FIFA 20 will differ significantly from FIFA 19. This is not an empty promise, reveals Cihan – one of the best German FIFA professionals.
Does FIFA 20 exaggerate with the advertising? We asked FIFA professional Cihan this question during the gamescom 2019 in our “gamescom together” stream. After all, there is often a bit of exaggeration when developers promote their game.
In the stream, we quoted some slogans that EA Sports uses to advertise FIFA 20 – and asked Cihan if they are true or just empty promotional phrases that have nothing to do with reality. We received some exciting answers.
Who is Cihan? Cihan Yasarlar is in his mid-20s, comes from Berlin, and is a professional FIFA player with numerous achievements. He is among the best German FIFA players and was able to test a pre-release version of FIFA 20 extensively.
FIFA 20 and FIFA 19 are completely different games – thanks to new ball physics
This is what the advertisement promises: EA Sports advertises FIFA 20 with a new ball physics system that delivers unprecedented realism and is supposed to result in new flight trajectories for the ball, even more realistic duel interactions, and physics-based behavior.
Cihan’s Opinion: According to Cihan, FIFA 20 can keep this promise – at least the beta version that he has already played. Due to the new ball physics, FIFA 19 and FIFA 20 are for him two completely different games.
In FIFA 20, significantly more has changed in how to handle the ball. “When you have the ball, you feel like you have the ball,” says Cihan – you can control the ball better and handle it more effectively.
More Control in FIFA 20
This is what the advertisement promises: “With the decision-making moments, you have even more control over all those moments that decide the outcome of a game. You have even greater influence on the events in the key scenes of each match,” says about the gameplay innovations in FIFA 20 from EA Sports.
Cihan’s Opinion: In the beta, the improved control was clearly noticeable. Not just thanks to the ball system. One has more room for decision-making, can deceive the opponent faster, and implement more of what FIFA 19 was still too sluggish for.
Manual defending is rewarded
This is what the advertisement promises: With the Active Touch system and new duel animations, user-controlled defensive actions should now be rewarded and exploited even more, EA says about the gameplay innovations. Is manual defending really more rewarding now?
Cihan’s Opinion: AI defense has been weakened compared to FIFA 19. In FIFA 20, you have to do much more yourself in defense if you want to get the ball.
However, he noticed that AI opponents block a lot in the penalty area. So when you get into the opponent’s box, the AI opponents that are not controlled by the opposing player block shots almost too well. Cihan sees this as a disadvantage – when you want to shoot and the opposing AI just blocks everything. He has already shared this feedback with other testers at EA.
However, according to Cihan, the manual duels have improved well. In FIFA 19, they could often be frustrating because in duels the ball frequently bounced back to the opponent. In FIFA 20, you get the balls with more reliability – manual defending is more worthwhile.
In FIFA 19, defending was heavily criticized. The AI opponents defended so well that many left the defending to the AI instead of intervening manually. FIFA 20 resolves this better now.
Is the AI Smarter?
This is what the advertisement promises: “Authentic game flow gives AI-controlled players a better understanding of time, space, and positioning on the field,” it reads in several stores. Is the AI in FIFA 20 really smarter? Does it have better timing and positioning?
Cihan’s Opinion: He noticed that the midfield players are not particularly intelligent when the opponent has the ball. They tend to just stand still instead of working back. EA Sports still has to tweak a few knobs here before FIFA 20 is released on September 27, 2019.
Regarding the Volta mode, Cihan mentioned that he finds the mode very interesting. He has played it a few times briefly. However, whether it will succeed in eSports remains to be seen. Currently, the major esports attention is on FUT, which is why Cihan thinks Volta will not establish itself in the competitive scene just yet.
You can watch the interview with Cihan here afterwards:
Watch FIFA 20 with the pro from RB Leipzig on www.twitch.tv
