-on preview to get an idea of how it feels to play, but there’s plenty more to discuss, including a raft of smaller changes and additions that combine to make a positive impression. Read on for 13 cool new details we noticed after our extended time with the game.
There’s a first-person ref perspective
This is an odd one! Sometimes, during an in-match cutscene that involves the referee, the camera will switch to showing a first-person perspective from inside the ref’s head. It’s a little jarring at first, and it looks a little like football Skyrim, but it’s a nice new visual touch. And it’s quite funny to see the ref’s outstretched arm give a bemused player a card for some horrendous tackle. Be warned, though! During our hands-on we saw the inside of the ref’s teeth at one point, with the camera doing that video game clipping thing.
You can do Erling Haaland karate kick goal
As you’d expect of a new FIFA game, FC 24 includes loads of new animations to help keep things feeling fresh. The headline, though, is the addition of Erling Haaland’s stunning karate kick goal for Man City against previous club Borussia Dortmund in last season’s Champions League. There are new unique running animations, too, so you should be able to tell the famous players a mile off. As you’d expect, Haaland has his unique running style in the game, his long arms waving about behind his arched back.
PlayStyles give players a power boost – and they’re “optimised” by Opta
FC 24 has a long list of PlayStyles that give specific stats a massive boost. EA Sports is using real-world player data from Opta to inform these PlayStyles, so you they should make sense relative to the performance of real-world footballers. For example, Haaland, who is known for his powerful shots, has the Power Shot PlayStyle. FC 24 has 34 PlayStyles, with a more powerful PlayStyle+ available for each, making for 68 in total. Expect PlayStyles in Ultimate Team, too. Team of the Week Haaland, for example, may include the Power Header PlayStyle if he scores a bullet header in real-life (let’s be honest, this is going to happen!). In-game, these PlayStyles pop up as a diamond symbol above a player’s head, so you’ll always know what power-up you’re playing with.
New Precision Passing unlocks Kevin De Bruyne-style through balls
FC 24 has three Precision Pass styles (we’re using PlayStation controls here): the Precision Pass (R1 + Through ball); the Precision Lob (R1 + Lob); and the Swerved Precision Pass (L2 + R1 + Through ball). Each type paints a line on the pitch that shows the direction of the pass you’re about to attempt. Expect the most skilled players to master these passes for unexpected through balls.
AcceleRATE 2.0 adds four new acceleration archetypes
FIFA 23 players will be familiar with the infamous “lengthy” acceleration archetype some felt was overpowered. EA Sports is doubling down on this feature, adding four new archetypes for a total of seven. There are now three lengthy acceleration types alone: Controlled Lengthy; Mostly Lengthy; and Lengthy (Pure). EA Sports hopes the addition of new acceleration archetypes will make for more variety in the meta.
FC 24 has “GPU cloth”
All this really means is FC 24 has better-looking clothes that move more realistically as players move. You’ll notice this more in cutscenes, alongside the new “AI Hands”, which hopefully means FC 24’s fingers will be present and correct.
The menus have been overhauled and now include live video
FIFA fans will immediately notice FC 24’s menus are completely different. EA Sports has gone for a new vertical orientation style that should mean you get to what you want quicker. You’ll also see live video in the menus. So, if you pause the game, you might see a replay of a goal you just scored to the right of the menu options. It’s a neat new feature.
Stats pop up on the pitch all the time
FC 24 goes big on “insight overlays”, which display various stats on the pitch as you play in an augmented reality fashion. For example, while you wait for a goal kick the game may show the spots where the last five shots were taken from. You might also get a win probability display on the pitch, or an indication of shots on target. Perhaps most usefully, you might see your five most-fatigued players highlighted as you wait to take a throw-in. This should mean you’ll need to spend less time fussing about in menus and more time playing an actual match.
There’s a secondary commentary team
FC 24 has a secondary commentary team of Guy Mowbray, who you’ve probably heard on BBC and BT Sport, and former England international Sue Smith. Smith is the first female co-commentator ever in an EA Sports football game. Ex-England international Alex Scott also returns pitch-side.
Ultimate Team has a new Evolutions card mechanic
FC 24’s Ultimate Team adds a new way to upgrade cards. The Evolutions feature lets you increase the stats of a player who fits into a certain objective. You’ll then need to complete in-game challenges with this player to evolve them. These time-limited challenges are designed to help a card remain relevant throughout the season, although not all cards will apply. Expect promos such as Team of the Week to also play a part in Evolutions challenges.
Ultimate Team has new, better chemistry options
With the addition of women into Ultimate Team, you’re now able to draw chemistry if you have a male and female player from the same club in your team. Chelsea’s Lauren and Reece James seem like a fun option. Meanwhile, Icons now give chemistry to every league, which makes them more useful. Sticking with helpful quality of life changes for Ultimate Team, you can now freely move a player to their secondary position without the need for a consumable. Finally!
Player career now has a Ballon d’Or cutscene
EA Sports made a big deal of the new cutscene that plays out if you win the Ballon d’Or in player career mode. It looks like a suitably glitzy affair, although it will be funny to see unlikely players pick up the gong, watched by proud managers who would never get a look-in in real life. Career mode also has a new cutscene for a victory parade. In it, players and the manager dance energetically to generic celebration dance music, while fans on the street take pictures with their phones. It’s quite odd!
And finally… Pro Clubs is now Clubs, and it’s got crossplay
Pro Clubs fans have long-called for crossplay to boost the playerbase of the mode, and with FC 24 it’s finally here. As with crossplay across the game, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC players are all in the same crossplay pool, leaving PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players to match together. This addition to Pro Clubs, now simply called Clubs, means you can finally play with a friend who’s on another platform.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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