FIFA 14 on Tablets Finally Makes Sense

FIFA on your phone or tablet now truly feels designed for a mobile device.

EA’s FIFA soccer franchise has always been impressive on phones and tablets. For years the games have featured detailed 3D graphics, plenty of modes of play, full play-by-play commentary and all the other features gamers have come to expect from an AAA soccer franchise – all for just a few dollars.
But all these bells and whistles only count for so much when the on-pitch action is awkward to control. FIFA’s virtual buttons were never especially unwieldy, but there’s no denying that they weren’t an ideal way to experience video game soccer.

FIFA 14 on consoles also features big improvements.

Thankfully, this year the FIFA mobile team has finally implemented contextual touch controls. Dragging a finger over any player creates a movement line that they’ll then follow. To pass, you simply tap the screen where you want to place the ball. When you’re in the back half of the field, a quick swipe is used to shoot.
These controls already work well, even in FIFA 14’s untuned, pre-alpha state. The new setup gives the game a more strategic feel – it almost like a realtime strategy game. Since you can control your entire team by dragging lines for them to follow, I found myself paying less attention to the actual dribbler, and more attention to the “big picture.” By drawing a line for one player into empty space and then tapping to send the ball there, I felt like I had much more control than just using traditional touch buttons. Gamers that had no qualms with the old control setup will still be able to select it from FIFA 14’s options menu.
The new swipe-to-shoot controls don’t quite feel as polished or intuitive in this early state, though. The speed and angle of your swipes lets you control the spin, curve, and speed of your shots, but I generally felt like I couldn’t control what portion of the net I was directing my shots toward. Additionally, my swipes occasionally registered as movement commands, sending my player directly into the box instead of sending the ball into the back of the net.
Although FIFA 14’s clever new control scheme is its flagship new feature, the game also features other improvements. Over 30 real-world leagues are now included, with over 300 teams and 16,000 players, complete with photos and accurate statistics. Commentary will now be available as DLC (to keep the download size low) in languages like French, Spanish, Italian and German for European football fans.
IGN will have more on FIFA 14 on all platforms in the weeks and months to come.