FIFA 14

Today, as far as I know, is the release date of FIFA 14 and I decided to rent it out and see if I liked it. I often find game where you control the players boring and prefer manager games but, you know, it might have been interesting. I've played it for about an hour and already I'm bored with it. The career mode doesn't advance quickly enough to the games and the scouting thing they've introduced I find bloody confusing. Never mind, I though, I'll go and play through the "skills" mini-games - is like free-kicks and penalties and stuff. Problem with this is there is no tutorial so I have no bloody clue what the hell I'm supposed to be doing, or what buttons do what to change how the kicks are taken and nothing I do seems to effect what the character in game is doing. Now, I remember a time years back when they used to actually give you a booklet explaining - in theory because it never seemed to work in practice - what all the buttons did to effect the game. I wasn't given a booklet and most games I've had recent dont seem to come with one either. Failing the booklet there used to be an option for tutorial messages in the game itself. Couldn't see one there ether. So I've just said "this is stupid and bullshit" and taken a break probably for the day, maybe forever if I remain as dissapointed in it tomorrow as I am today.

I haven't tried a soccer game on the recent consoles, but the old PS2 ones used to bug the hell out of me. I was never any good at them. That being said - my brother-in-law rocked at them (because he loved soccer, he'd just play it a lot).

The only sport game I own is an old NBA Live one (I think 2010) -- I have the same problem as you. The mini-games are kind of fun, but I can never figure them out properly. I can't even really figure out how to start a career game, the menus are all so confusing. Then when I do, I suck at the game itself.

So, yeah, I'll skip FIFA 14 like I skipped FIFA 13. If they can make one of these games easy for a dumbass like me, I'll probably be all over it.

I've played it again this morning and I remain dissapointed.

I played a freindly game between Pompey and Accrington Stanley and though I was winning 2-0 I was just getting more and more annoyed with it. The game still has this bloody annoying habit of not knowing what the offside rule is - though I suppose I could excuse them a bit on that because real life professional managers and referees dont know what the offside rule is - and it also still switches you to players you dont actually want at the time and passing to players you dont intend to pass to - though, again, that might be a bit down to me not being great at the game, but still its happens so often that either I must be really bad at it or it must be some kind of game feature.

So I gave up with that and went to play the manager mode because I could simulate games instead, but the issue here is that either my TV is too small or they've designed the game to that the writing on "news" items or in your "inbox" is so small that you have to be right up close to the screen to be able to read what the bloody things says.

And the main issue with the game remains the same main issue I have always had with it. There is no variety, is just the same thing over and over and over and over again. That's boring. You can only do the sae thing for so long before you loose all interest.

I'm happy I only spent 6/7 pound renting it than 30/40 pound buying it. I wont be adding it to my collection perminantly.