EA Sports released the latest edition of is perennially best selling series FIFA, FIFA 19, on September 29. With lots of promised improvements and innovations, EA had a lot to deliver on. In many respects they did deliver, but as with every annual EA Sports release, fans are not sure if the improvements are worth the cost of purchasing a new game. This year, I believe it was.

   The addition of the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations, Champions League introduces many more opportunities to an already expansive game. With this came new commentators, broadcasts, and backgrounds on the lobby screen, as well as new storylines in career mode. FIFA Ultimate team is the most popular and most profitable game mode for EA, so that is the area with the most new content. This year there are many new In Form card types for on field performance, along with the fan voted ones at the end of the season. There is also the weekend league, introduced last year, in addition to regular seasons. The squad builder challenges give players more opportunities to open packs than usual. Overall, Ultimate team has really filled out a lot since its introduction and gives players much more content to play through for real rewards. However, The Journey has gone too far. It is no longer an option to just play as Alex Hunter. Many like more story depth in sports career modes, I however do not, as I find they are mostly poorly done and cringey, like Nba 2k18. Regular career mode, specifically manager mode, has not made much progress since it was overhauled on FIFA 18, but the changes made then are still very well done now. The gameplay itself is noticeably different for any returning player. It seems they have abandoned the concept of a perfect simulation of real soccer and gone closer to what it really is, a game. This change prompted game modes like Survival mode where players lose a member of their squad for every goal conceded.

   These changes improve the small flaws found in the previous game, but obviously with more content comes more room to make mistakes. I think this ambitious look to what is already an extremely profitable game is a very good move as fans will not think EA is being lazy. EA is headed in the right direction with the latest installation in the FIFA series, FIFA 19.