Written by Joseph Holgate, who you can follow on Twitter at @joerodholgate
Unlike many others, I buy FIFA yearly for one thing and one thing only. Career Mode. Forget Ultimate Team and Pro Clubs. Nothing beats creating a dynasty with a lower league side, rebuilding a legacy with a team that has fallen from grace, or even producing a squad full of wonderkids through the youth system. For me, that trumps the pointlessness of pack opening or the absolute stress of Pro Clubs.
However, for a long time now, EA have regurgitated the same ideas for each new instalment. The only improvements to career mode have been extremely minor. Avid fans like myself were becoming excruciatingly restless with the lack of action from EA. That is, until now. With FIFA 20 being released a couple of weeks ago players were delighted to realise that their feedback had been answered. Or at least, some of it.
I must say that the changes made are a great start, but unfortunately, the game has been incredibly glitchy. Some of my saves have even been ruined by unexplainable errors. It’s clear to see that further work is needed in order to satiate FIFA’s massive fanbase.
When I start a career mode, I want it to feel as immersive as possible. I want to feel like I am actually there. Unlike previous editions, FIFA 20 allows players to fully customise their managers. Earlier on in the franchise, we were allowed to pick from a selection of managers that would bear no resemblance to us at all. It just seemed meaningless watching a stranger celebrate with a team that I worked so hard to create. The new feature permits players to chisel away at their managers facial features in order to replicate their very own game face. This is the perfect start for the franchise in my opinion. I can finally envision myself soaking in all the glory and triumph my team accomplish, and equally the pain and heartache of losing a cup final.
An even bigger milestone is the fact that we can change the gender of our manager, allowing women to rise to glory in their managerial career. My only critique is that there needs to be a more in-depth outfit selection. The same suit in different colours is just a bit boring. Even the same tracksuit in different colours is dull. The lack of personality-defining features such as glasses and tattoos is also quite disappointing. Nevertheless, the inclusion of this feature is a massive improvement for the fans; especially those seeking an immersive experience.
Another satisfying feature is the introduction of interactive press conferences. Managers can finally communicate with the press to discuss and outline things such as season plans, squad updates and player news. Considering the fact that in previous editions, press conferences were meaningless and did nothing to affect your career, EA has fantastically answered the fans and made manager interaction exciting and beneficial. This is because whatever is said in the press conferences affect your squad morale, which, as I’ll get into later, is crucial to the development of your squad. So well done EA!
Despite having some early bugs that I’m sure they’ll patch; career mode has become more realistic. Who wouldn’t love to scorn their team after a disappointing result or praise their promising new striker for bagging a hattrick? Gone are the days that made press conferences a monotonous bore. Spot on EA! This is certainly a big leap forward.
Finally, EA have implemented an improved morale system. This allows the player to see how their squad is individually coping with the managers philosophy. This, in turn affects player potential overall. Therefore, if players are being selected, and performing well regularly, their overall will increase. Whereas if their performance is poor and they dislike the manager, their overall will lock, or even decline. This feature is great in my opinion.
It is also worth mentioning that this benefits wonderkids such as Joao Felix as their overall soars when coupled with a consistent performance and a perfect relationship with the manager. Also, veterans, whose overalls have previously plummeted with age, find that on FIFA 20 their overalls freeze. This means that world class senior professionals such as Gianluigi Buffon and Zlatan Ibrahimović won’t see their attributes diminish if they have an amazing season. However, it is quite hard to maintain as some members of your squad will inevitably fall out with you. But I guess that’s what to expect in a generic football club. You can’t please everybody.
As mentioned above, the manager themselves can improve or tarnish their relationships with the players by what they say in press conferences or by what they say personally. So, you pick what kind of manager you want to be. Would you want to be a people pleaser? Or would you assert your dominance and authority over your squad?
All in all, EA have done a brilliant job in making career mode more realistic and immersive than previous instalments of the game. The use of press conferences and player morale really make saves more enjoyable and gripping. Each season seems to have a different story depending on your objectives, and the new features definitely amplify that. However, features such as player customisation needs to be improved. Having the same outfit in different colours is just plain lazy. Hopefully, these new additions serve as the foundations for future improvements. We want to see even more customisation, even more interaction, and even more immersion. But for the time being, EA ha definitely impressed me this year and is certainly headed in the right direction!
FIFA 20 is available now.