FIFA 19 review

With limited competition coming from Pro Evolution Soccer, the FIFA series has been able to stagnate in recent years. The new installments have largely focused on minor improvements rather than wholesale changes. This is still the case in FIFA 19, but there has been more of a jolt than you might have expected.

For the past decade or so, EA has focused on making the FIFA series as realistic as possible. Each iteration aimed to try to replicate the sport as faithfully as possible. The developer took a different approach with this game. They finally realized that the reason people love football is because it’s fun. As a result, EA decided to bring the fun with FIFA 19.

house rules

The primary way this manifests itself comes with the newly introduced house rules system. After selecting a game from the start menu, you have the option to add modifiers such as headers and volleys or long range. In total, there are five different options to choose from and they drastically change the way you play. These two examples force players to confuse how they score goals, as only those from outside the penalty area or who hit without touching the floor count.

Things get even more interesting with some of the other house rules. Survival adds an interesting dynamic by removing a player from the scoring team whenever there is a goal. It helps to level the teams and prevents the best players from running away with matches, as they simply won’t have the manpower on the pitch to prove they are using their quality.

The final modifier is simply called No Rules and is exactly what you would expect. There is no referee and everything is fine. Getting rid of the laws of the game might not seem like a great idea, but it’s a blast. Being able to wipe out your friends’ players without any punishment is a lot of fun.