It’s said that sports games do not make it big when it comes to graphical fidelity and excellence these days. The said notion is not only being debunked, but utterly destroyed; leading the forefront of that assault is the FIFA series. FIFA has been the touchstone for sports games for a while now, and with their latest entry, – FIFA 15 – EA Canada has made a new benchmark, well above the expectations of fans and critics. FIFA 15 takes advantage of the new consoles to the full extent and looks beautiful, to say the least.
With a plethora of crafty new refinements and tweaks, the game takes a huge leap towards realism. It may be that you may not even notice a handful of changes made in the heat of the game, but this is exactly what makes the game so excellent.
"The pitch has received a dandy set of upgrades that make it seem all the better than its predecessor. The 3D grass rendering received a significant overhaul with each blade popping out in utmost detail and even having dew effects on it. The grass even gets shorn off by the boots of player as they shoot the ball home. "
The console parity is maintained with FIFA 15 as both the consoles seem vying hard to keep their noses ahead of the other. FIFA 15 runs at 60FPS and 1080p resolution on both the consoles without breaking a stride. Screen tearing is not an issue on either console.The animations and physics too are identical on the consoles and in the same manner, the consoles render almost all other eclectic points of contention unyielding. Thus, what’s left to fuss over and get frenzied about is the changes that the latest entry in the game has had. The pitch has received a dandy set of upgrades that make it seem all the better than its predecessor.
The 3D grass rendering received a significant overhaul with each blade popping out in utmost detail and even having dew effects on it. The grass even gets shorn off by the boots of player as they shoot the ball home. The playfield is reactive to the action happening on it, with it gradually deteriorating bit by bit as sliding tackles and and weather pattern; you can see skid marks and water getting kicked up on rainy days and even player kits get a green hue after sliding tackles.
The playfield is reactive to the action happening on it, with it gradually deteriorating bit by bit as sliding tackles and and weather pattern; you can see skid marks and water getting kicked up on rainy days and even player kits get a green hue after sliding tackles.
"The stadiums have been redone with some nicely detailed additions to the easily overlooked trivialities. The crowds now get pumped up with their chanting and even commentators prattle accordingly. Collision physics seems improved as player impacts seem a tad more believable; still not excellent, but they are a vast improvement over the last game. "
Player models have been done dexterously and the arduous efforts show, especially when it comes to star players. It’s hard to miss the realistic hair, and facial expressions of players that range from a grimace to a sneer, a smile to a dejected frown amongst a surfeit of others that affect a player’s countenance.Players’ chests heave rapidly as they make a strenuous run for the goal, with their hair bouncing in concordance with their movement. The stadiums have been redone with some nicely detailed additions to the easily overlooked trivialities.
The crowds now get pumped up with their chanting and even commentators prattle accordingly. Collision physics seems improved as player impacts seem a tad more believable; still not excellent, but they are a vast improvement over the last game. The goalposts teeter as a powerful shot hits them and the corner flags too, go down with a ball hit.
A new lighting system promises a richer look to the whole game as player skins, kits and other ambience objects react to the stadium lights and the natural light. Ambience occlusion doesn’t seem to be in place although soft shadows do a nice job of lending depth to objects. Depth of field is a new addition to the game, with out of focus objects receiving a blurry appearance.
The texture mapping is obviously improved and so is there a noticeable step up in the anti-aliasing used; possibly a mid-level MSAA. The one difference that does manifest in the console deadlock is the motion blur effect, which is entirely absent on the Xbox One. While the absence does give sharp and slick visuals, it comes at the cost of realism.
"To much of our dismay, FIFA 15 is one game that doesn’t give PC users a chance to cater to their hubris with more fervour. The highest graphics settings at best match up to the new gen console versions only and it retains the motion blur too. In addition, the anti-aliasing is bolstered a slight bit but it makes a marginal difference that won’t manifest itself unless upon a close perusal of game footage. "
The texture mapping is obviously improved and so is there a noticeable step up in the anti-aliasing used; possibly a mid-level MSAA. The one difference that does manifest in the console deadlock is the motion blur effect, which is entirely absent on the Xbox One. While the absence does give sharp and slick visuals, it comes at the cost of realism.To much of our dismay, FIFA 15 is one game that doesn’t give PC users a chance to cater to their hubris with more fervour. The highest graphics settings at best match up to the new gen console versions only and it retains the motion blur too. In addition, the anti-aliasing is bolstered a slight bit but it makes a marginal difference that won’t manifest itself unless upon a close perusal of game footage.
The PC can run the game beyond full HD if you have a good enough graphics card and an appropriate TV. Another queer thing is that across the new consoles and even the PC, anisotropic filtering gets affected considerably with even short distances. What it means is that the grass loses its three-dimensional awesomeness even if you look a few feet beyond a vantage point. Of course, all the aforementioned things are showcased mostly in replays and close-ups.
What it means is that the grass loses its three-dimensional awesomeness even if you look a few feet beyond a vantage point. Of course, all the aforementioned things are showcased mostly in replays and close-ups.
"Nonetheless, the textures are visible improved as are player movements, although the physics doesn’t seem to have as significant an upgrade. The lighting and shadow effects remain the same as that of the last game, albeit with a few tweaks. "
The older generation of consoles can not bag all the goodies mentioned above, but they have done their part in maintaining the brilliance that they are capable of.The PS3 and the Xbox 360 run at a consistent 30FPS but are affected by a slight horizontal screen tearing and the usual jaggies make the game their home, but that’s because the systems’ hardware doesn’t allow them to throw the aliasing out the window.
Nonetheless, the textures are visible improved as are player movements, although the physics doesn’t seem to have as significant an upgrade. The lighting and shadow effects remain the same as that of the last game, albeit with a few tweaks.
But in the larger perspective, the old gen doesn’t manage to present a radical difference with FIFA 15 in comparison to FIFA 14, having reached its maximum potential a fair bit of time back.
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