FIFA video game fans, your wait is almost over. On September 27, gamers will be able to pick up FIFA 17 and begin their mini game featuring The Journey with Alex Hunter. While this mode was hyped a lot, gamers really want to know if it will be worth it. And, so far, my answer is mostly yes.

About the new graphics engine

Before I get into The Journey, let’s highlight some of the overall visual improvements of the game. Recently, I reviewed the FIFA 17 demo and told you how some of the improvements are really starting to help the FIFA series pull away from PES 2017.

One of the biggest inclusions was the Frostbite engine which really separates previous iterations from this one. In a nutshell, the Frostbite engine in FIFA 17 makes this one of the most gorgeous looking sports games I have seen in a long time. There are still a few tiny hiccups but finally a 5:30pm game in the spring looks totally different from a game played at the same time in the fall.

The demo seemingly gave us a peek at what’s coming but now having a full version of the game at my fingertips, I can truly see how stunning the visuals are. Many of the player faces look so much closer to their real life counterparts, and the field lighting looks so much more realistic. This is something that must be seen to be believed. The game doesn’t feel static whether it’s played day or night. Even the wear and tear of the pitch looks a lot better this time around.

My advice is before you get into any gaming mode, experiment with the day/night settings at different points of the year and at different stadiums and you will see what I mean.

Taking the first steps

So, let’s look at The Journey. When I talked about it in the demo, you were just a little further along the road than where you actually start in the finished version. Your very first steps actually start with you as a child watching a rift develop between your mother and father during a kid’s league game. You are set up for a crucial key point of the game and regardless of how you do, it seems like it’s not enough to keep them from arguing.

Skip ahead a few years and you are on the verge of getting your professional contract. The player has to play a few skill games as well as some 11-a-side before advancing. As you accomplish these tasks, you find out more about Alex Hunter’s life and his relationship with his best friend Gareth Walker. All of this is presented in the same style that has been done in other EA Games such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Inquisition. You are given a certain set of dialogue responses that shapes your story and the people around you, all of which is fully fleshed out. Further along as you go, your path may put you in a team where you have to work your way into the starting XI or start in it right off depending on the team’s situation. Even after spending four hours in, I still feel like I am still taking baby steps. What’s really nice is that even the commentary is tailored to Alex Hunter, providing bits and pieces about his progress, his family and bonding with Gareth.

The best part of this is that as you play, like previous virtual pro modes, you earn skill points as you go except this time around it feels like you are earning them a lot faster than you did in previous years. So far, it seems like it makes no sense in making a player languish on loan spells while waiting for them to develop but to be fair, I haven’t made it far enough in for my manager to decide to send me off to a backwoods team for extra development. Also another good feature is as you go, for each game that you play, you gain Twitter followers (in-game of course), and your valuation can increase or decrease depending on your play.

After nearly each game, you see Alex’s story advance as he interacts with teammates, brushes up with current greats such as current FIFA cover star Marco Reus, and interacts with his training coach and of course his family. I have yet to play far enough in to see what starts the split between Alex and Gareth but I am sure that it’s coming.

Concerns

As I alluded to before as I played the demo, while this mode is a breath of fresh air that FIFA needed, I still feel that this mode would have been a lot more personal to gamers if we had been allowed to make our own characters. Not to take away from the actor whose likeness was used, but in past iterations, I really enjoyed the fact that not only I could create my player and control his destiny but in the past, I could also download my face and make it that much more personal. Again, we have seen games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, in which you create characters in the style that you like and play with them. Here, I still feel like I am playing someone else’s story. On the flipside, as other games have opted to give you an RPG-like such as what NBA2K16 did last year and what Madden attempted to do in years past, FIFA 17 is making a push to tell as authentic a story they can to give players a reason to care about this mode. The biggest question I have however is how far along does this story go? Will I still have a reason to play one year after Alex’s career begins? What if I make it three years in? Will there still be enough of Alex’s story going around to keep me playing? It looks like I may have to give an update as I go along. So far, in the early hours, it’s enough content to keep players involved.

Overall, I am mostly impressed with The Journey. There seems like there may be enough freedom of choice to either become a great star or make some boneheaded decisions and crash and burn. I do have a few notable concerns about the longevity of this mode and if EA Sports will be able to top it next year. The question is, of course if gamers will take to it.

The above is based on the FIFA 17 EA Access version of the game via XBox One. This is the full version of the game except players are only allowed 10 hours of play time. All saves will transfer over to the full version on release day for the XBox One only. These saves will not transfer to the PS4 version.

On September 27 in North America (and September 29 for the rest of the world), we will get to see one of the biggest FIFA editions ever, so many gamers no doubt are wondering how it stacks up. If you are eager to get a taste of The Journey, Alex Hunter’s story in FIFA 17, download the demo now. More on that in a moment, let’s talk about the overall game first.

Presentation and graphics

Based on what we can see in the FIFA 17 demo, the presentation has slightly improved over past iterations. The new Frostbite engine has done a lot of justice on the likenesses of the footballers. Best yet, the stadiums look so much more vibrant in either day or night cycles. I am really eager to play an evening game to see if it gets progressively darker as you play a la Madden games. The manager likenesses finally add more immersion into the game although since the Madden series has been doing this for years, it makes me wonder what took EA Sports so long for the FIFA series to catch up to this innocuous feature.
Another enhancement with the Frostbite engine is that the lighting of the stadiums at night looks a lot more realistic as smoke, fog and a few other factors come into play.

So far in the course of the game, I am noticing slightly newer nuances in the commentary as well as new overlays. In one match, I was playing as Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid. A nice extra touch was seeing an overlay of Cristiano Ronaldo having too few ball opportunities because Bayern had done a great job of keeping him off of the ball.

With all that is happening during the course of the game, it’s great to start to hear more commentary about how the match is developing, and which players are shining and those that are not.

Gameplay and controls

The gameplay and controls on the FIFA 17 demo is where things take a bit of a turn. I spent all of last year playing Pro Evolution Soccer (PES), and while I was able to get the controls to mostly mimic the commands of FIFA games, I did notice with PES that I felt like I had more control of my team in terms of control of players and how they handled the ball. Returning to FIFA honestly feels like a few steps back in some respects. While it’s still great from a pick up and play point of view if you have played the FIFA series, I did feel like in a lot of instances that my players had to be corralled in. For example, in a lot of cases, I almost felt like my players were on ice skates. It took a few games to get re-acclimated to how FIFA handles but the control scheme isn’t so messed up that you can’t control it. The new button controls for the most part feels like what EA has done on the Madden series. EA is adding some extra things that you may or may not use during the course of the game. Diehard users will go out of their way to figure out the controls and how to make the most of them, while most casual users may never bother.

As far as gameplay is concerned, while EA touts an improved AI, I still noticed a few old issues that plague the demo that will hopefully be addressed by the time the game is released. The biggest is getting players to move forward during attacks. I noticed a few times that my midfielders were dropping too far behind defensively as I was pushing ahead, especially on counter attacks. One of the biggest problems that has plagued the last several iterations is that many times, the AI will rarely attack a loose ball especially for shots in the box. Many goal opportunities were missed because even if I missed a shot that bounced off the woodwork or I had a volley coming back in my team’s direction, the AI did not always react to procure the ball. In the PES series, I can say that the opposite has been true. If the ball is loose, all AI players will fight to get it.

The Journey

The Journey was a feature that was introduced at the E3 this summer, and so far it looks to be exciting. Players get a chance to see Alex Hunter and his childhood friend Gareth Walker debut with Manchester United playing at Stamford Bridge versus Chelsea. The game plays very similar to Mass Effect as you get differed dialogues to choose from in certain situations and your answers have an impact. Funnily enough, however, no matter how many times you play the scenario, in some cases the outcome may not change. As Hunter and Walker find out their assignments, no matter what dialogue choices you get, you realize that Walker is an idiot as he seeks to get the glory and snubs Hunter at a crucial moment. Gamers are then given a choice to play as Hunter or control the whole team.

As the game loads, you get to see the current table (somehow Leicester was still atop the table after 2 games) and then you see an impressive cut scene. Walker has just scored his first goal for Manchester United but Chelsea scores the equalizer. Hunter is put into the game in the 76th minute, and just before you go into the game, you get a few objectives to achieve. One of the neatest parts is that as Hunter is warming up, there is a hostile crowd shouting “Who are ya, who are ya” over and over. After that, it’s showtime.

After the game, you get an interview. And just like before, you get a choice of answers and depending on your choices, your followers and manager may approve your statements. I played the game three different times with different results and I was amazed that in those three games, the reporter didn’t say exactly the same thing. After the interview, you get a glimpse as to what’s to come in The Journey.

While I like what a refreshing mode The Journey is, I still don’t like the idea that I am stuck playing this predesigned player. As someone who enjoyed the Virtual Pro mode a few years back where I could put my own face on my player, this would have served well with allowing that. Again, this is a feature served up in Mass Effect which makes that series that much more personal. Maybe we will get that feature next season? No offense to the actor, but I really would have liked to make this journey much more personal.

Overall, I don’t feel like I missed much in between FIFA 15 and FIFA 17. I am intrigued to see how much more gorgeous the Frostbite engine can make this game and I really want to see how The Journey ups the ante between FIFA and PES. I still hope before release some of the AI issues can be worked out, but overall FIFA 17 still feels like the same FIFA games I have played for a while and that’s not always a good or bad thing.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

You can pick FIFA 17 up on September 27 in the US and September 29 for the rest of the world (the game is available for pre-order today from Amazon). Also if you have EA Early Access, you can download and play it a few days earlier than the release and all of your saves will transfer right over to the retail copy.

Please let us know in the comments below if you’re excited about this release.

With the new season comes plenty of rituals — getting your Fantasy Premier League team ready, making predictions about the upcoming season, and looking through the new jerseys that have been released for each club.

Some of what we have seen really stand out, many are middle of the road efforts but very few kits — thankfully — are just plain ugly. Also of note is that Nike is only providing kits for one team in the Premier League this season. Wait until you find out who it is.

Here are the Premier League jerseys for the 2016/17 season, ranked from best to worst (click on the photos to see more details regarding each jersey):

1. Southampton

Kit maker: Under Armour

Kit maker Under Armour has really made its mark with the Southampton’s home jersey. They took everything traditional about the club as well as the sponsor’s logo, and then came up with this stunning blend. Nothing is overpowering in the home design and I may say that this could be a classic jersey that others should look at for inspiration.

The away design is just as good in that the grey panel stands out. And again there is no one logo that overpowers the others. This is a real stand up effort by a company based in my hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.

Overall grade: A+

2. Stoke City

Kit maker: Macron

Not to be outdone, Stoke City’s home jersey has a beautiful, synergistic design. It almost looks like Under Armour and Macron took the same class in Kit Making 101. In this jersey, we find Stoke City’s classic red and white stripes with a hint of blue throughout the jersey design. The manufacturer’s logo breaks it up a little but it’s not a bad effort. What really stands out is the under collar of the shirt with the red and white stripes. This is an excellent effort by Macron.

The away jersey is decent too. Truth be told, this pattern would have made a good home jersey for Manchester City. However this jersey is reminiscent of the jerseys worn by The Potters from 1977 until around 1982. I like how the Henley collar stands out as well as the blue and white vents on the left and right sides of the shirt.

Overall grade: A+

3. Leicester City

Kit maker: Puma

The Premier League champions return in style, and I’m sure many of Leicester’s supporters will get these jerseys adorned with the redesigned, gold champions badge on the sleeve, and deservedly so. Starting with the home jersey, Puma again incorporated the same design in which they have used with several other jerseys. But, this one is an excellent design. The raised gold accents on the collarbone as well as the gold Puma logo really give synergy to this jersey. Also, I really like the striping pattern woven into the shirt itself.

The away jersey is a bold, red with a gradient on the front of the shirt that is certain to make the champions stand out as they defend their title. Equally impressive is the third jersey with its white color and blue pinstripes. It looks like Leicester is dressed for success this year.

Overall grade: A

4. Crystal Palace

Kit maker: Macron

For the Crystal Palace home jersey, I have to say that I like this design more than I liked last year’s offering. Instead of the medium stripes, this jresey has a big, bold two-tone red and blue design, which meshes well with the sponsor’s logo. The away jersey this year follows a different path than last year. Instead of the white, this year’s jersey is a bright yellow with the red and blue sash running diagonally across the shirt. Again, the sponsor logo matches well with the shirt. It’s something like that I wish other sponsors would do.

Overall grade: B+

5. Tottenham Hotspur

Kit maker: Under Armour

Under Armour makes another solid effort with the Spurs home jersey. Again, the kit maker doesn’t go crazy with embellishing weird patterns. Instead, their design team went with navy blue on the shoulders and just a touch of gold trim in the collar.   Again, the team crest and manufacturer logo follow suit with the overall jersey design with the sponsor logo showing up in red, setting it off smartly.

Tottenham’s away jersey also is a well assembled effort with the dark blue base and gold accents. Again, there’s no crazy pattern and the sleeve striping on the shirt keeps it all uniform. Again it’s another great effort without going overboard.

The third jersey takes a bit of a tumble. Again, I love the uniform coloring and design but I’m not sure how I feel about the pinstripes. I feel like if you’re going to use them, do it throughout the entirety of the shirt or don’t use it at all.

Overall grade: B+

6. Arsenal

Kit maker: Puma

Even though Arsenal seems to flirt with being at the top of the table every year, at least they do so while looking good. Puma, who has been working with the Gunners since 2013, keeps Arsenal looking modern while being minimalist in their approach. The home jersey looks like classic Arsenal, with very few changes although the darkened red stripe running down the middle is a “take it or leave it” issue.

The away jersey also boasts the simplistic approach as well with a tidy ebony and yellow collar.  The body of the shirt has very subtle yellow stripes giving it a ‘ribbed’ look with the Gunners emblem finishing out this design.

The third jersey is adventurous, and reminds me of a training shirt that Barcelona had a few years ago. But at least Puma didn’t go overly crazy with the neon green. Again, the design is subtle and doesn’t go overboard with garish designs.

Overall, even if Arsenal falls short again, the Gunners will look do so looking good.

Overall grade: B

7. Burnley

Kit maker: Puma

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Aston Villa were relegated last season, and Burnley was promoted. Burnley’s home jersey is similar in design and cut to Arsenal’s away jersey with the same clean, minimalistic design.

The away jersey flips the two-tone design and provides a rounded collar to finish the effect. My only thought was that maybe Puma could have incorporated their logo on the right side of the jersey into the shirt color theme.

Overall grade: B

8. Middlesbrough

Kit maker: Adidas

Middlesbrough is making their first start in the Premier League in nearly a decade, and their jersey designs by Adidas show real flair. The home jersey is dominated by the ‘power red’ color with a white slanted panel and blue trim. To be honest, there are a lot of teams that use red, white and blue in their choices, and it’s interesting that Adidas decided to do something different to help such a common pattern stand out.

The away jersey reminds me of Chelsea’s away jersey from 2012 but instead of using the checkered pattern, which really broke up that jersey, Adidas gave it a somewhat gradated 3 stripe design in a V-neck form with the Adidas 3 Stripe design on the sides for a really nice look.

Overall grade: B

9. Chelsea

Kit maker: Adidas

While I liked the design for the home and third jersey, the away jersey looks too busy. The home jersey however, is classic Adidas. I really like how they incorporated the team’s crest into the shirt itself with the 3 Stripes going down the sides of the shirt. The 3rd jersey (which should have been the away jersey) also boasts of a similar clean yet basic, design, which is probably one of the best white Chelsea jerseys I have seen since the 2013-14 season. But the away jersey is too busy with the hoops. It’s not enough that Adidas has their hoops running across the shoulders but the hoops running across the front of the shirt just adds too much. But, at least they aren’t the same colors.

Overall grade: B-

10. Hull City

Kit maker: Umbro

The Tigers home jersey for this year loses the pinstripes from last season for a much bolder look with the broad amber and black stripes. I also like the white collar and cuffs, which gives a striking appearance as well. The away jersey is a basic black affair with amber accents and doesn’t really stand out. It’s not the greatest thing in the world but it’s not a nightmare either. Some jerseys can be clean and stand out, but this isn’t that jersey.

Overall grade: B-

11. Watford

Kit maker: Dryworld

Dryworld is the new kit maker for Watford, and they show how effortless it is to create a shirt that doesn’t have to go all out to be noticeable. Let’s start by what you can’t see.  By looking at the shirt closely, you can see the pinstripe pattern which is very subtle followed by a decent black and red trim on the sleeves and collar. And for those that want to ‘pop the collar,’ the underside is red as well. That, I think could have been left alone as when the collar is down you really won’t see much of it.

The away jersey is based on the same template just done in white. Overall, it’s a pretty decent job by Dryworld.

Overall grade: B-

12. West Brom

Kit maker: Adidas

Adidas has had this thing for using big bold stripes for West Brom for years, and this time is no different. This season, it returns but instead of red accents as seen on past jerseys, sky blue is the trim. It’s done with some subtle tones but the problem comes with Adidas’ logo. In a few iterations, Adidas has opted to insert their logo in the center without breaking up the stripes. In this one, it’s positioned in its normal upper right position, which breaks up the flow of the stripes and nearly disappears in the white stripes. It’s a nitpicking to be sure but I think the look would have been better if Adidas opted to pick a better position for the logo.

The away jersey is a much better effort with the pinstripes as well as the white accents that stand out in the team badge and the Adidas logo. Again as I stated about Tottenham’s jersey, I am at odds with the pinstripes not running through the entirety of the shirt panels. But regardless of that, I think this is still a good effort.

Overall grade: B-

13. Everton

Kit maker: Umbro

Umbro, thanks for getting rid of the white V collar that could have passed for a bib last year. But with this year’s Everton home kit, was it really necessary to add neon highlights? The piping looks like safety stripes and are totally unnecessary. The away jersey fares a better as it’s based on the jerseys worn during their 1890 campaign.

Overall grade: C

14. Liverpool

Kit maker: New Balance

A few years after Warrior’s jersey run, it looks like New Balance is trying to give Liverpool supporters more nightmares. The home jersey is fine as it’s a clean iconic design in bright, bold red and gold accents. It looks strikingly similar to Warrior’s 2012 effort sans the collar. The away jersey is a nice effort as well with the black, white with red accents. New Balance also took a page out of Nike’s playbook with the black stripes running down the back. But things took a turn with the third jersey. Design-wise, it’s nowhere near as horrendous as Warrior’s 2013 design but the colors are bright. If Liverpool wins all of their games with these jerseys, it will be because of the bright green of these shirts. It’s nicknamed ‘toxic’ after all and you will not miss any of the players in this jersey. Outside of the colors, the design is simple enough but that neon green needs to be toned down a lot.

Overall grade: C

15. Manchester City

Kit maker: Nike

It’s interesting to note that we have gone this far into the list and this is the first time Nike has been featured. This year’s home design looks to be more futuristic with a hint of a ‘back to basics’ look. Instead of the mostly powder blue jerseys we have seen over recent years, this year’s home jersey is one of the biggest departures we have seen in years. The two-tone look is a big turn from the mostly monochromatic jerseys of the past as well as the new crest that really stands out on the front of the jersey.

The away jersey is even more interesting. Over the years, Manchester City has incorporated red and black into some of their away designs with the last time being in 2011 with Umbro. Instead of the big bold stripes, City’s jerseys are mostly black with muted red sleeves with yellow accents. On one hand, the yellow stands out and I kind of wished gold was incorporated instead since the colors are muted but then, the yellow does brighten up the color scheme.

This brings us to the third jersey. The last time I recall seeing something like this was Barcelona’s 2013 jersey. Back then, Barca looked like they were on fire, this design looks like an LSD trip gone bad. I would wear Liverpool’s Toxic kit before I would wear this.

Overall grade: C

16. Manchester United

Kit maker: Adidas

Someone needs to sit down and have a really long talk with Adidas and Chervolet. In the past two years since Adidas took over from Nike in making kits, I, as a supporter, have had a hard time getting on board. Admittedly, I own 2 jerseys, one being the black jersey worn by the club during their brief foray in the Champions League last season as well as a FA Cup final kit I recently purchased. My biggest problem is with the gaudy Chevrolet logo. Unlike the AIG and AON logos, which blended seamlessly into the jerseys, the Chevy logo is a stark contrast to its predecessors. If it were a solid color similar to how the others were done, it wouldn’t be so bad but again, unless something significant happens, I can’t see myself getting another jersey.

That being said, the home jersey is a basic clean design (Chevy logo notwithstanding) with a two-tone red design. Its inspiration comes from the Newton Heath green and yellow design. This year, Adidas opted to get rid of the V-neck and using a basic rounded color design as well as stripes on the sides as opposed to being on the shoulders.

The away jersey I am not too crazy about as it reminds me very much of the AON training shirts that United used last year. Truth be told, I wish they would use those instead.

The third jersey may be a love it or hate it jersey for fans. While it boasts a “Bold Onyx” color pattern scheme incorporated on the sleeves, the grey just leaves the jersey feeling flat. This may be the one time the Chevy logo actually stands out on this jersey by adding a touch of color. It’s not a bad jersey overall but a touch of red would not have hurt here.

Overall grade: C

17. Sunderland

Kit maker: Adidas

Sunderland’s home jersey is a nice design which incorporates red, white and gold into the shirt but it also suffers the same flow issues similar to the Manchester United jersey. The sponsor logo takes away from the design. It’s not bad though it’s just distracting. If the “D” was done in a gold trim, it may blend better in the overall design, but it stands out more than everything else.

Sunderland’s third jersey is yet another eyesore. The color combination could be forgiven if it wasn’t for the hoops on the front of the shirt. When you have two colors that will clash like pink and purple, anything more just makes it worse.

Overall grade: C

18. Swansea City

Kit maker: Joma

Under Adidas, Swansea has had some interesting jersey designs over the years. And now with Joma stepping in, it’s going to take some time to see what they can really do. The home jersey, while having an interesting cut with the high color, is unassuming in its design. Without the sponsor logo, it’s just a white shirt with the team badge. It feels like something more could have been done like such as black panels on the sleeve.

The away jersey has more flair in that the gradient design really gives life to this kit that is missing in the home kit. The collar and sleeve accents give it more life and it’s still nice that Joma and the sponsor logo don’t overpower the jersey with the white color.

Overall grade: C

19. West Ham

Kit maker: Umbro

In some cases, the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ approach may work. West Ham’s home jersey doesn’t show much change from last year’s effort except for the collar and sleeve trim. Otherwise at first glance, it’s the same jersey all over again.

The away jersey fares better. Instead of using the sky blue coloring from last year’s effort, Umbro went along with using a white base with the claret and blue trim for a really unassuming looking jersey.

The Special Commemorative West Ham United 2016 Thames Ironworks jersey is very interesting. It’s a solid dark navy blue 4-button polo shirt with a unique Union Jack badge commemorating the founders. On the back is a subtle red Hammers symbol. The only issue is that the sponsor logo is virtually invisible on this kit. It’s a very striking kit to be sure, but this is one that would have been better without the corporate sponsor.

Overall grade: C

20. AFC Bournemouth

Kit maker: JD Sports

JD Sports are manufacturing AFC Bournemouth’s jerseys. While JD Sports provided a clean design for Bournemouth’s jerseys, did they have to put such a huge patch on the sides of the jersey? The home jersey reminds me of AC Milan’s look. And while the synergy is there, those JD patches just ruin it.

The away jersey boasts a nice design as well with the hooped blue alternating on the front of the shirt. The third jersey boasts a neon green and black design with the JD Sports patch in black overpowering the shirt, which nearly dwarfs the team’s badge

All of the jerseys boasts clean designs that are not overpowering, but their sponsor’s logo and patches are just garish.

Overall grade: C-

This week, EA Sports held a conference at the annual E3 to announce what gamers can expect this fall in FIFA 17.

Let’s take a look at what was announced and how it may stack up against previous versions.

FIFA 17 will be running under the Frostbite engine

EA’s proprietary graphics engine, which powers many games including Star Wars: Battlefront and Battlefield 1 will now power the FIFA series. Hopefully this means we will see better player representation and better stadium renderings as well as more realistic dynamic lighting because playing a game set at 5:30pm doesn’t mean that the lighting looks like it’s noon. Also, with the new graphics engine, we should see better, more realistic player animations as well.

FIFA 17 introduces “The Journey”

Let’s call it what it is. FIFA 17’s “Journey” mode is similar to myCareer mode in NBA 2K16 or “Superstar” mode in the Madden series. “The Journey” gives players an opportunity to follow a unique and individual player, “Alex Hunter,” as you guide him from the academy all the way through to his professional level. It plays out as a story complete with dialogue choices, RPG-like elements that affects your player’s standing with his team and likenesses of real managers such as Jurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho, and more.

While I think this is a good idea, players are only able to follow “Hunter” through this process in the Premier League and the inability to create your own player is frustrating. It’s a good start to the freedom games like NBA2K and Madden offer, but many may be disappointed with not having the option to create their own players.

On the field changes

Several changes will apparently be made this year that impact how the game is played. We typically hear EA touting big changes year in and year out but hopefully some of what they promise will actually work this time.

Here is a short list of a few of the changes:

– Set pieces have been rewritten that will allow players to have greater freedom in controlling things such as positioning, aiming, ball placement and even targeting players.

– Players can now position themselves for penalties and can now also control their run up to the ball.

– FIFA 17 introduces “Pushback Technology” that should see players more realistically keep their balance when jostling for position.

– “Active Intelligence System” has been added, offering better player positioning when the AI makes runs downfield and tracking back. Players will do more to create space and opportunities.

– Curled through-balls will be introduced as well.

SEE MORE: EA Sports launches FIFA 17 trailer, promising big changes

Next, here is a short list of some things not mentioned during the main EA press conference but hopefully will be mentioned during the week as E3 continues.

– No mention made of improvements to women’s clubs in the game. Last year, FIFA 16 made a token gesture to introduce women’s national teams to the game. While it’s applauded that this was finally done after over 20 years of FIFA without, this mode was incomplete. It has been rumored for a while that more may be added this year but unfortunately, this was not discussed during the conference.

– No mention on improvements to Manager’s mode or Career mode. This goes without saying. These two areas have been in need of an overhaul for years. There have been unrealistic transfers made, the stats and graphics have uniformly been getting more drab, and much of what’s there now has essentially been unchanged since 2011. It would behoove gamers to keep their eyes out during this year’s E3 as hopefully this gets addressed.

– Nothing has been addressed as far as new league or tournament licenses. This may be really disappointing to fans especially since EA also did not push a Euro 2016 DLC pack this year either. On the other hand, that’s $30 saved for something that should already be included. However this doesn’t mean that gamers won’t hear anything between now and its release date.

Lastly, there will be different editions for gamers to choose from. Per EA’s website, gamers can purchase the following:

Standard Edition
– Full game
– Up to five (5) FUT Draft Tokens (one (1) per week over five (5) weeks – worth up to $15)
– Eight (8) match FUT loan item of Hazard, Martial, Reus, or Rodriguez
– Custom FUT kits created by designers or FIFA soundtrack artists

Deluxe Edition
– Full game
– Up to 20 FIFA Ultimate Team Jumbo Premium Gold Packs (one (1) per week over 20 weeks – worth up to $60)
– Three (3) match FUT Team of the Week loan player (up to one (1) player per week over 20 weeks)
– Eight (8) match FUT loan item of Hazard, Martial, Reus, or Rodriguez
– Custom FUT kits created by designers or FIFA soundtrack artists

Super Deluxe Edition
– Digital Only
– Full game
– Up to 40 FIFA Ultimate Team Jumbo Premium Gold Packs (two (2) per week over 20 weeks – worth up to $120)
– Three (3) match FUT Team of the Week loan player (up to two (2) players per week over 20 weeks)
– Eight (8) match FUT loan item of Hazard, Martial, Reus, or Rodriguez
– Custom FUT kits created by designers or FIFA soundtrack artists

So far, this is all we know about FIFA 17 as of right now. The big question, of course, is whether or not FIFA 17’s “overhaul” will mount a challenge to whatever Konami’s PES 2017 puts out. In my opinion, PES 2016 was the better of the two games last year; at least as far as on the pitch game play was concerned. If EA paid attention to the small things that made PES 2016 such a great footy game, we may see this year heat up for footy and gaming fans.

FIFA 17 releases in the US on all major current generation consoles on September 27, 2016 and rest of the world on September 29, 2016. For those with EA Early Access they should get a chance to access the game a few days before the release date as well.

Own FIFA 16 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, or PC? Pre-order the FIFA 17 Super Deluxe edition through the FIFA 16 main menu in-game and save 10% on your purchase.

Or pre-order FIFA 17 from Amazon today.

Over the last five days, we’ve kicked around the idea of Manchester United hiring Jose Mourinho. While some United supporters may have initially laughed or scoffed at the idea, this weekend’s loss to Norwich City may give the Old Trafford board a kick in the pants.

Now more than ever, United have reason to part ways with Louis van Gaal and fix the rudderless ship. Now more than ever, Manchester United may be willing to consider Mourinho.

Let’s take a look at why appointing The Special One would (or would not) be a good idea (we’ll get to the cons in a moment):

PRO: The English Premier League is very competitive, and Manchester United needs a competitive coach

If there is one thing to be said about the EPL, it’s that the league is competitive from top to bottom, and if Leicester maintains its current form, they will turn the league on its head by winning it all.

Adding to that competitiveness, some of the best soccer minds are heading to the league. Jurgen Klopp, who at one time was linked with a Manchester move, has only lost three times since taking over at Liverpool. Pep Guardiola, of course, is linked to Manchester City, and there are big time managers like Diego Simeone who may be coming to the EPL soon.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, Manchester United was linked with many of those names but missed out on them while settling for David Moyes and then Louis van Gaal. Van Gaal’s hire seemed like a breath of fresh air, but after forging a side that plays lackluster soccer, United needs to bring in a manager who will make this team competitive again, especially with rivals signing big time managers to turn their teams around.

Manchester United can ill afford to miss another opportunity to bring in a coach that will give this team its form back. Mourinho would be that man to get the best out of this team.

PRO: Mourhino gets results

His record speaks for itself. Every team he has managed since moving to FC Porto in 2002 has won their league at least once. He has won the Champions League twice and has been a near-constant presence in the tournament’s semifinals.

A record like his is hard to dismiss. Manchester United need a boss that will turn them into contenders again, something that they haven’t really been since losing to Barcelona in in the 2011 Champions League final.

PRO: It would be a great way to stick it to Chelsea

Hiring Mourinho would seriously heighten the rivalry between the two sides. It would also rub in the fact that one man’s trash could be another man’s treasure, especially since the next meeting is rapidly coming up on Dec. 28. Can you imagine the headlines should United get a much needed win with Mourinho at the helm?

PRO: Mourinho’s style of play would refresh a stagnant unit.

Van Gaal seems to have no idea, week to week, what to do with the team. This has come at the cost of playing formations not suited to the team, playing players out of position and even selling players who have gone on to be more productive.

Despite what comes out in the media, Mourinho’s players seem to come through. Love him or hate him, he gets results. He takes players and he squeezes every bit from them. He would bring respectability back to a team that has been getting embarrassed on a regular basis since Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

SEE MORE: Manchester United should finally hire Jose Mourinho.

While these are a few pros there are some cons to bringing Mourinho to the team:

CON: Mourinho would only be a short term fix.

Mourinho is a rolling stone. His sacking this week propagated his theory he is only good for three years, but this departure happened to be the worst. He was let go of a team that won the league seven months ago. How many more times can Manchester United hire and fire managers before they hand the reins to Ryan Giggs?

CON: Mourinho is a polarizing figure

Where Mourinho goes, you can expect headlines and train wrecks. If the United board is smart, however, there might be tighter control over his actions.

The biggest questions would be how would he avoid dividing the locker room and what kind of relationship he would have with Wayne Rooney. Mourinho has no problem with calling players out in the press, but can’t be so sure it will go over well at Old Trafford. And with a team nearing a nadir of play that has never been seen, they do not need anyone coming in and kicking them further down. If he does come, be ready for fireworks.

SEE MORE: Why Jose Mourinho is absolutely the wrong choice for Manchester United.

While I may have only listed two cons, they weigh much more heavily that the pros, and knowing the baggage he brings to Old Trafford, I wouldn’t be keen on Manchester United hiring Mourinho. But if his coming would make weekends exciting again and bring some much needed wins, I would much rather see Mourinho than have to wait out another season of Van Gaal’s failure. And even if Mourinho is not one of United picks to lead the squad, it’s difficult to see Van Gaal making it to the end of the year.

It seems I picked the right time to become a soccer fan. All it took was one overseas trip and a random Argentina kit to put me on this path.

In the five years I have been following soccer, I have seen many ups and downs in the sport. And regardless of what I have experienced, I still sometimes ask myself, “Where has this sport been all of my life?” Regardless of how much I missed before I became a soccer fan, I feel the sport came along at the right point in my life.

On supporting my favorite teams

One of the most trying parts about being a footy fan is sticking with your team. For one, it’s been amazing coming in when I did as a Manchester United supporter and watching the team in transition. In 5 years, I saw the end of Sir Alex’s reign and watched the team try to endure under the new leadership of David Moyes and then Louis van Gaal.

It feels like the game has been in transition as these years have gone by. For example, I went to my first Manchester United game in August 2011 and saw Ryan Giggs score a game winner versus Barcelona. Then in July 2014, he was the assistant coach.

I have met many fans who have been longtime supporters. Regardless of how long I have been a fan compared to others, I have always been made welcome as an addition to the “family.”

Closer to home, I have to be honest and say that it’s been a struggle with DC United. It’s not just the lack of quality of the game. It’s great to know that I live in a city that at least has an MLS team, but it’s a true test of patience waiting for DC to build a better facility for the 4 time MLS champion. Part of what’s important in being a fan is being able to enjoy yourself in their home stadium. The team’s current home, RFK Stadium, has been ill-fit home for this team for years. It’s past its prime and wasn’t ever designed to support a soccer team.

The camaraderie

In my opinion, the camaraderie has been the best part of being a soccer fan.

For as long as I have been supporting traditional American sports, if I ever wore a Baltimore Ravens or Orioles jersey, they have not been as much of a conversation starter than wearing any soccer kit anywhere in the world. This is a game that really does tend to bring people together and I have met so many people simply by striking up a conversation after they see me wearing a soccer shirt or vice-versa.

I feel like there is no greater bond in sports than there is when it comes to soccer. That really became apparent during last year’s World Cup where I was teaching my friends and co-workers the nuances of the games more than I was back in 2010. It seemed like a lot of them finally understood why I was falling so hard in love for this game and a few of them joined me.

Finding other ways to translate my passion

It’s great knowing that there are many websites including World Soccer Talk that are accessible to fans from various walks of life to talk about their experiences. Even when I look at the older articles I’ve written for this site, I am humbly amazed about how far I’ve come and still have yet to go. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing the series of FIFA and PES video games that have been excellent teachers in dissecting the game. Also, Football Manager has allowed me to enjoy the game in many ways that the FIFA series doesn’t allow me to.

Outside of immersing myself in video games, I’ve been collecting soccer kits as well as autographed balls and gear. Plus, I’ve met many athletes and coaches including Tim Howard and Jurgen Klinsmann, as well as attending as many games as I can. Going to the games has also helped my photography skills, which is another passion of mine.

Going to the games

No matter how many baseball and NFL games I have attended, nothing prepares you for that first time when you attend a soccer stadium full of fans. I still have yet to attend a European game and that’s next on my list, but I still remember my first game. It was Sunday June 29, 2011. I went to the double header at RFK Stadium in DC. The USA Men’s National Team defeated Jamaica 2-0 in a pretty tame affair, but it was the second match that showed me what I was missing. The entire atmosphere of the stadium transformed when El-Salvador took on Panama (Panama eventually win on penalties). The crowd gave the stadium life that I have never witnessed at any game before it. Truthfully, I was intimidated but that’s when I learned why these games require no cheerleaders. The supporters are the twelfth man. The supporters dictate the game. Seeing it on TV is one thing, but being swept up in it is quite another.

Since then, I have been fortunate enough to see many current and future stars play live and in person. I have had the chance to see a few international friendlies. For anyone that is new to the sport, I highly encourage them to do their best to catch a game in person. Try to take those who are on the fence about the sport with you because these games can be a unique experience that you don’t get anywhere else in traditional US sports.

My trip to Old Trafford

It crossed my mind that some day I would take the trip to Old Trafford, but I didn’t think I would have accomplished it this soon. In October, I made the pilgrimage to Old Trafford to do a stadium tour.

Just realizing I was standing there at Old Trafford was a jaw dropping experience. I felt like a little kid all over again and I know some of you may say, “It’s just a stadium” (and I drive past RFK Stadium and FedEx Field on a weekly basis) but I wanted to take advantage of an opportunity that not many of us get.

After walking around the inside of the stadium for 30 minutes, my wife and I went inside to see the museum, which then transitioned into a tour of the stadium facilities. I was totally satisfied with my experience. Next time, I would love to go on a match day.

In summary, these past five years have been an amazing journey. With any sport I have seen some of the ups and downs but I also got an amazing opportunity to see and do some of the things that are rarely afforded in American sports. I have come to love soccer because it has allowed me to meet people from different walks of life.

The passion of the game may seem different from American sports, but it’s intense. Even staying in the UK for a short time, you can feel that it’s an intense religion that rarely any of us ever get to see. I still feel like I am learning a lot about the game but the best part is that many who I have come across have been more than helpful and accommodating in expanding my horizons.

It’s that time of the year for the annual release of the two most popular soccer video game titles, FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer (PES). They’re released by two companies vying for your gaming dollars and playing time. Fans in both camps will argue which game is better, and even though I won’t be able to dissuade such arguments, I will try to be as objective as possible on both games.

Let’s break down the games to see what new and returning features benefitted each title:

Licensing and commentary

Let’s get this out of the way first. All things being equal, if PES 2016 benefited from licensing in the same manner that 2K Sports benefits when it comes to basketball games, those who need their teams as realistic as possible would really be stuck on which game to get. FIFA 16 has always benefitted from having nearly every license for the different soccer competitions around the world, with the exception of a few. PES holds the remaining ones, with its most high-profile one being the UEFA Champions League. For PES video gamers who aren’t aware of how to mod the game to install patches, this can be a downer when wanting to simulate Premier League, La Liga, Serie A or Ligue Un games, for example.

Plus, players are limited to the number of stadiums available until Option Files are available to change that. The only other minus is that PES 2016 did not have Day One rosters ready so until that happens, gamers may be stuck playing withpre-deadline day rosters.

As far as in-game commentary, it’s simply elementary. With its licensing, FIFA 16 has it all. In many ways, it has even improved on last year’s version. One aspect I have really liked so far is that during the course of a game, you’ll hear about new transfer signings, a more in-depth discussion regarding a player’s form and more about the team’s past few matches. While PES 2016 may not have the polish of FIFA, the commentary is slightly more involved. For those that don’t know, the commentary features Peter Drury and Jim Beglin. While they’re both great commentators, my biggest concern is that it takes a trained ear to tell the difference between the two men. They sound so similar.

Winner: FIFA 16

Career modes

Both games contain career modes for manager and player. For the manager career mode, I did see some differences and weaknesses in both. As far as FIFA 16 is concerned, not much has changed over the past few years. Sure, the game gives you a new training mode but it seems to be just more busy work. PES 2016 gives you a training mode but it’s automated with constant updates about your players rather than tons of micromanaging in FIFA 16.

In PES 2016’s manager mode, you could get constant news and updates in a more friendly fashion as opposed to FIFA’s dull style. Plus, transfer rumors constantly appear from nowhere, which was a welcoming feature. What’s even better is that you get monthly in-depth reports about what is and isn’t working with your team. PES 2016 really makes you feel “managerial.”

However, there are some downsides to each. Most occur during the transfer window. In FIFA 16, you still have to do a lot of your own homework to figure out where you are weakest, and scout accordingly. You get very little input from players or scouts regarding the move being made, so it either works or it doesn’t. While you still get a countdown on deadline day, I had a serious glitch that occurred that saw me complete a move on the day after deadline day. Not only was the money missing, but the player didn’t get transferred to me. That needs to be fixed.

With PES 2016, meanwhile, scouts will recommend where you need help. Or, you can also do your own search. With PES, there’s better negotiating options. And once you sign your player, you really feel you’ve made progress. The minuses you get with PES are that you really can’t see transfers going on elsewhere. And worse, you really get no deadline day. Once the final day passes by, that’s it.

Winner: PES 2016

Gameplay

This is where we get down to the nuts and bolts of the games.

With FIFA 16, EA Sports did indeed fix some of the weird AI glitches that plagued the demo. The defense does appear to be sharper against strikers entering their final third. It takes more discipline to play defense in this version. If you aren’t careful, strikers will blow by you. Still, I feel that at times you can still be severely punished for missed tackles. Offensively speaking, I found myself working harder to set up shots. And once you jump ahead, the PC’s AI will noticeably adjust almost to the point of over-aggressiveness. Occasionally there are issues with players standing flatfooted when there’s a loose ball in the box. But overall, EA Sports has improved incidents when defenders need to capitalize on a loose ball especially after missed shots.

The greatest strength of PES 2016 is on the pitch. It feels like a more realistic game. The game’s AI doesn’t require micro-management and constant switching. And in fact, I feel like the AI plays well throughout the game. PES doesn’t require any new stick movement or button presses. It requires players to have a sound tactical mind. As always, when making a shot, it feels more accomplished. Even getting lucky and punishing your opponent at times feels really good as it’s rare (depending on the team of course) that the AI makes really silly mistakes. Fights for the ball are more organic and there aren’t any canned animations. Players aren’t guaranteed to win the ball in certain aerial duels and slide tackles. Plus the game gets more unpredictable when watching a group of players go after a 50/50 ball. At times, however, I do feel that PES 2016 does tend to overlook obvious fouls and yellow cards.

Nevertheless, this version of PES is one of the best yet.

Winner: PES 2016

Extras

In FIFA 16, EA has added women’s teams. While it’s a great addition, there is really nothing to do except for setting up one tournament and you’re done. Plus, it was revealed earlier this week that 13 of the women in the game will have to be removed due to NCAA eligibility. So let’s hope that if this feature returns, EA Sports will have something more robust.

Of course, FIFA sees the return of FIFA Ultimate Team. But if you don’t have the time or money to play, there is an abbreviated version that allows you to get different players, play in tournaments, scrap the team and make a new one. It’s fun and should go a long way to improving the experience.

While PES 2016 doesn’t have women’s teams, it does brings back the many different tournaments it’s always had. Plus the game has beefed up the myCLub mode (PES’ version of FUT). PES 2016 has enough modes to keep players busy for months.

Both games also have a dynamic weather mode now. Overcast games can become downpours, for example. They don’t occur often until you play deep into the colder months of the season. I saw it happen twice in FIFA 16 and I didn’t really note much difference in the gameplay, but in PES 2016 I noticed a big change going from a relatively wet field where ball movement was workable to a downpour where moving the ball around became an issue. Players slid a greater distance. And actually on two occasions, injuries occurred more frequently.

Winner: Draw

Conclusion

Overall, FIFA 16 and PES 2016 have something for everyone. It’s really hard to say that one is better than the other, and in fact I like both equally for what each brings to the table. There are some things that each game may do better than the other, but I have yet to see a major feature that makes one of the games the better of the two.

This is a year that soccer fans should, if possible, grab both and appreciate the similarities and differences that each game possesses.

Having said that, PES is moving in the right direction to improve its series where FIFA 16 is resting on its laurels. With all things being equal, there is a high chance that PES could be a better game. In 3 years, PES has pushed to improve its series in ways that I wish EA Sports had done the same with FIFA.

Both games are available worldwide for all systems. Order your copy of PES 2016 or FIFA 16 today and get it delivered to your door.

Which game are you planning to get, and why? Or will you get both? Let us know in the comments section below.

On Tuesday, EA Sports released the demo for FIFA 16. However, based on what I’ve seen so far in the demos for FIFA 16 and PES 2016, EA will have to work very hard to keep its footy crown as PES 2016 has made a big step up, while FIFA 16 has plateaued compared to previous versions.

Game setup and presentation

In the FIFA 16 demo, you get to choose from Chelsea FC, Manchester City, Inter and a few others. The women’s teams included in the demo are USA and Germany.

EA Sports wastes no time getting you into a game. After the demo finished loading, I was immediately thrown into playing an El Clasico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

If you’ve played one FIFA game, you’ve played them all, so there were very few tweaks that I needed to make to set up the game. After playing the first game, I immediately set up a second game with the women’s team (more on that in a moment) and saw a few of the options to choose from, including kits, stadiums and time of day.  I was hoping to have the option to adjust the weather condition as this year’s game is supposed to include dynamic weather but that option wasn’t available. However, the referee’s vanishing spray is available. Also, the offside line has returned.

As always with the game’s opening, Martin Tyler and Alan Smith provide the commentary and it was nice to hear the duo get a little more in depth with some of the players, but this has been one of EA Sport’s cornerstones, so improving the commentary was unsurprising.  What I am concerned about is once the full game becomes available, how long will gamers play before we start hearing the same phrases over and over?

Graphics

To be brutally honest, the graphics haven’t really changed radically from last year’s game. In a sense, it’s not a bad thing either as last year’s game was pretty good graphically speaking.  If anything, what is noticeable is that the player models are a little better although some of the faces on the women’s team look to be a bit ‘mashed in’.  One thing I did notice is that Lionel Messi’s new tattoo is included.  So, does this mean we can start seeing a better representation for other players’ ink as well?

The stadiums, as always, look great and it seems that EA Sports has got the crowd shots appearing more realistic as opposed to the previous robotic movements. Some of the lighting is a better (not every stadium has the same lighting that they did in the last few versions).

Also remember last year when EA Sports made such a big deal about its “Emotion Engine”? FIFA 16 is a lot more emotive this time around.  Expect to see more frustration from missed shots, botched tackles and bad calls. There is also more pushing and shoving from opposing players and occasionally slapped away hands.

One big improvement that I noticed is the slide-tackle animations.  EA Sports stated that they were trying to improve them so we wouldn’t see so many canned animations. They were correct but the collision detection for the demo is a mess.

Controls

As stated earlier, FIFA 16 hasn’t changed much control wise and it’s very evident here. The only difference now is the no touch dribbling button. It’s easy to try but may take time to master. And as with any player, your results will vary. Using it with Cristiano Ronaldo is not the same as Falcao or Clint Dempsey, and the AI is not afraid to punish you for making that mistake. Otherwise, the controls for the game are the same as always and veteran gamers should feel at home with it.

Gameplay and AI

This is where the FIFA 16 demo gets dicey. EA Sports always promise to improve the AI, and yet it still feels like little has changed. I played with 4 different teams in the demo and, to be hones, with the exception of Real Madrid, I don’t think I really changed my strategy as much. It was just pass, pass, pass and, when open, shoot.  As I stated in my review of the PES 2016 demo, I felt that PES 2016 has a certain flow to the game. For example, the AI knew when to double team players. I still didn’t get that with FIFA 16. Many times, players stuck to their zones only double teaming if I pushed a button for them to do so and this has been happening since FIFA 14.  This was prevalent even in the women’s games as well.

What really frustrated me is the number of times when there was a loose ball, the AI would react poorly to get to it especially if it was in the box waiting for someone to score. This also was the worst part of the demo (which I hope they fix before releasing) in that there were too many times when defenders reacted poorly to balls being played in the box. Instead of sensible headers to clear the ball, I saw defenders trying to bring the ball in and pass. Instead of goalkeepers grabbing the ball, they tried to punch it out.

In one game, I saw a goalkeeper try to punch a ball to clear it when it should have been an easy catch, only to have that ball headed right into the goal. Yes, there are times when poor decisions are made in the real game, but these type of blatant faux pas were frequent in the FIFA 16 demo.  Furthermore, with the collision detection, I saw too many players trip over each other and clumsily playing balls in the air. I am really hoping that EA Sports fine tunes that AI again before shipping this game in less than two weeks.

The inclusion of the women’s teams

It’s wonderful that EA Sports decided that women’s teams should be featured in FIFA 16. For some critics, it’s a sign that EA Sports is trying to be more inclusive, but what’s not so nice is that not all of the women’s teams will be included in the final release. What can you do with 12 teams?  The game includes men’s teams from all corners of the world, but only 12 teams are included to play in a modded form of the Women’s World Cup. As far as the gameplay, however, much of what I said earlier also holds true, so your miles may vary as to how much you’ll enjoy using the women’s teams if you do so at all.

In conclusion, FIFA 16’s demo leaves a lot to be desired.  In many ways, it’s the same game that fans year after year will flock to but underneath the gloss of a game that has many of the licenses to teams and player likenesses, there are still some glaring issues with the AI that still haven’t been addressed in years. Unless EA Sports really polishes the AI before release, I feel that it’s going to take a few steps back and PES 2016 will really shine.

FIFA 16 will be released on September 22 in the US and September 24 in Europe.  For those that have EA Access, they will be able to get the game a few days earlier.

Don’t forget, regardless of which soccer game you are getting, order FIFA 16 or PES 2016 today and have it at your door on the day it releases.

Konami has released the demo for Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 for the PS4 and Xbox One, and after spending some time significant time playing it, Konami does indeed appear serious about challenging EA’s FIFA franchise.

In the demo, you get two national teams to choose from including Brazil, featuring this season’s cover player Neymar, as well as France. Players also can select from 8 domestic clubs that are more Serie A heavy this year, including Juventus and AS Roma.

Game set up and presentation

As with many demos, you’re limited with the options you can select but video gamers should have little problem going in to customize their controls as well as other game tweaks.  I liked that there is a way for players to customize how much manual control they have over shots and passes should they desire to have it.  Once players pick their teams, they get 2 kits to choose from, two stadiums and control over weather conditions, pitch, grass length and more.

The game opening hasn’t changed much from last year but graphically what you see in the tunnel and among the supporters has improved.

Graphics

One big area of improvement in PES 2016 is the graphics.  This summer, I bought PES 2015 to play during this summer’s gaming lull and, while I enjoyed the overall gameplay, I thought that the graphics for this next gen game looked very much last gen.  However, this year’s PES 2016 is a step up with better HD faces (although they still sport a “dead eyes” look during the opening anthem for national games), players sweating and more emotion.  It’s amazing how EA Sports made such a big deal last year about its “Emotion Engine” where PES just packs it in and it works.  Watch your striker get frustrated when they either miss or are denied a goal, see your players argue with the refs on a bad foul and more.  Even when it rains in a game, it has a noticeable effect.

Controls

I have played a lot of FIFA since 2011 and may have played PES for a year or two during this period. I keep remembering that one of the best things about this game is how well it handles.  Even if you customize the controls to get it to handle similar to FIFA, it feels very smooth.  Moving my players up and down on the pitch can be done with ease and, even when transitioning between players, PES feel more intelligent and not as jarring as it can sometimes feel on FIFA.  Also, using the tackle and slide tackle moves feels more fluid on Pro Evolution Soccer as players aren’t always using the same canned animations and their recovery time feels more realistic. If players are new to the PES series, play around with the control setup to find your sweet spot.

Gameplay and AI

Yet another factor that may push FIFA players to PES 2016 is the game play.  Konami, in my opinion, has had better gameplay.  Once accustomed to how the game plays, I always felt that you weren’t going to get easy wins with PES and the CPU wasn’t going to pull cheap goals out on you like sometimes seen on FIFA.

Between PES 2015 and this year’s demo, I have enjoyed the game’s flow as the AI really played good defense in all phases of the game.  I have noticed that depending on the team, the CPU sometimes knows when to double team players, stick to their zones or flow to marked players. Also, when attacking, I like how some players — when getting the ball — seem to know when to move forward, hold and wait a bit for support or pass.  You don’t see as many cheap giveaways of the ball and you don’t see a lot of the pinball passes either.  Playing the demo, I think players would be pleased with how the game actually flows.

Because it’s an early build, players like Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez and Bastian Schweinsteiger are still on their old squads.  I do think yellow cards are a little harsher at times. Unfortunately I had no experience with the dynamic weather that is supposed to be a new passive feature.  Beyond that, I have very few complaints with the demo.

Despite not having the licenses that EA Sports has for FIFA, Konami looks to have made a concerted effort to do for soccer what needs to happen for American football and the Madden series; to give competition to those who have gotten lazy with the official licenses.  As much as I like FIFA, the series recently has started to feel more like a roster update.

PES 2016 releases on September 15 in the US and September 18 in other countries, which is a week ahead of FIFA.

Personally, I may have to make room for two footy games this year!

Order PES 2016 today and get it delivered to your door.

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Other than the Premier League, arguably the most marketable European soccer league in the United States is the Bundesliga. It’s more competitive top to bottom than La Liga. The stadiums, large attendances and raucous crowds make it a better experience to watch than the Premier League. The league features many of the current World Cup champions. Plus the TV coverage of the Bundesliga is second to none, with excellent production values, and plenty of interviews and shoulder programming available.

So, why is it that we’re just over 3 weeks away from the 2015/16 Bundesliga season and we haven’t heard a single word from FOX Sports about its coverage plans or opening weekend TV schedule?

Apologists for FOX Sports will argue that FOX Sports has been incredibly busy with its coverage of the Women’s World Cup, Gold Cup and International Champions Cup, but surely an organization of the size of FOX Sports can nail down the TV schedule for the opening Bundesliga weekend and send out a press release to announce its plans?

One would have thought that after losing the Premier League to NBC Sports, FOX Sports would have shaped up its act once they found out they FOX had acquired the rights to the Bundesliga in October, 2013. While GolTV had the Bundesliga rights through ’til the end of the 2014/15 season, the network has had plenty of time to plan its strategy.

Contrast this with the way that NBC Sports rolled out its marketing and public relations for its TV debut of the 2013/14 Premier League season:

— Four months before the season started, it invited soccer media to a press conference in New York City where NBC announced its plans, conducted interviews to explain every minute detail of its coverage and had Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore share his excitement regarding the coverage plans.

— During the summer of 2013, NBC Sports also released a series of hilarious promotional videos starring Jason Sudekis in his role as An American Coach in London. Just one of the videos in the series has been viewed more than 9 million times.

In an interview with a Bundesliga executive in March 2015, he expressed how the Bundesliga was excited and willing to help FOX Sports in whatever ways it can to promote the league.

But here we sit, less than 2 weeks away from the German Super Cup, and FOX Sports hasn’t released any details.

After doing a lot of digging, we do know that FOX Soccer Plus will be televising many of the Bundesliga games. However, five years after the launch of FOX Soccer Plus, many TV subscribers are unable to get the network (and even if you do get it, the cost ranges from $6.99 to $14.99 for the service by itself and it is not part of a package). So, for many, FOX Soccer 2GO remains the only legal and viable way of watching these games.

SEE MORE — Preliminary TV schedule for FOX’s coverage of the Bundesliga.

With so little information on how and where to watch games and expecting customers to choose between FOX Soccer Plus or FOX Soccer 2GO, this is not a good start for FOX Sports and the Bundesliga.

It’s sad to see that the season hasn’t even started yet and FOX Sports is keeping people in the dark regarding its plans to broadcast the Bundesliga. At a time when interest in soccer is growing in the US, FOX is missing out on opportunities to get sports fan excited and interested in making the Bundesliga a part of its weekend plans. With time running out, FOX Sports is cutting it really close. Let’s hope that an announcement will be made soon.

One of the best parts about the continued growth of soccer in the United States is the ability to watch it on-the-go.

There are more mobile options to watch games than ever before, but with it comes more things to choose from, which can be confusing and time-consuming as you hunt for the apps that give you what you want.

Whether you want to see games on-the-go, keep up with the scores or listen to some great soccer talk shows, here are the 10 best apps for you to consider:

1. NBC Sports Live Extra

NBC’s Live Extra app is a must-have if you’re a fan of a Premier League club and you live in the United States. This app has made it possible to watch every single Premier League game in a season, and it did the one thing that FOX Soccer 2Go didn’t do. It’s free.

The app shows all of the games live so you don’t have to worry about missing a game. On Mondays, they typically post the highlights and some of the interviews.  My only wish is that the app would have the Match of the Day post-game show available as well to re-run.

Live Extra is available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices as well as for the Apple TV and Roku.

2. ESPN FC

For the past three years, this has always been my go-to app for everything footy. It’s very easy to customize and you can get alerts for goals, game starts and more. Unlike other apps, it also tracks MLS teams as well so I don’t have to worry about missing a game or any breaking news.

Give it a try as it’s very comprehensive. The ESPN FC app is available on iOS and Android devices.

3. Team Stream from Bleacher Report

Team Stream is probably one of the most visually-appealing apps available. Not only does it cover soccer, it covers all other major sports as well.

Similar to the ESPN FC app, it’s very customizable. You can get the news on all of your teams with a few easy taps. As soon as I am done reading up on the Ravens, I can click to find out new rumors for Manchester United and in another click, get up-to-date with the Wizards. This is one of the best all-around apps available.

Team Stream is available on iOS and Android devices, as well as Blackberry and via the Amazon appstore.

4. theScore 

One of the biggest differences with theScore and the ESPN FC and Team Stream is that there’s a social integration portion — plus the insane amount of customization where you can set this app up to get alerts for specific players.

One of the few downsides, however, is that sometimes news alerts and scorelines aren’t always as timely. I have to admit that I am not all that crazy about the interface but for a person that has to know everything about not just their teams but individual players — and be able to share it with their friends ASAP — this is the tool for them.

Check out theScore app.

5. Apps from your TV provider 

It’s broad, but the beauty of mobile devices and cable providers is that within the past few years, many have gotten hip to providing viewing options of TV content on the go.  It’s even starting to make my poor Slingbox gather dust.  As long as you have a subscription to a cable provider, most provide an app allowing you to stream your cable channels to either your tablet or mobile phone.  The trick however is knowing what channels are available as some providers restrict what you can watch home or away from it.  Also you may want to check with your providers to see if it costs extra for certain channels.

Here is a list of a few apps to check out: Fios Mobile,  DirecTV App, Comcast Xfinity App, and Dish Anywhere App.

6. fuboTV

fuboTV is the perfect app for three audiences: (1) the soccer fans who aren’t able to get beIN SPORTS on their TV, (2) cord cutters who want to save money and don’t want to be tied down to an expensive cable or satellite bill, and (3) sports fans who want to watch games on-the-go when they want it and delivered to a choice of several different devices.

fuboTV has the rights to La Liga, Serie A, Ligue Un, GolTV, beIN SPORTS, Benfica TV and many more.

The fuboTV app is available for iOS, Android, PC, Mac, Chromecast, Roku, Amazon TV and other devices.

7. talkSPORT

The talkSPORT app is one of the best ways to keep up with what’s happening in the Premier League. With live coverage and breaking news, this is the UK’s radio answer to ESPN in the US.  Whether it’s interviews, debates or post-match analysis, this is a great way to keep up on the EPL.

The talkSPORT app is available on iOS, Android and Blackberry devices.

8. Tunein

Tunein is an easy-to-use app that aggregates thousands of radio stations, podcasts and live audio into one app.

You can choose from World Soccer Talk Radio, talkSPORT, BBC World Service, BBC Radio 5 Live and tons of other soccer-specific channels.

Once you start using Tunein, it’s easy to get hooked.

9. SiriusXM FC

Sometimes you have to pay to get the best content — such is the case with Sirius XM, who have a dedicated Sirius XM FC channel focused on soccer.

The reason Sirius XM makes the list is because MLS fans aren’t left out. The channel features Soccer Morning (from 11am-1pm ET) as well as MLS ExtraTime Radio, Counter Attack and Grumpy Pundits (with Tommy Smyth and Rodney Marsh).

Get the Sirius XM subscription.

10. World Soccer Talk

Last but not least, the free World Soccer Talk app gives you the latest news, opinions, a live score ticker and the podcast episodes all in one easy-to-use app.

The design is clean, easy to navigate, and not as cluttered as other apps that I have used and it even has a section for MLS fans too.

The World Soccer Talk app is available for iOS and Android devices.

I hope you enjoy the above apps! If there are any must-have apps that I missed, please suggest them in the comments section below.

Nearly 54,000 supporters battled the freezing cold of FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland Saturday afternoon to watch Argentina beat El Salvador 2-0 in an exhibition match.

Some Argentina supporters were disappointed because even though there was a brief glimpse of Messi, he was relegated to the bench along with Sergio Aguero.

El Salvador supporters, meanwhile, were baffled by the organizers’ decision to play the wrong anthem. It was an embarrassing faux pas as there’s a large number of El Salvador immigrants living in the area.

That, along with issues where security were woefully understaffed to handle the crowd, didn’t completely spoil our experience at the game.

Argentina dominated possession as they parked themselves in El Salvador’s half of the pitch. However, Argentina missed several goalscoring opportunities due to lackluster play. In many instances, especially in the first half, it seemed as if El Salvador would be scrappy enough to hang on for a draw but quickly became undone due to an own goal in the 54th minute.

Argentina sealed the win with a scintillating free kick from Federico Mancuello in the 88th minute.

Argentina faces Ecuador on Tuesday in the Meadowlands in their last match before the Copa America in June.

In playing Football Manager 15, it’s sometimes hard to imagine how Sega and Sports Interactive can still come up with a yearly iteration that’s fresh and interesting, which is no less true with other annual sports franchises such as Madden and FIFA.  Somehow, though, they’ve pulled it off.  I haven’t played Football Manager for the last 2 years, so I can really see how it’s improved.

Presentation

The presentation of the game is so vitally important since it’s where you’ll spend most of your time, looking at stats and figures. Since I last played, the majority of the screens have been spruced up to give you everything you need at a mouse click.

One major improvement that I really love is the Scouting Report. It’s really interesting to see the pros and cons of a potential player that you want to buy. And thus far, it’s prevented me from making some big mistakes.

In general, most of the screens look less boring and more informative than in previous years, and allow you to just click to give you lots of information quickly and concisely.  Another detail I’m finding very helpful now is the ability of the game to tell you what formations your opponents struggle against, and which players you can potentially exploit tactically.

If you have played previous versions of this game, you’ll find that FM 2015 keeps you from hunting through so much random information, and instead presents it in as few clicks as possible.

During the testing of the game, I was using the Classic mode, which eliminates a lot of the micromanagement functions. In years past, I spent hours just trying to get out of one week because I got bogged down with the training, player morale and so much more. With the Classic mode, while it streamlines a lot of the game, it doesn’t quite put you on auto pilot and it does let you get through your season just a little faster. I do wish however that player interaction was still allowed.

Gameplay 

After you have done everything you can to prep your players, it’s time to play a game in FM 2015.  The new game engine works very well, providing a generic representation of the various pitches and players, and while it’s not up to FIFA standards, it gets the job done. Games generally take less than 5 to 10 minutes to play and of course the information presented is less muddied than previous versions.  Another improvement is when yelling orders to your team, depending on what you tell them, that particular selection will turn green.  At the same time, any order that is totally opposite of that will turn red.  This is a good idea as it reduces confusion on the pitch.

Another aspect with the game is that even in Classic mode, managers still get to build a rapport with the media and it goes a long way to getting fans to trust you with their team.  No matter how you cut it, this game requires more hands-on time with your favorite club than what FIFA 15 provides.

If I had any complaint with the game, however, it is that even though this game comes out every November, I have never understood why SI never gets the actual fixtures for this present season just right.  I really would love to follow along with my actual club to see if my decisions would reflect what actually happens. I’m sure there will be a few mods that will come along to fix this (if they’re not available already).

This brings me to another love/hate I have with the game.  I do love the fact that this game is mod-able.  You can go and get as many logos, kit packs, face packs etc. The only issue is that you have to be careful of the sites that you get them from as some require a fee or the file packs may be broken up.

Also, here is one last selling point.  If you have a Steam account, you can pay once and download it for your PC and your Mac.  Furthermore, as you play, you can save to the Cloud and pick up where you left off as long as you have the game on a machine with a verified Steam account.  It was really nice to start the game on my PC early in the morning and then later that evening, grab my laptop and continue.  Best yet is that since FM15 is not a graphically intense game, so my 3 year old Mac didn’t suffer visually considering that my PC is a mid to high end machine.

Overall, it’s a solid product worth picking up if you need an update.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Bonus review:

Football Manager Handheld 15

Nowadays, I spend more time playing on my tablet than I do on PCs, and the handheld version of Football Manager 2015 is no exception.

Football Manager Handheld 15 is pretty much the same game we have played for years, since it came to tablets. And while it may not have gotten a host of updates that the full-fledged version did, it’s gotten a number of minor tweaks that many may or may not find useful enough to justify another $10 dollar purchase.

One tweak I find useful is the scouting agency, which ranks the top 50 players and provides a good way to give you a quick look at a rising star.  Another feature I did find to be extremely useful is that within the tactics screen, as you set your team, you can now see the roles that each player is playing. At a quick glance, you can tell if your striker is a Target Man, or Poacher.

There are a few other tweaks but not all are helpful, To be honest, unless you really need the roster update, there’s no need to purchase it, but if one thing has really improved that may make you consider moving up, it is the 2D engine. If anything, the engine itself is the saving grace for this game.  The AI has improved where unlike previous versions that shows one dot moving while the rest sits still, this year’s version is a more accurate in representing a good gameflow.

There are still a few bugs to work out as my pregame tactics aren’t being saved, and I still for the life of me can’t figure out why the morale doesn’t work so well (no matter what you do, your players stay depressed!).  It’s also mod friendly and if you kept your packs from before, they should work as they did for mine. Otherwise this is still a great app to get you through your commute.

Rating: To score, if you are new to the game, this could easily get a 4 out fo 5 as I would recommend it to a newbie. If you have last year’s version, unless you need the AI improvement, you can skip over as it get a 2.75 out of 5 stars.

The trend among many sports video games is to make iterations year over year instead of seismic changes. The video game publishers know that soccer fans will buy the new FIFA game each year, and as long as those numbers are strong, there doesn’t seem to be the driving need to make big changes.

However, no matter how good FIFA 15 is, there is room for improvement to give FIFA players more value in future versions. Here are the ways the FIFA video game can improve:

1. Graphics 

The graphics in FIFA 15 are stunning, but while this year was technically the first next generation build for the Xbox One and Playstation 4 consoles, I still feel that the graphics can be better. While many of the player facial models have improved, they still look like high-resolution versions of last-gen’s games. From what I’ve seen of PES 2015, the player models have improved greatly and it still frustrates me that EA is not taking advantage of the same technology to push the game to its limits.

EA Sports needs to take a closer look at the NBA 2K franchise to learn how to make a game look so photorealistic.

2. Lighting

Granted, the lighting in FIFA 15 looks marginally better in this iteration than FIFA 14, but I still think that PES still has FIFA beaten in this department.  It’s still jarring to play a game that is supposed to start at 8pm or 9pm, but the pitch looks as bright as it would at Noon. It may sound like a small issue, but after so many years of having to manually change the settings to make it more realistic, I’m concerned that it still hasn’t been fixed in the game.

3. Unlockables

EA Sports should eliminate some of the unlockables that gamers must unlock before building a virtual pro. For example, why can’t I change my player’s skin color or add dreadlocks? Why must those features be unlocked? I can understand unlocking kits and cleats/boots but items such as hair seem more trivial.

4. Emotion Engine

The highly-touted “Emotion Engine” in FIFA 15 is forgettable. It’s not a game changer and it’s not something different that we haven’t seen in previous games.  Sure, maybe now you’ll see more players get into each other’s faces or players looking a bit distraught after missing a clear open goal, but I’m not really seeing the impact of the feature that EA showed us earlier this summer.

5. Business model

Isn’t it time for EA Sports to consider new squad updates that can be downloaded and updates with iterative changes instead of having soccer fans buy a brand-new game each year? Perhaps it would be in EA’s best interests to release a new game every 2 years, and allow gameplayers to download squad updates, graphic updates, new kits and player animations as well as new stadiums at a fraction of the cost in between new releases? This is something gamers have complained about for years that FIFA and many sports games feature glorified squad updates. And it’s frustrating to pay $60 yearly for a game with marginal improvements.

6. Saving games to the Cloud from year-to-year

FIFA needs to launch a system to allow game saves to carry over year-to-year especially if there is a new product EA wants us to buy annually. After playing all three Mass Effect games in which you needed your saves to carry from one game to the next in order to fully enjoy the game’s expansive story, it would finally be nice to have a FIFA game where if I started a franchise this year, I could carry it over to the new game without the need for me to start from the beginning annually with each new game release.  Even if you couldn’t carry all of your stats over, you should be able to carry your Virtual Pro and stats over season to season. EA can’t say that it’s not doable because when EA had rights to NCAA Football, it’s main selling point was that you could take a created pro and move it to Madden and pick up your current stats.

In summary, FIFA 15 is still worth grabbing if you want to have a game where the AI plays a lot better than it has in past years but the game still has a way to go to not feeling like a roster update and being able to justify a yearly $60 purchase.

As always, soccer fans eagerly anticipate the yearly iterations of the EA FIFA franchise and this year is different.  It’s only different because this year after so long, fans finally get a next generation version of the popular franchise and many are eager to know what’s new under the hood for the PS4 and X Box One.

If you want to get a quick idea of how the game plays, you can either download the demo or watch as I give it a run here.

To be brief, FIFA 15 has begun to feel a lot more like PES than it has in many years and this may be a sign that in some aspects, EA has finally listened to fans about the way the game plays and that will be touched on momentarily. However, let’s look at the key parts of the game.

Graphics

I have to be really honest here and say that EA still has some work to do in really making the graphics shine on the new consoles. In comparison between the re-skin of FIFA 14 that came out on the new systems’ debut and this year, not a lot of updating was done but the one noticeable thing I saw was a few more player faces have finally been fixed. For instance, Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia who in the past four games I have played, has never looked like his real life counterpart, finally gets some proper justice done to his facial model. And it’s not just him; there are a few others that get some much needed treatment. Some of the stadium models look a bit better as well as some of the lighting angles but it still feels ‘artificial’ in some aspects. What really does shine is on the field and gameplay. Players will notice more signs of the pitch being torn up during the game, players getting dirty and there is more animation during the course of movement and less like players are skating around.

Presentation

First off let’s get into the menus, which have seen a big overhaul this year. As I showed you in the demo, it’s much easier to find mostly what you are looking for and keeps you organized between matches especially if you are playing in manager mode. One of the touches I really liked is the ability to create and save your starting line ups so with a few easy clicks you can easily plug in your starting XI with little fuss. As far as in the game, EA has finally started to learn a few lessons from the 2K Sports Games series with how to actually keep commentating flowing prior to the start of matches, actually discuss prior matches in relation to the game being played and now even previewing upcoming matches. Announcing is concise as always and it does tend to repeat in some places but now it feels more dynamic to the game.

Gameplay

This is where players will notice the biggest improvement to the game. FIFA 15 feels more weighty and physical that it has had since maybe FIFA 13. Now instead of limited animations, you get to see more jostling for the ball, more realistic tackling, some shirt pulling and even some shoving. Players will even notice how the pace can pick up or slow down at certain points during the game especially if one side is more desperate to score or secure a lead. In one game I played, I was down 1 – o, heading into the 70^th minute and noticed that AI began to get really stingy in possession ball and did everything in its power to keep the ball away. I eventually came away with a 1-1 draw. But that’s the joy with this new iteration is that in a lot of games, you really feel hard pressed to earn wins because the AI will not play the same way the entire game.   And by the way, I am not too sold on EA’s touting of the emotions engine.   You can see players get happy or frustrated during games but to me, it’s nothing that you haven’t seen before.

All in all, FIFA 15 feels a little less of a roster update and more of a full next generation game that we wanted last year. The graphics may not be a great improvement over last year’s version but it’s still nice to look at, the menus and in game presentation has improved and the gameplay is noticeably improved and it’s much recommended to the FIFA 15 fans.

It will release in the US on September 23, 2014, in Europe on September 25^th, 2014 and in the UK on September 26^th, 2014.

If you are itching to see what is instore for FIFA 15, the next gen versions are available for both the Xbox One and the PS4. In the video clip below, you can get an idea of what’s in the new game including an improved menu system, crisp graphics and 8 teams to play with. Some of the teams included are Liverpool, Paris St. Germain, Napoli and Barcelona. Within the game itself, you will hear some of the commentary as it refers back to your players’ highs and lows at the World Cup and you can get a look at how the AI interacts to certain situations within the game. FIFA is set to be released in the US on September 23rd, Europe on Spetember 25th and then the UK on September 26th. Of course if you have the EA Early Access, you can play the full game a few days earlier before release.

Which system will you get this on?

On a balmy and breezy night in Maryland, 61,238 supporters turned up to watch the 2014 Guinness International Champions Cup match between Manchester United and Inter Milan at FedEx Field.

Fans were treated to an entertaining match featuring both new Manchester United signings (Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw). This also was the first match where United played in their recently unveiled new third kit from Nike. Of course, for many longtime supporters, this match marked the occasion where they saw former United defender Nemanja Vidic playing against his old squad.

The match itself was well paced with Inter putting up a great defense, frustrating Manchester United who had many chances to score but couldn’t due to poor finishing.

In the end, after a goalless game, Manchester United came out on top after a penalty shootout won by Darren Fletcher who was also voted Man of the Match.

[portfolio_slideshow id=111946]

Were you in attendance last night. If so, how was your experience? Let us know in the comments section below.

Meanwhile, here are the video highlights from the Manchester United versus Inter Milan match:

The new home kit modeled by Manchester United’s Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Shinji Kagawa marks the start of a new era for the Red Devils — a new manager, a new sponsor and possibly a new sense of hope ahead of the upcoming season.

American supporters will be the first to see the new kits in action on July 23 when Manchester United play against the LA Galaxy at the start of their summer tour.

What are your opinions of the new kit?

Please leave a comment below.

Konami has finally released a trailer and screenshots of Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 for the new consoles.  While the trailer looks to be improved, utilizing their FOX Engine to power their graphics, players want and need something more than a pretty game to justify a purchase in light of the competition from EA’s FIFA 15.

CVG did a hands on impression of the game and thus far, the reaction to this first next gen offering seems to be mixed.  One of the positives from the hands-on review was improved controls. It felt more natural and smooth and it “harkens back to PS2 days with a return to true core PES values.”

The questions I have regarding PES 2015 thus far are:

• Will it still be mod-able (for those who really like to have their team names updated)?
• Are there any improvements to manager modes?
• What improvements will be made to the AI from previous versions now that PES 2015 will be on a more powerful console?

At present, no release date has been announced, but Konami will probably schedule a late September release to coincide with the FIFA 15 release.

In February, FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated that diving would be taken seriously and that FIFA would use video evidence if needed to punish those who did it.

Blatter stated:

“Video evidence can be used for serious breaches of the principle of fair play such as brawling, spitting at opponents, verbal insults and racist slurs, or for incorrectly awarded red or yellow cards.

“In cases such as these we must make use of the avenues already open to us and intervene after the event if necessary.

“In this context, we should include the faking of injury, intentional diving or time wasting in our considerations.”

On Sunday, Arjen Robben blatantly dived against Mexico to win a late penalty that helped Netherlands eliminate Mexico from the World Cup.

The question is, what will Blatter do about it?

Anyone who has any vested interest in the World Cup and the sport of soccer anxiously awaits FIFA’s decision in order to see if Blatter will back up his words from February. Will he punish Robben and make an example out of him on the world stage, or will Robben get a slap on the wrist? This is the time when Blatter can make good on his word and act accordingly to show the world that when it comes to a sport watched by billions that cheating in any form should not be tolerated.  If FIFA and Blatter want to show that they are standing by their word and want to enforce FIFA’s disciplinary code, then Robben should be suspended from the rest of the World Cup.

Blatter cannot sit idly by and do nothing.

Two weeks later and the dust has settled on the group stage of the 2014 World Cup. It has been full of highs and lows, lots of goals and plenty of controversy. Let’s take a look at the top 5 moments of the group stage.

1. Robin Van Persie’s header

On their way to brutally dismantling Spain, Robin van Persie clearly showed his new club manager Louis Van Gaal that good things will come to wait once they both get settled back at Manchester United.  The headed goal was a thing of beauty, catching a pass from about 50 yards out and knocking it in for a stunning equalizer on the Netherland’s way to a rout of Spain. This would of course lead to another big moment as Spain never recovered from this loss and the world champions would see an early exit.

2. Clint Dempsey’s goal in 29 seconds

While not as stunning as RVP’s header, Clint Dempsey’s goal was impressive given the precision of his shot and how he was able to score in under 30 seconds. Clint Dempsey’s was the fifth fastest to be scored in World Cup history.

This game was also memorable as John Brooks became the first substitute for the USA to score on a night when the US Men’s National team went on to defeat Ghana for the first time ever

3. Leo Messi is unstoppable

There have been a lot of critics wondering whether or not Lionel Messi would show up in the World Cup and so far, Messi has not disappointed.  Messi is tied with Thomas Mueller and Neymar as the top goal scorers thus far and while Mueller’s tally came because of an impressive hat trick versus Portugal, Messi has by far scored the best goals by a single player in this World Cup so far.  The shot against Iran was jaw dropping but the one that stands out most has to be Messi’s goal against Bosnia when he made 2 defenders collide into each other on his way to a golazo.

4. Memo Ochoa’s goalkeeping performance against Brazil

Many would have thought that Brazil would have walked over a Mexico side ranked number 20 in the world. Ochoa put on a man of the match performance with save after save that saw the Mexican side draw with Brazil. The most impressive one came in the 86th minute when many goalkeepers would have fumbled the ball instead.

5. Suarez bites

In one of the most shocking acts thus far in the World Cup, Luis Suarez — who already has a history of biting opponents — sunk his teeth into Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini.  FIFA acted swiftly by handing out a nine game international ban as well as a four month ban from soccer plus a fine. Critics have debated for the last few days about whether the ban was too harsh or not harsh enough considering Suarez’ history and even Chiellini himself has stated that it was excessive. No matter what one thinks, Suarez is now out of the tournament, which jeopardizes Uruguay’s chance for  getting deep into the World Cup.

What other moments did you think defined the World Cup thus far?  Leave your comments below.

If you find yourself in the DC area while the World Cup progresses, here are three suggested spots for you to check out the games and grab a bite to eat:

1. TD Burger

Located in the quiet, up-and-coming NoMa neighborhood, this is the second location that has opened in Washington DC.  TD Burger has great burgers as well as pizza and other good cuisine to satiate a footy fan during the World Cup. If you go, I recommend the Loree Bleu Burger.

Boasting 5 screens and ample sitting room, TD Burger has World Cup specials during happy hour such as $5 burgers and $3 beers.

They will also have live entertainment after the games during the week, but check ahead of time before arriving.

Although no contests are planned, owner Timothy Dean expects a large crowd to come in for the US vs Ghana game on Monday.

TD Burger is predicting Brazil will win the Cup.

For location information, visit their site:  http://www.tdburger.com/

2. Fado Irish Pub

If you’re in Chinatown, you’ll find two great Irish pubs in the middle of it all and both are Metro-accessible (I strongly advise against driving in DC).

Fado Irish Pub boasts 11 HDTV screens and large projector TV screens. During the course of the season, Fado has supporters from Everton, Real Madrid, and Chelsea that frequent this place. World Cup specials on offer include $5 Budweisers, $5 Absolut Crush, and a matchday meal (which includes a beer and appetizer or sandwich; prices vary).

In regards to contests and giveaways, they have a signed Lionel Messi picture up for grabs, a front row table for the World Cup final, an official US scarf and they also have the million-dollar bracket.

Fado is calling for Germany to win it all.. Or the US, if they can get out of the group!

For more information, visit their site at http://www.fadoirishpub.com/washington/ and follow them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/fadodc.

3. The Irish Channel Pub

The Irish Channel Pub is a great spot that comes highly recommended. The pub is located approximately 3 blocks east of Fado. Boasting nine 55″ HDTV screens, this pub is the home of the DC Spurs Tottenham supporters group.  The specials on offer during the World Cup are a bucket of beer with either 6 Bud Lites or Miller Lites for $22, Stoli beer for $5.50, Capoano Tequila shots at $5, and assorted cocktails. They also offer food specials where you can get a 2 topping pizza for $9.

The Irish Channel Pub will be holding a few contests including the chance to win tickets to Manchester United vs. Inter Milan game being held here in DC that will be given away close to the end of the World Cup Final. There will also be T-shirt and other swag.

If you make it there on the right day, ask Gerry to make you a Guinness shake!

The Irish Channel is predicting Germany or Argentina to win it all.

For more information, visit their site at:  http://www.irishchannelpub.com/. Also you can follow them on Facebook and get daily updates about what they are doing at https://www.facebook.com/irishchannelpubdc

What places in your city do you recommend for fans who want to watch the games?

With a friendly against Azerbaijan next week, and the World Cup not too far off, Jürgen Klinsmann has selected a 23-man World Cup squad that looks better than what Bob Bradley left to him.  While far and away from the world beaters at this time, the USMNT under Klinsmann are still fighting for respectability in anticipation of the World Cup group games against strong sides of Germany, Ghana and Portugal. Even though US team are in a tough group, we hopefully will see some of the progress that Klinsmann has made since taking over in 2011.

Below are some highlights of the USMNT since Klinsmann’s arrival.

1. USA 1 – 0  Italy Feb 29, 2012

In their first ever win against Italy, the USMNT put up a great defensive display in the waning minutes to grind out this win.

2. USA  1 – 0  Mexico  August 15, 2012

Later in 2012, the USMNT won their first ever game against ‘El Tri’ on their own home soil in a late game score from Michael Orozco Fiscal. Several months later in the World Cup qualifiers the two sides would meet again ending in a draw.

3. USA 1 – 0 Costa Rica March 22, 2013

This was a game that was very unique in venue and conditions.  In a game that even most NFL officials may call due to the severity of the climate and field conditions. However, the game  went on and the US got their first and much needed win of the Hexagonal from the foot of Clint Dempsey.

 4. USA 4 – 3 Germany June 2, 2013

Sure it was Germany’s B side being as the majority of their Starting XI played for Bayern Munich and Bortrussia Dortmund in the Champions League match a few weeks prior, but in a match that many thought the US would lose, Klinsmann’s side ground out a victory in their Centennial match in Washington, DC.

 5. USA  1 – 0 Panama July 28,2013

Klinsmann’s side got its 1st trophy under his stewardship after they won their fifth title in the CONCACAF against Panama with a well-placed goal by Brek Shea courtesy of Clint Dempsey.

Since then, the USMNT has had the distinction of going on a 12 game winning streak, which at the time was longest for any team in the world (later it was broken by Costa Rica). Also, the USMNT earned a win over Panama to clinch their spot in the World Cup.  In the time that Klinsmann has taken stewardship of the USMNT, they have gone from being ranked 28th in the world when he arrived in 2011 to presently 14th.  They may not take it all but here is to hoping that they do well.

What do you think of Klinsmann’s coaching since taking over the team? 

Konami announced PES Manager today as a free title for Android and iOS devices.  Before anyone gets too excited, this title is not meant to compete with Sega’s Football Manager Handheld.  Instead, this game is meant to take on EA Sports’ Ultimate Teams game.

This means you will be able to set tactics, train players, and even auto assign if you don’t want to do all of the work.

As most of us know, Konami doesn’t have the rights to most leagues and logos but they can use players names. The game also has an in-game engine you can use to beat most challenges.

From the outset, the game will have around 1500 players at launch, which means there may be room for more later.

At this time, there has been no announcement about app purchases, what challenges or modes are included, or a release date.

For more information, the official site is here:  PES Manager Official Website – KONAMI

The demo for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil video game is now available on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Now is a good time to get into the World Cup mood, and to get a feel for the game before purchasing it’s released this week in North America and Europe.

The demo allows you to play as Mexico, Brazil, Australia, England, Ivory Coast, the United States or New Zealand.  The only stadium that is unlocked is Estadio de Maracana, which is the venue that will host the World Cup final this July.

So, how does the demo stack up?

Presentation

Those looking for glimpses of what may be in store for FIFA 15 will be disappointed as almost all of the elements from FIFA 14 are in the game.  The menus are brightly colored in the colors of the host nation and the menus, with very slight changes, are pretty much the same from the past FIFA iteration.  As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  Thus this may also answer why there will be no Next-Gen version of the World Cup.  The demo itself does allow for a full game with most of the similar looks and sounds from previous FIFA iterations.  Also in the demo, the commentary is given by Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend.  One small noticeable difference is that there is more fan interaction and cutaways in combination with the festive atmosphere.

Graphics

Again because this is a demo, I won’t knock it too much as things may change in the final version but I have to say I was slightly disappointed with the graphics. The FIFA engine is really showing its age on the Xbox 360 and when the game intro comes on, it really shows how much. But in my opinion, for a game that only comes around every 4 years, I think it’s an honest assessment to say that EA isn’t breaking out all the stops to make the Beautiful Game all that beautiful on these aging systems.

Gameplay

As stated earlier, because EA is relying on a FIFA 14 build, it plays pretty much the same as past iterations.  While EA may be touting improved dribbling and passing, I am still seeing a few spots where I feel like there is no overall improvement in the gameplay.  The one issue I still seem to have is there is a weird AI glitch where if you sometimes mark a player and then double team him, the AI dribbles the ball all the way back to the opposite side of the pitch.  Another annoying issue is when you have a shot that misses and is either volleyed or rebounded back into play, the AI rarely ever makes an effort to make a play on the ball for another shot.  Otherwise, in my personal opinion, there isn’t that much change in gameplay.

Conclusion 

Thankfully it’s a demo that gives players a chance to decide whether or not they really want to make a full blown purchase.  Not that this is a bad game but if there is one thing that disappoints me with EA it’s that with a fully realized FIFA game, instead of integrating the World Cup into the game itself (like PES does), they put a haphazard version in the game and then hope that customers will spend yet another $60 for what should be an add-on similar to how the Euros were done a few years ago.  If you are a diehard footy fan that wants the full World Cup experience, then this is your game. If not, there is no harm in skipping this.

The demo for the EA Sports 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil video game is available as a free download in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation stores.

While many DC United supporters may not be residents of Washington, DC, fans kept a close eye on the mayoral race earlier this week.  The main reason is that the current mayor, Vincent Gray, last year gave his support on building a stadium in Buzzard’s Point, across from the Nationals baseball stadium. In short, the plan would have the club pay $150 million for the construction of the stadium, using private funds.

The stadium also would be used for other venues besides soccer. More importantly, the new stadium would bring new supporters. Other MLS teams (Houston, Colorado and Toronto), who had new stadiums open within the last 6 years, have recorded improved attendances. So, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the same happen in DC.

After the mayoral race results from earlier in the week, many supporters are now wondering whether the dream of new stadium will be realized after current Mayor of Washington D.C., Vincent Gray, was defeated in the Democratic primary by council member Muriel Bowser. Bowser has not been a big supporter of the new stadium plan. Moreover, because there have been numerous accusations of corruption leveled at Mayor Gray’s administration, this would make it harder for him to push the new stadium plan forward.

Although Bowser has not been a big supporter of the stadium plan, she is not outright opposed to it. She is not a fan of the deal because the money spent on the new stadium may sacrifice another building project and cut into housing projects.

Nonetheless, there still is hope that if Bowser is elected in the fall that the plan for a new DC United home may proceed forward.

One way or another, DC United is in need of a new stadium. Their current ground, RFK, is not a suitable soccer venue. It’s a stadium long past its prime and, in some places, it’s really falling apart. Literally.

One last question mark will be regarding Bowser’s opponent, David A. Catania, who is running as an independent.  Catania was an opponent of the Nationals baseball park and is not a fan of a new DC United venue either. What would he do with the deal if elected?  More than likely, he’ll scrap the plans.

In the end, what does it all mean? Perhaps it may be too early to answer this question.

For more DC United news, analysis and opinion, visit the DC United team page.

Is the NBC Sports Live Extra app a viable app for EPL fans?

I have used the app since the beginning of the season.  Some positives are that the app is completely free. All that is required, after the download, is to sign in with your cable provider and off you go.

When I started using the app one of the first stumbling blocks was that the streams took a while to load. Even after the loading was completed the viewers had to wait for the stream to de-pixilate and then buffer itself before you got a good clean picture.  However, after a few updates during the season, streaming has improved.

The interface has gotten better.  In the past few months the updates have allowed the viewers to watch entire games as well as game highlights, and short clips on best goals, best assists and best saves.  The app also offers full replays of some of the games.

There is always room for improvement and here are a few things I would like to see.

• While the interface is more streamlined, I do wish sometimes when I click an icon, that it wouldn’t push me out of the Premier League tab.  We get it NBC, you want users to see what other sports you are broadcasting but if you keep pushing me out, it’s a tad bit annoying to go in again to find what I was looking for
• NBC needs to do something with the dead space seen during breaks that tells you that coverage will return soon because the terrestrial channels are on commercial break.  I feel that instead of keeping viewers on a dead screen this might be a good time to possible show scores, and maybe even some of the social media feeds.
• I do wish that NBC would shrink the scoreboard down a bit for next season as it does take up quite a bit of real estate on the screen and it can be a bit distracting.

And of course I do have a wish list of features I would like to see added.

• It would be nice to see some of the weekly shows added to the app to watch at any time. While the highlights that are contained in the app are okay for a quick view, a more robust show such as Premiere League Match of the Day would be nice.
• More full game replays would be nice.  The app does have an option to watch replays of some of the games, but it would be really nice to add them all in.
• Of course, the biggest item on the  wish list would be the inclusion of more leagues. Unfortunately, beIN Sports has a grip on the rest of football.
• I do feel that NBC Sports has done a great job of getting it right with this app it will be interesting to see what is going to happen as the season draws to a close and teams face relegation or promotion from the lower league

All in all, I am pretty satisfied with this app.  It has served me pretty well on weekends when I have been away from my TV and needed to get my footy fix in. One of my best experiences was back in October while away in Las Vegas and getting up extra early to watch on my iPad and didn’t have to do extra work or work some IT voodoo just to watch my games. This is probably one of the best free apps you will ever use especially across multiple devices.  As always, be mindful of your data usage when using this app.  NBC has done a good job and the app gets better with every update. If you have not gotten it by now, please get it and try it. If you like it, spread the word.

As I sit here yawning and with bleary eyes after spending an all-nighter playing the Next-Gen version of FIFA 14 on my new PS4, I still have a big grin on my face. Considering the other games I could have sampled that came with PS4, it was worth it. FIFA 14 showcases what a good launch sports sim could be and also shows the potential of what we could expect from the new and future gaming systems.

To be fair, it does not need reiterating the game set up and modes as for now. FIFA 14’s menus operates the exact same way that it does on the current gen systems. What I can tell you however is about all of the changes that happen, which are the tiny and noticeable changes within the game itself.

Starting off the pre-game presentation, the first thing I noticed that went missing in the Xbox 360 version from last year is the ESPN logo. It’s a small arbitrary thing but considering the fact that it was in FIFA 13 and then quickly disappeared in FIFA 14, it was just a chuckle to see it re-appear for the PS4. Also, once you get a game fired up, you will see a small EA HD bug in the upper right corner of the screen.

After that is when you really do start seeing the smallest nuances within the game. The crowds are no longer 2D pixelated cutouts but look more ‘alive,’ although it’s still not exactly up to 2K sports standards but that’s forgivable. The commentary thus far is much more varied and dynamic as Martin Tyler and Alan Smith give a great overview of what’s to come. A nice added touch is that when they now talk about new transfers and other rumors, the game does cutaways to the players being mentioned sitting in the stands. All in all, the pre-game presentation has been stepped up.

As the game itself starts, one can really notice how much smoother it feels to play on the next-gen consoles as opposed to the current gen. The game stoppages are smooth when balls go out of touch, and you really can feel the crowd getting behind you with ball movement. The controls are the same and with the Dualshock 4, it’s a more comfortable to play especially considering that I have large hands, and it’s not as cramped as before. Action on the field looks much more realistic as advertised by EA. They added a lot of animations to players to make the game more realistic and it shows. Slide tackles are different from many angles as you don’t get the same slide tackle each time you push the button. Shots are also different from players. I have also noticed that, in many cases, balls when deflected react with a lot more variety than before and it makes it a challenge sometimes to see where the balls might land. In short, the realism is getting better.

So what are some things that EA could improve? It is a launch game largely based on the current gen version, so it’s really hard to criticize at this point but if I had to point a few issues out I would say that, for one, the player models look slightly better and a little less dead under the eyes, but they still move slightly stiffly when viewed close up. The crowd noise is about the same as this gen’s version but it is a lot more reactive when things happen. And the dynamic lighting has not been changed as of yet but it is one improvement I hope to see change as gaming on this new system continues.

The last thing I want to cover is using the remote play. Even on the PS Vita with it scaled down, it looks excellent and still plays marvelously. You may have to get used to using the touchpad on the back but the game still works fine. I experienced a few hiccups here and there but nothing game breaking so now, I can play anywhere in my house when I don’t feel like sitting in front of my TV and I love it!

FIFA 14 is a great entry into the next-gen space and if you are a footy fan, you would be remiss not to get this game. Also remember, if you were one of those that got this game for the PS3 and you are getting it for the PS4, certain stores will allow you to trade this in and you pay only $10 to upgrade. And the same applies if you are upgrading it from an Xbox 360 to the Xbox One.

My score is 4.5 out of 5 and a highly recommended pickup if you are a FIFA fan.

The Next-Gen version of FIFA 14 is now available for PS4 and Xbox One. Pre-order the PS4 game system. Or pre-order the Xbox One.

Editor’s note: Be sure to listen to our fortnightly Press A To Shoot video game show hosted by Morgan Green and Matt Duncan with special guest Kris Heneage.

If you live in North America, FIFA 14 is available in stores and online today (and later this week in Europe). Not surprisingly, many soccer fans are excited about what may be the final iteration in this current generation’s version before the Next Gen consoles monopolize the industry.

I won’t re-hash everything that I said about the demo. Everything holds up in the final release of FIFA 14. To be fair, your miles will vary greatly depending on if you liked the last two iterations or if you are looking for a completely new take on the game. If you want something new, either try PES 2014 or wait for the next-gen consoles and take your chances. Otherwise FIFA 14 is still a solid game.

What makes FIFA 14 a solid and better game this year is what’s under the hood — particularly in Career Mode where I spend a lot of my time playing.  Most of my friends who I talked to this weekend about the game either play online or in Career mode and they were excited about the small changes:

Stat tweaking is more realistic

One of the best aspects of playing FIFA 14 is watching your players’ form improve or worsen as the season progresses. We saw this last year with the Career Mode for your created player but now this transfers over to the entire gaming world. If your left back’s stats at the beginning of the season equaled a 79 and he gets a few good games under his belt, it’s possible to look and see that he has a 79+2 as his overall stat.  In other words, when you pick your Starting XI, you aren’t just picking players because their permanent overall stats are good; you now have to look into how they play from game to game.

Infinity Engine definitely creates a challenge

I went into great detail about the Infinity Engine in my review of the FIFA 14 Demo, but — just like how the stats change game-by-game — the gameplay adjusts too.  I have had games that should have been cakewalks that turned into slugfests and games that should have been easy turn to my favor.

You really have to plan your runs down the field well. The AI can and will adjust to your playing tendencies, and you must do so as well. In one game I played against Southampton, I got so lazy that in the dying moments they turned a 1-0 into a 1-1 draw because my defense kept letting them play deep inside the penalty box. And while I had no problems with making good saves, an errant header in the dying moments sunk me. You have to be on your toes at all times and learn to re-adjust when the opposition gets hungry for goals late in the game.

Pay attention to the players you pick. And likewise, scout your opposition.  Speaking of scouting…

Scouting Network is hit or miss

I am starting to lean a little more into the ‘miss’ side with this feature. EA wanted to implement some of the FIFA Manager aspects into the manager mode with this tool.  In essence, instead of you doing the scouting and finding the players you want, you send scouts to find players. That means you can’t just dip into the pool of players and pick the precise player you want. You have to review them because all of their stats won’t be readily available.

While that part is great, it’s the fine-tuning that you have to do with your scouts that sometimes gets tedious. And also the message box tends to get full pretty quickly. It’s a good feature for those to want a feel for what it means to have some drama of getting a player, but this could have been a bit more thought out.

Transfer market is more realistic

The transfer market in FIFA 14 is more active than in previous versions, with teams trying to pry away your top talents. But at least they offer realistic bids in FIFA 14. And some you almost can’t refuse. Better still, there are a lot of transfers that fall through. I saw one player get transferred only to have it fall through because he and the team could not agree on a contract. I saw another player who was in negotiations with one team nearly finalize until I swooped in and outbid them for their services. Just like in real life, FIFA 14 is getting a little more cutthroat in that department.

The news blurbs that pop up during the course of a season tend to have actions that you must attend to. While playing the game, there was a rumor that one of my players was unhappy and unsettled, which led him to come to me tell me that the rumors were not true. I only wish that like the Football Manager series, you could have more interaction with that player. As a matter of fact there is a lot more player interaction this time around. Players all now have something to say – especially those who don’t get enough playing time, or are played out of position.

Commentary is more dynamic and fluid

The last time I heard sports commentary as good as this in a video game was when I played NBA2K. The commentary in FIFA 14 still needs work. But for once, they are on the path to getting it right.

Martin Tyler and Alan Smith are much more chatty in this edition of FIFA, with a lot more historical facts and player anecdotes thrown in, but what has really changed is what happens during the course of a season.  They will talk about a team’s or a player’s form over a series of games as well as discussing significant wins or losses. This makes the game more meaningful.

While I’m still getting into FIFA 14, I’ll be curious to see how Tyler and Smith commentate about a team when you’re facing them for the second time, and whether it’ll reference events or the scoreline from the first match.

Another plus about the improved commentary is that the commentary doesn’t seem to be on autopilot. For example, if Tyler breaks away to give you the result of another game and as you hear it, in your game a significant play happens, Tyler will cut into that break away to come back to your game and then once things settle down, will also apologize for the breakaway and give you the update himself! It’s a very nice touch and adds realism to the game.

I still haven’t gotten into FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) but from my experience with it thus far, EA has transferred my points from last year’s FUT over to this year’s game so you won’t have to start completely from the beginning.

FIFA 14 may not be going out of the current console cycle with a huge bang that some had hoped for, but it’s still a bang nonetheless as the cumulative small features makes this experience a more impactful one and the game does ‘grow’ with your style of play over time. If you can’t wait for the Next Gen console version of FIFA 14 that will be coming out in November, this is worth buying.

PS — Watch for a World Soccer Talk league on FIFA 14 coming soon. In the meantime, you can reach me on Twitter at @dreddeddeuce

Order your copy of FIFA 14 today via:

United States:

Order NOW to get your copy of FIFA 14.

United Kingdom:

Pre-Order NOW to reserve your copy of FIFA 14.

FIFA 14 is now available in the United States, and will be available on September 27 in the United Kingdom.

Editor’s note: Be sure to listen to our brand-new podcast show entitled Press ‘A’ To Shoot, which is a new soccer show dedicated to FIFA, PES, FPL and Football Manager.

FIFA 14 will be released next week, while the FIFA 14 Next Gen version won’t be released until mid-to-late November. It may be safe to say that this may be one of the biggest and last current gen sports releases before EA firmly sets its sights on the PS4 and XBox One versions. So after playing with the demo for FIFA 14, will this be worth getting next week or, if you are one of the many getting new systems, should you hold out? After putting some considerable time in over the weekend and trying out all of the teams, here’s what I came away with:

Presentation

The first thing that many fans of the FIFA series walk away with is that EA finally ditched the menu interface that they have used for the past several years and came out with a new interface similar to what they recently started using with their Madden NFL series.

The new menus are much easier to navigate. One of the things that I do like about the new menu system within the game is the ability to switch tactics on the fly without having to dive into submenus like previous iterations. The only qualm I have with this on the fly change is that I wish there was a way to see what players are in or out of place when you make that tactical change so you would know if you need to make any player moves. Of course being a demo, there are still a lot of other items that are locked, but the new menu system looks promising so far.

Audio

EA Sports is still getting better at this and I can only imagine that within the next two years on Next Gen consoles, they may even be able to include a dedicated audio system in the game. But as it is, the audio is still top notch in FIFA 14.

The one noticeable item is there is more chatter from Martin Tyler and Alan Smith at the pre-match opening than there was last year when there was noticeable amount of dead air during team introductions. Also, depending on the team, there is also an insane amount of chatter from them during the game, which at times, repeats so you hear the same things over and over again. There was a rumor that this year’s FIFA game would feature commentary that discussed past results and transfer talk relating to the game being played, and I’m hopeful this comes to fruition.

The crowd noise is slightly better this year because the supporters really react during a match. When I played Manchester City against AC Milan, not only did Mario Balotelli get booed when he got the ball and when he scored, but when Vincent Kompany tackled Balotelli and took the ball from him and then got tackled from behind with no card being issue, the crowd really booed to let their feelings be heard. That is the one thing I always liked about this series. Depending on how well or poorly your team does, the crowd really reacts.

Graphics

There’s very little change graphically from FIFA 13 to FIFA 14. There have been some small tweaks, but the in-game animations during gameplay are noticeable but nothing in particular is worth noting. I am, however, curious to see what the graphics will look like in the Next Gen version.

Gameplay

Everyone is dying to know whether the Ignite Engine makes a difference or not. Based on what I saw in the FIFA 14 Demo, I believe it does. In nearly all of the games I played, I fought for every shot I made. Not every goal, every shot. I’m not someone who plays on the Legendary level. I play on the Professional level. And after three games, I was mentally exhausted. I can’t play this the same way I played past FIFA games.

Depending on your team, you really need to play a tactical game to work the ball into the box. It’s hard to get off any fast breaks on counters and not all headers are as guaranteed as they were in FIFA 12 and FIFA 13. This game is all about pace. Your games aren’t going to be won by passing the ball and thinking that you can waltz the field. No, the opponent AI can and will shut you down, and harass you for the ball.

EA said they wanted an emphasis on midfield play, and so far it’s working like a charm. Not only that, but your skills will be truly tested. In one game I played between New York Red Bulls and Barcelona, I held my own in the first half, but by the second half it felt like the computer AI adjusted. And with two crucial mistakes I made, Xavi and Messi made me pay dearly. You can’t ping pong the ball around. As soon as a ball is loose, the AI for both sides will zero in on it.

It’s also important to note that a well placed pass will not always be picked up by the player you’re passing to, as sometimes he will or won’t adjust to get the ball — especially if he isn’t a good player with a good first touch.

In FIFA 14, there’s a lot more jostling among players and, overall, it’s a more realistic version of the beautiful game than FIFA 13.

There are still bugs in the demo, which will hopefully be fixed before the game launches next week — when players score, there are glitches where the players run in circles because the AI routine can’t figure out how to make them do their correct celebration. But that doesn’t take away from the game.

FIFA 14 feels like a marginal upgrade to FIFA 13, but I believe that with the improved game AI and new menu, those who can’t wait until the Next Gen version arrives won’t go wrong getting this version prior to its impending release.

The current gen version of FIFA 14 will be out in the US on September 24 and September 27 in the rest of the world.

Pre-order FIFA 14 today so it’ll arrive on your doorstep without having to wait in line.

Will you get FIFA 14, or will you hold out for PES 2014? Share your opinion below.

Editor’s note: Be sure to listen to our brand-new podcast show entitled Press ‘A’ To Shoot, which is a new soccer show dedicated to FIFA, PES, FPL and Football Manager.

For fans that have followed the Football Manager 14 series, which will be available for download on December 1, it’s time to start getting excited about the new release. As always at this time of the year, Sports Interactive has given us plenty to ponder, so without delay, here are some of the new features of the upcoming football management game:

Play Anywhere
In Football Manager 14, you’ll be able to save your games in the cloud. This way, you can play your matches anywhere on any compatible system and not miss a single moment. If this feature works well, I can envision putting in playing time to and from work, and then play the game later on my computer at home. Also for Linux users, you can now play this on your operating system. No word yet if the Play Anywhere feature will be available on iOS or Android devices.

Realistic Transfers and Contracts
Clubs and managers will adopt a more realistic approach to transfers as well as new options to buy, sell and loan players. Managers will now have the ability to loan players back to clubs they were bought from, as well as to select cash/player options. This sounds promising as you can take a more realistic approach to getting the players you want without breaking the bank. This is something that is already being done on the online game Soccer Manager, and sounds like a feature that should have been added a long time ago.

MLS Managers
In Football Manager 14, you have a waiver draft as well as a revamp of the transfer system so it’s more in line with Major League Soccer. Plus, the game features a Senior contract or SEL contract with first round draft picks.

Improved Training reports
I always disliked looking at the training reports. To me, it was just too much information, which was sometimes overwhelming. But the new reporting system in Football Manager 14 appears to give managers a more precise idea of what’s going on and what to expect from their players.

You can get details from your news screen with fewer clicks. This may seem like a minor update, but you can now get all the information you need from your newsfeed without having to click through extra screens. So if you get offered a rare footballer, you have more information readily available at your fingertips without wasting time.

There are many minor features that Football Manager 14 (FM 14) will feature, including:

– an overhaul to the shouts system to keep from giving conflicting advice,
– the ability to ‘bribe’ fringe players,
– use other players to help homesick players settle down,
– suggest to players that they sack their agent
– testimonials – for star veterans and retiring players
– realistic TV Money distribution
– news leaks
– separate menus for club and country, and
– referees can now retire as well.

Regarding the design and interface of FM 14, the look-and-feel (based on the screenshots I’ve seen) makes FM 14 look similar to last year’s edition. For those wondering whether it’s worth buying Football Manager 14, it depends on whether all the new tiny features are worth it, or not. Personally, I think it depends on how those small features stack up versus how it’s presented on screen. I think hardcore Football Manager gamers will see some of those small features as really opening the game up and making it a greater challenge than before. In that case, the upgrade would be worth the investment.

Football Manager has always been a wonderful game, and it looks like this year’s edition from Sports Interactive will be no different. Plus with Football Manager 14 coming to the PS Vita, I’m certainly looking forward to buying the game this year.

Pre-order Football Manager 14 today.

With the launch of the new Premier League season on NBC Sports, I had the opportunity today to give the NBC Sports App a test drive both at home and on the road.

After remembering how bad the NBC Olympics coverage was on mobile devices, I had some trepidation. However, I was hopeful that the NBC Sports App for iOS devices would be an improvement for the Premier League soccer games.

I was running the app on an Apple iPad 3td generation with retina display, iOS v6 on my home Wi-Fi and an Apple iPhone HotSpot connection. I also tested the app on an Apple iPhone 5 with retina display, running the beta version of iOS 7 with a 4G LTE connection.

Here’s what I uncovered on my travels today:

7:40am ET, at home — I wanted to give the NBC Sports App a test run with the Liverpool-Stoke game just to see how well it would work under optimal conditions, connected to my home WiFi.  It stumbled early for at least five minutes. The app loaded but the game wouldn’t stream. I read a few message boards and saw that others had the same issue. After a hard reset of both my iPad and iPhone, the app ran smoothly.

I watched the first half of the game and experienced no hiccups. However, I did note one issue. There was a one minute lag from the iPad to the TV.  Liverpool scored their goal on TV before it showed up on my iPad.  This is something I’ll need to make a mental note about because there may be times when I switch to a different part of my home, switching from watching the game on my TV to a mobile device and vice-versa.

Before the next part of my journey, while waiting on the train to leave, I had the Liverpool-Stoke game on my phone and the picture was crisp and clear.

10:15am ET, on the Metro — While waiting for the train again, I removed my phone to watch Sunderland against Fulham (Jozy Altidore is on my fantasy team), while switching back and forth to Arsenal versus Aston Villa, too. I noticed that even though the app loads quickly, it sometimes takes close to a minute for the match to begin broadcasting due to buffering. Even after my train finally arrived, I hit a few dead spots where I couldn’t get a cellular signal, but due to the buffering, the app still gave me approximately two minutes of soccer before it stopped. It’s worth knowing that the app gives you a size-able buffer in case you need to relocate to get a signal.

11am ET, at my local soccer pub — Arsenal supporters filled my local pub today, and judging by the looks on their faces, they weren’t too pleased.

I was curious about the Sunderland-Fulham match, so I used my iPad to pull up the game via NBC Sports App. While doing so, four people took notice and immediately downloaded the app so that we were all able to watch the matches we wanted.

The video quality was very consistent. After buffering for approximately 1-2 minutes, the game loaded, and I then had no issues watching the game on a 4G connection in a crowded bar. There were zero hiccups or losses of signal. I even tried the Apple iPad with my iPhone acting as the hotspot, and still there were no issues.

Overall, the NBC Sports App works like a charm on iOS devices. The streams are crisp, while the audio is just as good as what you’d hear on television. If you’re a fan of the Premier League and you live in the United States, this is a must-have app that allows you to watch matches for free (as long as your TV provider has agreed a deal with NBC to provide access).

The strangers I ran into in the crowded soccer pub were equally impressed by the app.

Hopefully this will incentivize beIN SPORT to improve the availability and quality of their beIN SPORT Play app.

Here’s a brief video demo of the NBC Sports Live App in action in my local watering hole:

If you’ve used the app, please share your feedback in the comments section below.

Editor’s note: The app review is for iOS devices only. We’re aware of the issues that Android users have experienced when trying to watch Premier League matches via NBC Sports App for Android devices.

The quality of this summer’s new soccer shirt designs has been a mixture of some good, some bad but some ugly. However, we’ve combed through the better ones to come up with a list of the ten best dressed teams that will be hitting the pitch this season. Whether or not that’ll translate to wins remains to be seen.

10. PSV Eindhoven Home Shirt: 100 years strong

PSV Eindhoven celebrate their centennial this year with a back-to-basics design that ditches the stripes and checkers mix that was last year’s shirt with a home shirt that is a solid red with gold and white accents worthy of celebrating a century of play. The white collar breaks up the red, but otherwise this is a wonderful design.

9. Chelsea FC Away Shirt: Understated, yet smart

It’s the plain white shirt that doesn’t try to do too much and that’s all that matters. As always, the adidas stripes feature prominently on the sleeves but what really stands out is the red band across the chest. It’s noticeable but not distracting. One of the nicest kits revealed for the upcoming season.

8. Galatasaray SK Home Shirt. Want to go half on it?

To be honest, I have never been crazy about Galatasaray’s colors but it seems like this design for their home kit finds a good shade of each color and blends it very well together. It’s not as busy as 2011’s design, and it’s more casual than last year’s design.

7. Hibernian FC Away Shirt. Nike flips the script yet again

Nike did this shirt design last year with Manchester United’s away jersey, which had a trendy buttoned-up collar. Taking that design, Nike has gone from white to black in Hibernian FC’s away kit. Black on white with the logo in green equals a clean look.

6. Aberdeen FC Away Shirt. Proof that Swansea was a guinea pig to designers

If you’ve seen this shirt design before, it’s Swansea City’s away shirt. With Aberdeen’s away shirt, it’s a good example of how adidas can take the same design, switch the colors, keep the adverts in plain-and-simple English and voila! You have a nice away shirt without the ‘futuristic’ look that failed. It’s a great blend of red, black and white, with no overpowering colors.

5. Everton Away and Arsenal Away Shirts. Let the sun shine.

Give Nike some credit with brightening up the pitch with these away offerings for both Everton and Arsenal. Some may hate the new Everton logo but the color scheme is aesthetically pleasing. Arsenal’s away shirt is just as impressive especially given how the blue complements the yellow so well.

4. West Ham United Home Shirt. New kitmaker keeps old traditions

adidas now has their hands on the West Ham shirts and I must say this effort is a better look than Aston Villa’s latest effort. The white collar and stripes (which go part-way down the sleeve) bring out the colors of the rest of the shirt without being too distracting. And thankfully the new sponsor fits right in with the shirt’s color scheme.

3. Birmingham City FC Home Shirt. Classic yet modern

This style was introduced in the early 70s and then re-introduced in the late 90s, then in 2007. So why not do it again? Birmingham’s latest creation from Diadora once again dips into the well of a modern retro look that quite frankly is not as busy as the last time this style was incorporated.

2. Chivas del Guadalajara Home Shirt. A perfect blend of red, white and blue

The new home shirt for Chivas de Guadalajara is stunning. It’s one of the few designs where the team colors and the sponsors co-exist in a shirt without anything really taking away from it. It’s bright and flashy without being overpowering.

1. France Away Shirt. Minimal, but classy.

Nike likes to experiment with collars on kits and this year’s efforts on the France away shirt is a beautiful touch. I like the fact that it’s casual enough to dress up with without it being too garish to be identified as a football shirt. If I was a supporter of France, I would buy it. In fact, I still may get it anyway.

Browse through the new world soccer shirts in the World Soccer Talk shop at www.worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/shop

Only a few days remain before the new soccer season begins, so it’s perfect timing to take a look at the new kits that have been released the judge what ones are the worst of the worst.

Here are the 10 worst that I’ve seen for next season:

10. Cardiff City’s Home Shirt. It’s not ugly but…

So it’s not enough that the owners changed the colors from blue to red but as you can see above, the club used two different tones of red in the shorts and the shirt.  It’s not so much that it’s ugly but considering how many other prominent teams wear red and wear it well, this design is boring and uninspired.

Thankfully, Cardiff City decided to change the shorts color to something more appealing.

9. A tie between Fenerbahce Home and Stoke City Away Shirt. If the lights go out, will they glow?

It looks like the goal here was to be ‘electrifying’ and, hopefully, with these kits it translates to that same level of play.

8. A tie between AC Milan’s Third Shirt and FC Copenhagen’s Home Shirt.  “I love gooooooold.” 

Austin Powers’ Goldmember would love these kits, but few others would.

While AC Milan’s design is just garish, Copenhagen’s kit looked like it escaped from an 80’s back-up dancer’s closet and he wants it back!

7. Paris Saint-Germain Home Shirt. One just can’t make up their minds on this design.

This design left many scratching their heads too. It’s another kit that’s not really ugly but it’s not really ‘pretty’ either and one can’t really put their finger on what it is.

6. Manchester United Away Shirt.  So it worked for home, why not do it away?

When Nike run out of ideas, they flip the colors and that’s exactly what this is.  Last year, red, this year blue.  Many get the idea of a tribute, but this was never a good design idea to begin with.

5. Newcastle United Away Shirt. Look! We are sponsoring this shirt. Can you see us? 

It looks like Puma couldn’t figure out which tones of blue they wanted to use so they tossed three different shades on a kit to see what sticks and that’s still not counting the big bright blue Wonga.com logo that sticks out like a sore thumb.

4. Swansea City Away Shirt. Future fool-proof.

If Blade Runner actually existed, and there was a footy team, they would wear this…and nobody would watch.

3. Bordeaux Away Shirt.  So cool that even the cool kids wouldn’t wear this.

If this shirt was being sold at retailer Aeropostale, Old Navy or one of those pretentious clothing boutiques that twenty-something kids adore, it works. But this one, as a soccer shirt, fails miserably.

Let’s introduce the last two by wishing that the Warriors didn’t come out to play.

2. Sevilla Home Shirt. Business casual?

Look at that stripe and tell yourself that it absolutely does not scream ‘Place Necktie Here’.

1. A tie between Liverpool’s Away and Third Shirts. 

Whoever at Warrior approved these last 2 designs must really hate Liverpool Football Club.  They are ugly, garish and look like something from either a ski shop or a 90’s garbage bin.  Liverpool supporters, we feel for you. But if you get caught wearing these designs, you will walk alone. Kit designers should take note. This is NOT how you design a kit for a team with the traditions of Liverpool FC.

Browse through the new world soccer shirts in the World Soccer Talk shop at www.worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/shop

Any other nominations for worst kit designs? Suggest them in the comments section below.

Major League Soccer team DC United moved a step closer to a new stadium deal last week that could see the team leave RFK Stadium, their home since 1996.

When news broke that Chelsea and AS Roma were going to play at RFK Stadium this summer, my heart sank because going to RFK each time is becoming more of an intolerable experience.

As other teams in Major League Soccer have built brand-new soccer stadiums, it’s upsetting that one of the most successful teams in the league — one that put MLS on the map in this country — still doesn’t have its own home.

RFK Stadium was meant for American football, and has even supported baseball. Both the Nationals and Redskins franchises) have long since gotten newer and more modern facilities but somehow DC government has dragged their feet to get DC United a place to play.

Two years ago, I went to see DC United play Everton at RFK Stadium. One of the Everton supporters I met was angry that he came all the way from New Jersey only to have his seat break as he sat on it. On top of the crumbling seats, the stadium is dark and smelly in places, while the plumbing often doesn’t work and the overpriced food selection is poor.

A new stadium for DC United and this region would do so much for soccer in the area.  The area under consideration is still Metro subway friendly and across from the Nationals Stadium, which means fans will have easy access to and from games as well as much better seating. In addition to that, a new stadium will give DC a chance to host more soccer events in the area including more US men’s national team matches. Plus there’s always the opportunity to host special events to generate more revenue for MLS.

With a new stadium, it’ll give DC United the opportunity to improve attendances. If the Nationals can do it in their new stadium, so can DC United.

Before the deal is completed, there’ll undoubtedly be some political maneuverings that will transpire. But hopefully a deal will be completed soon otherwise the team may have to leave the area, which will be a shame for this great MLS franchise.

Konami announced this week that PES 2014 will not be making an appearance on the new Next Gen consoles and the reason is partly due to developers wanting to produce something entirely new rather than port their existing game over.

On one hand, you could applaud the move as anyone who played Madden 2006 when it launched with the Xbox 360 could attest to how shoddy the game was. On the other hand Konami is further conceding ground as FIFA 14 is set to be on the Next Gen systems although no release time has been set.

In my opinion, I am hoping that PES does eventually come out with a new game for the next gen consoles within the next year because quite frankly, it’s that competition that keeps EA on their toes when it comes to sports games and it’s something that hasn’t been seen in American football games since 2K Sports lost the NFL license to EA.

The biggest question is regarding mods that have helped PES stay toe-to-toe with FIFA. Will roster updates and team changes be allowed on the new systems? PES does allow for partial licensing of some teams and some leagues but the mods and roster updates that many get for the game within days or weeks of release still tend to make PES a strong competitor to FIFA.  But still with no showing this year, one can only wonder how it will impact sales of the new system while die hard PES fans wait it out for a new one. Not only that, there will also still be no Vita version either.

Here’s hoping that PES 15 comes next year to the new consoles with a new engine, bigger and better game modes and some new licensing so we can finally see some serious competition to the FIFA series Next Gen style. My fingers are crossed that Konami makes it happen.

For those of you planning to get the new consoles (Xbox One or PS4), are you disappointed about there being no PES 14 Next Gen gaming? Will you get FIFA 14 to hold you over? Share your opinions below.

Following up on last week’s announcement of FIFA 14’s new features, I’m always excited when the next iteration of the FIFA video game series is being released. For video gamers in North America, the release date for FIFA 14 is reportedly September 24.

It’s already been mentioned that most of the on-field changes focus on the build-up play in midfield, which should take away some of the ‘arcadey’ style play that has been one of the biggest criticisms that has plagued the game for years.

So, while I am excited for the tweaks that EA has announced, what are some of the other things that caught my eye?

1. The revamped interface looks promising. Let’s be honest, the UI has needed changes for years and by ripping a page from their own playbook and using the screens from Ultimate teams and from the Madden series, it may make it easier to navigate between screens and not be so boring.

2. Licenses for England’s Blue Square Bet (the Conference) and Brazil’s Figueirense are being added.

3. It’s rumored that there will be another PS Vita version of FIFA. I’m hoping that EA doesn’t make the same mistake of giving us a roster update like they did last year but a lot of that hinges on whether or not PS Vita sales stay up between now and then.

4. There have been no announcements about next-gen iterations yet, but we can hope. But one never knows so it would be wise to see what happens at this year’s E3 Conference. If new systems are announced, it’s a good chance FIFA may be there.

Here’s hoping that in the next few months EA gives us a steady diet of goodies to get us hyped before September 24 rolls around. If some of these changes hold up, then we may lucky enough to get something that does not feel like a roster update. Otherwise stay tuned for any news regarding PES 14 from Konami.

We’re nearly nine months away from a new FIFA video game, so it’s time to start wishing for a new one. With everything that went into last year’s iteration, what could go into a new one? Here are my four suggestions:

1. Next Gen FIFA

The biggest question on my mind is that with the possibility of new consoles possibly coming from Sony and Microsoft this year, can we possibly see new and upgraded FIFA games? Will EA finally give us a whole new next gen experience or will it be a training wheels-type exercise as the kinks get worked out for a new console? Thinking back to the Madden 2005 experience on the then new Xbox 360 makes me hope that EA avoids this.

2. Improving the Managers’ Career Mode

FIFA took a step forward last year with a lite version of a Managers Career mode that let players take the role of the manager of their club with opportunities to even become an international coach. While it was a great start that could rival some of the soccer management sims out there, there were still a few bugs. The biggest fix I would like to see is negotiating the transfers of players. In FIFA 13, once negotiations went south, that was it. This needs to be fixed. Also, I would love more interaction between the players and coach — especially when there are new players and trying to get that ‘right’ chemistry for your team.

3. Commentary

I believe EA is just too lazy to really figure out how to use dynamic commentary in a game in light of the paltry competition that PES gives them yearly. I don’t know how many times I have to say this but if EA took notes from 2K Sports on how to make a dynamic game, then FIFA would fly off the shelves even more than it does already.

It would be nice to hear during the course of a game how players and teams are on a hot or cold streak or how well a player does playing in a particular venue or how a coach is doing with a particular team. Too many times in FIFA 13, I heard audio miscues. Foe example, when a team was in good form, I would hear that they were in poor form. And vice versa.

4. Dynamic and adjustable AI Tactics

While the on-the-field AI has gotten better in some respects, what I would like to see is your AI opponent switch tactics too. Come on EA! Your motto is “If it in the game, it’s in the game!” How many times do we see managers make adjustments at half time and whatever they do becomes a key to them winning or losing a game especially if a player has been carded? If the 4-4-2 formation is not working for the AI, then let the AI change at halftime and really surprise the player at the beginning of the second half by running something different. Even adjusting where players are on the field would be great.

I have a feeling that something like this probably won’t happen until the next gen consoles come out but it’s an idea worth pursuing.

Last year’s iteration was a huge step forward for me but I still feel that more needs to be done under the hood instead of a huge overhaul. As long as EA improves on some of the small bells and whistles that they added last season along with some of the suggested changes, then FIFA 14 could be a big hit. We know as long as PES is around that FIFA won’t get all of the licenses, but FIFA does make up for this in great dynamic gameplay. With new consoles on the horizon, who knows what we may be in store for?

So, now it’s up to you readers. What would you like to see in the next FIFA game?

As the transfer window opens, the biggest signing so far looks to be Demba Ba.

Chelsea has made a £7 million offer for Ba, which has triggered the £7 million release clause in Demba Ba’s contract with Newcastle. The clubs are currently in discussions to finalize a deal, and Newcastle United has announced that Ba has been pulled out of tonight’s squad to face Everton at St. James’ Park.

Newcastle has given permission for Demba Ba to speak with Chelsea.

Now that the release clause has been triggered, there’s always the chance that another club could come in with a counter offer, but it looks likely that Ba will be joining Chelsea where he’ll be a superb addition to the squad as a back-up striker to Fernando Torres, allowing manager Rafael Benitez plenty of options to rotate his squad. Also today, Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge will be the guest of Liverpool Football Club at Anfield for tonight’s match against Sunderland. A move from Chelsea to Liverpool is expected to be finalized soon.

Demba Ba signed for Newcastle in June 2011 after joining the club from West Ham United on a three-year deal. Demba Ba is currently the joint second best goalscorer in the Premier League this season with 13 goals.

Meanwhile at St. James’ Park, the pressure will be on Newcastle United tonight. If the club loses against Everton, the club will remain just two points above the relegation zone. And with the impending loss of Demba Ba from their squad, Newcastle United supporters will want owner Mike Ashley to get a replacement striker who can provide the goals needed to keep the team up in the league next season.

I was one of the lucky few that managed to get a Wii U this past week, and overall it’s a decent new system with the biggest selling point of the GamePad tablet being the way it changes the way we play games.

Using the Gamepad, so much information gets shifted from the TV screen to the tablet, which allows gamers to make changes on the fly without pausing the game. The other big selling point is the ability to remotely play games on the GamePad without having to be in front of the screen.

How does FIFA 13 stack up on the Wii U? Let’s take a look and find out.

Graphics

At first glance, the Wii U version of FIFA 13 appears similar to the XBox 360 version, as well as the PS3. But after taking a longer look, the Wii U is slightly smoother and more detailed — at least in the replays. Overall, the actual gameplay looks about the same, but — as always — there is room for improvement. In comparison to the PC version, it leans a little closer to that comparison than it would a 5-year old console.

Controls

This is where things get interesting. The basic controls have not changed and if you have played FIFA 13 on any other system using the basic setup, you can play on the Wii U also. No noticeable lag or any discrepancies on the game’s part but what sets this version apart from the others is the use of the GamePad itself. Players can use the GamePad to make substitutions, change tactics and monitor player stats all on the fly without really having to pause the game and I found it to be a very handy concept. You can also do man-marking at the touch of the screen. In a sense, playing FIFA 13 on the Wii U is almost like playing a much larger version of the DS. Keep in mind that the features work as long as you are playing on the TV screen. Once you flip over to playing on the GamePad, you play it like normal.

Concerns and Signs of Hope

Being that this is a 1st gen FIFA game for the Wii U, some things got left on the floor. With all of the bells and whistles that the other consoles managed to get, I was a bit surprised that they didn’t make it into this iteration. You don’t get any international play while playing in manager or player mode. The Infinity Engine wasn’t included, nor was the Ultimate Team or the MatchDay feature implemented. Also missing in action are the Skill Games, Online Team Play and 1st Touch Gameplay. If anything, this game almost feels more like a FIFA 12.5 than a full-on 13, so some Wii U players may feel a bit disappointed. However, there is a nice Manager Mode included where you can sit back and let the game play itself out while you manage from the touchline and if you aren’t satisfied with how the game is going, you can pause and take control and play it out how you want. Even in between games you still have players that come to you with different issues and you are also still responsible with basic day-to-day operations of the club. It’s a nice Football Manager Lite suite added in and one that could possibly be fleshed out in later iterations.

Should you get it?

In my opinion, if you already have it on the other systems, you have the best iteration of FIFA 13 right now. Based on what didn’t make it into the game, I would advise to wait another year and see if FIFA 14 can catch up to the others and not only have all the same features but more exclusive features that utilizes the GamePad. The only way I would recommend this as a purchase for right now is if you want to really try out the Manager Mode and also if you fancy yourself playing games on the gamepad itself and not always in front of the TV. I did find myself playing a few games via the Gamepad in the bedroom while watching Arsenal struggle versus Aston Villa. Any current gen gaming you can get done without leaving the comfort of your bed is a win!

So, really depending on how big a fan you are you can take it or leave it with FIFA 13. It’s not the cutting edge sports simulator right now but with a lot of polish I am sure this would probably be a preferred purchase next year. I can’t stress enough that if it had the same features of the other console iterations, this would be an easy winner. But by not having some of those key ingredients, it falls just short in extra time

7 out of 10.

FIFA 13 for the Wii U is currently available from Amazon and other online (and brick and mortar) stores.

1.     How do you think PES 2013 differentiates from FIFA 13, which is quite a competitor to come up against?

“We differentiate the same way we have throughout our long time rivalry – the gameplay. Our fans have always appreciated PES due to its ability to rely first on the game play to ensure fans get the controls and the strategy that gets them closest to the real thing.  That is why while we’ve added some big licensing bonuses like all 20 Brazilian teams, our main focuses deal with what fans have been requesting: major gameplay improvements.  Player ID, ProActive AI and PES Full Control are the centerpieces of this year’s improvements.”

2.     How does Konami feel about EA’s denial of plagiarism?

“I say this without trying to be dismissive, but this isn’t something we typically comment on.  EA will do what they are going to do and we will continue to try to give fans the best playing soccer game.”

3.     What is the one feature that gamers will see the biggest change in this iteration and will talk about the most?

“I’ll try to narrow down to one, but it will be tough. We have 3 major tent-pole improvements that all complement each other. The first is Player ID, where the top players in the world have been recreated in digital format. Not just their facial features, but the movements, runs, mannerisms. It brings them to life in the game.  There are 2 main features for PES 2013 apart from PlayerID, which are PES Full Control, and ProActive AI. PES Full Control allows the user to freely control their ball. ‘Full Manual Shooting & Passing’ fully responds to the user’s control, and not only through passing and shooting, it gives absolute freedom in trapping, One-twos, and feints that players won’t have had the chance to use before. Lastly for the ProActiveAI, it would make the players to run into open spaces, perform a combination movement in the correct circumstances, which allows for more dynamic attacking strategy than ever.”

“As I mention, they all don’t function independent of each other. They really complement each other.”

4.     Is there any chance that one day gamers can see more leagues like the MLS in the next version?

“We are ALWAYS in the licensing hunt. This happens year round and is subject to timing and relationships and what makes sense so the game can be profitable. Without tipping our hand, we have big things as we move forward strategically. As you’ve seen we are chipping away and growing more and more each year. UEFA Champions League, then Copa Libertadores, then Brazilian League. It’s only a matter of time.”

5.     How would you sell a long time FIFA player on changing to PES? 

“I would say that if they are ready to play at a higher level, come join us. I guarantee you will find it more difficult, you’ll be forced to play against more seasoned players and you be able to have loads more freedom.”

6.     Can gamers expect a Wii U version this year? If not, when? Also, is there a possibility that a Vita version may appear?

“At the time we don’t plan to make PES for the Wii U or the PS Vita. This does not mean we never will. We are still exploring these exciting platforms to make a successful game that takes advantage of these platforms.”

FIFA 13 or PES 2013. Don’t know which to get?  Let’s put these two games side by side and see how they compare.

Licensing

EA has almost every professional team in existence in the game. MLS fans can play it and now some of the Saudi fans can play their own leagues as well.  While PES does have limited licensing, it does have a one up with a very robust modding community and if the time is taken and the necessary files are installed, PES will have all of the real world teams. Plus, its aces in the hole are that PES 2013 has the fully licensed UEFA Champions and Europa League, Copa Santander Libertadores and a few others. And with the mod, which is FREE, you can play the World Cup and Euro 2012 without having to make a separate purchase (unlike EA).  Winner:  PES 2013

Graphics

This one is a tough call. Whereas FIFA is a much ‘cleaner’ and ‘sharper’ looking game, EA still misses a lot on the game faces. PES 2013 graphics engine is starting to show a bit but the animations in some places are a lot more realistic. Both though can sometimes be a miss in celebrations.  Winner: Draw

Game Mechanics and Control

This category is another very tough call as both have improved in some areas of actual game play. However, I feel that EA has done a lot to improve on the mechanics with the First Touch Control feature. And playing defense is slightly more solid and realistic. Also in offense, there’s a noticeable difference in how the AI plays on the ball when passed or shot.  PES 2013 still has issues with AI’s sticking to each other like glue during corner kicks. Plus you may wind up doing some button mashing while tackling when playing defense. Winner: FIFA 13

Overall Gameplay

This is slightly different from game mechanics. As far as speed of the game is concerned, PES 2013 still feels more like a real world game. At times, some games seem to go really fast while the pace is more measured with others. Overall, you won’t have a game that’s a shootout because you have to be precise where you want to put the ball, which makes scoring a much more satisfying experience.  On FIFA 13, it feels like it’s catching up to PES in this regard but there are still far too many times where the game feels a bit arcade-like. However, with a few adjustments to the sliders, you can find your right pace and change the gameplay to your style.  Winner: PES 2013

Career Modes

With PES 2013, Konami has released another iteration of Master League and Be A Legend. Unfortunately, both feel slightly flat this year. The one step back is that neither really immerses you into what is going on around the league.  While Be A Legend does feature a few minor changes to help you develop your player, you still don’t get feedback from your coach. This is another area where EA has stepped up in both departments. In manager mode you now have the opportunity to manage international squads and as a player you have the opportunity to play on one. Also at key times, you will get news from around the league about job openings, upcoming fixtures and so on and it’s done very well for an EA sports game.  Most of all, whatever mode you choose, you are given clearly defined objectives which gives you a direction to where you want to go. Winner: FIFA 13

‘The Extra Bells and Whistles’

Straight out of the package, PES 2013 doesn’t have much to stand on as it only brings back a lot of the modes that made last year’s (and previous years) games a joy to play. But again, EA has come out swinging with FIFA 13. Improvements to the previously mentioned Career modes as well as the new Match Day experience gives FIFA 13 a more realistic approach. But not only that, it’s the small things that count in FIFA 13 such as in-game updates of scores from around the league and injury reports, which really separate FIFA 13 from FIFA 12 and FIFA 11.  Winner: FIFA 13

Fans will agree and disagree on which game is the better but it’s undeniable that both games in their own way are marvelous games to play. The competition between both game companies will ensure that the fans will benefit from new features and enhanced functionality in future years.

It would be unfair to discuss FIFA 13 without talking first about its competition — PES 2013.

I took PES 2013 for a test drive this past weekend, and I have to say that while the demo Konami released this summer was underwhelming and a bit deceiving, the finished product was better. Having said that, PES still has a long way to go if it ever wants to be on top again. Konami did a lot more under the hood to refine the game mechanics from last year’s iteration and it’s a good and bad thing.

If you feel an absolute need to play with licensed teams, you can take at least an hour to hit up some of the PES modding forums where you can get the option files needed to get all the ‘licensed’ teams and events that you want as well as updated kits. PES still has rights to the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup competitions as well as Copa Santander Libertadores. But with the mods you can play the World Cup, recreate Euro 2012, Africa Cup of Nations and so on. The modding by itself is what sets this title apart from FIFA as EA tends to try to milk money from the Euros and Word Cup games by selling separate products. However, Konami still misses by not having current roster updates at this point in time.

Konami didn’t do too much to add to PES 2013 compared to PES 2012. You still have same options of Football Life and a few other modes to play, but what is a new is a training mode where you can play and improve your skills in many areas.

Graphically speaking, the game isn’t different from last year’s version and you will still see many of the same canned celebrations that you saw before. My biggest concern is the frame rate (running on the PS3) seems to just chug along as the graphics engine really starts to show its age. I will say, compared to FIFA 13, the faces are slightly more accurate on PES 2013.

On the plus side, the gameplay mechanics still seem precise although I think defensively it’s more a hit and miss this year as sometimes I feel like I am button mashing just to try and stop passes but offensively when you have the ball it’s a joy to control.  Learning stick movement and direction when dribbling takes practice and patience, and where EA is now touting First Touch Control, it works naturally here.

The AI is still hit and miss but somewhat improved. Defenses will close down routes in a hurry and the AI plays hard on the ball when needed. The one gripe I had, which made it over from the past games, is still the corner kicking issues. When you go to take a corner kick, no matter where your team moves, the AI will ‘slide’ and follow your player parallel to where you are going like they are literally stuck to you. Thus it’s still difficult to win many corners.

But overall, Konami shines on the field.

Commentary still needs to be improved but again, I can’t help but think due to licensing issues, that’s still going to be as hamstrung as it’s going to be.

As far as the game modes in Football Life, Master League and Be A Legend, a lot hasn’t changed and this is what in my opinion hurts PES 2013. I played 8 games with Master League but stopped because I really wanted to wait until I had proper updated rosters to really feel like I was playing this year’s iteration.

One interesting thing I noticed is that playing in both modes, I still feel so isolated from the rest of the world because you don’t see a lot of updates popping up unless you go to specific menus to get them. And that was also another pet peeve of mine is that the menus are the same as last year’s. A lot of these issues take away from the immersion of watching and being a part of the game. You can’t see league leaders and you have to dig around to find your standings. And it’s pretty boring and flat the way it’s displayed.

Also, I caution anyone playing Master League during the transfer period to not skip your dates! If you are in the middle of a negotiation, skipping dates means you will not get any kind of message of what happened until after you get to the date you are going to, and by then it’s too late. Furthermore, you don’t even get any kind of warning that the transfer window is closing so keep a close eye on what you are doing.

Another weird thing I noticed is that some player’s morale will not change regardless of what you do.  I had one player who complained about his playing time even though he started every match, regardless if he played the whole 90 minutes or if I substituted him. I’m hoping this was just a bug in the system.

As far as Be A Legend was concerned, it has taken one step back. On the plus side, now you can purchase items to boost your character’s stats. But a minus is that you get no manager feedback pre or post game. Your only objective is to do just enough to stay in the Starting XI.  One other thing: Almost all of the players’ ratings are nearly the same every game and it seems that it only increases with scores and assists.

In the final analysis of PES 2013, and I know many will debate this in the months to come, where EA did a lot of things to improve their game, Konami was content to improve the gameplay itself and while that is commendable, some of the bells and whistles that EA added will separate the two games. PES 2013’s game modes can and will keep many busy but sometimes one can’t help but wonder how much greater PES 2013 could have been with a little added immersion.

3 out of 5 stars.

It’s been many years since I actually regretted a game purchase to the point of anger, and I am shocked and saddened that FIFA 13 for the PS Vita would be it. With the lack of any sort of information over the past few months, I wrongly assumed that EA would have taken some of what’s great about this year’s overhaul and shrink it into the Vita version.

I knew that there would be no cross-play between the two consoles, so my plan was to take my Virtual pro that I have been meticulously working on and move him on the Vita and build while on the go. That was strike two.

Strike three was getting home and eagerly tearing it out of the pack, slapping it in the Vita, firing it up only to find that the game was a kit and roster update. What the heck? After all of the praises I heaped on the console version, I was seriously upset to see that EA took no effort to even make this game anywhere near its console brother.

Now I understand why there has been nearly no information or updates about the Vita version all through the summer.

This game is simply a repack of the FIFA Soccer title that came out when the Vita was released running on the FIFA 11/12 engine. Hardly any of the extra bells and whistles made it into this package. No Ultimate teams, no Match Day, no internationals, no mini games, nothing that is making the console version great is in here and it’s a shame that EA even bothered with the paltry effort. Even the career modes are still the same as the last iteration.

Some of the 1st Touch mechanics may have made it in but if I had never played the first release, this would have been a passable game at best but because I did, this repack at $40 feels like a serious slap in the face. I played this game for maybe an hour just to see if there was any difference in the controls but truth be told, it doesn’t really feel that different. The graphics looks exactly the same as the last version as well as the menus and game modes. This shows the lack of effort that EA Sports made in helping the cause for Sony to make the Vita a vital gaming machine.

At best, I can only recommend this to anyone who seriously needs some footy on the go or if you never played the last iteration. Otherwise, leave this game on the shelf and if you have the earlier release, do a roster update and continue playing it, or if you have an iOS device pay $6 and play that one.

1 out of 4 stars.

Player Career – How I Spent my Weekend in Northampton Town

One thing that has always been daunting about playing FIFA games, especially as a new player, is that the player career mode was unforgiving.  You create your player and your stats were always low. And you either jumped in to swim with the big fish or you got booted from the team especially if you were trying to make it with a big club like Inter, Manchester United, Barca or PSG.

This year’s iteration takes a very different approach, one that even PES doesn’t take.  You have the option of creating a player and signing him to any club that you choose but the rub here is one way or another, your manager may send you out on loan to improve your skills. As it happened with me, I created my player and signed him onto Manchester United. And after 2 games, Sir Alex Ferguson sent my player to Northampton Town FC. I was bummed, I mean I really felt like I was sent out of sight, out of mind but…the beauty of this mode is this: You are given goals to work to.

Unlike PES’ career mode which one, sends you to a team and forces you to work your way completely up and two, your only clear objective is to do enough for the team to stay in the Starting XI, the club that you play for regardless if you are starting or loaned out, you are given a set of objectives (primary and secondary) to play for. Some goals can be to score a set amount of goals in a season, keep a particular rating average, getting assists and a few others.  As you play of course, any special skills you pull off gets added to your player.  That much has not changed, so your player does ‘develop’ as your season progresses.

My player build started off at 67 and after 5 games, my player’s overall skill was 70 and now I’m getting a few unlockables along the way. This is a much different take than other past FIFA video games as you are responsible for your player’s growth and yes, the manager still controls the game including tactics and line up. As the season has progressed, I saw the call for internationals and of course, my player is nowhere near ready to go, but seeing the announcement, it made me want to play more so that eventually my player does get called up.  This is a mode that PES has been touting for years but in one fell swoop, EA may have this right after doing the right amount of tinkering.

Manager Career – Sitting in The Manager’s Chair

I think it’s safe to say that FIFA 11 and 12’s manager mode was the same thing with no changes and I was hoping and praying that this really would have been fixed in this year’s mode. While some fixing has been done, there is still a lot to do but suffice to say this more has a FIFA Manager-Lite feel to it.

So, everything you know and love is still there. You still need to pick your Starting XI, wrangle transfer negotiations, set up your scouting networks and the like but this mode is a little more interactive now but not by much.  For instance, you can still have times you can talk to the press before games but still there is no reason to do it as it doesn’t have an outcome one way or another with management, supporters or your opponent.

Another item I saw that may need addressing is that when negotiating transfers, you have to have an almost perfect finesse in moving players whether buying or selling. In many cases, once talks break down, that’s it.  Teams will not come back to the table for no reason and because of this you have to plan accordingly. You can have a transfer deal already sealed and ready to make your next move when negotiations between the player and their team fall because they can’t agree wages. Be prepared for this to happen…a lot.  However, there is a lot of interaction going on with your manager and the club execs during the season so you won’t be bored. And no, you won’t get called up to internationals right away similar in Player mode but you will see announcements about it, this game awards those with patience and perseverance.

Another plus is that if your team has qualified for Europe, you can start your season off drawn for Champions League and Europa League (although the names have been changed due to licensing) and competing at the proper times. Another great touch is how players now will interact when they aren’t getting enough playtime, want to sit out a match or even beg to start — at the expense of another teammate. And it’s even more priceless to see the reaction you get from them after a game.

The Bells and Whistles – The Small Stuff That Count

For any sports game, many of you can think of minute details that may have made the game for you. Be it the way a transfer has gone to a way a player does a celebration. FIFA was a love it or hate it game sometimes based on the small potatoes.  There were a lot of little things that this game does that I even wish the American juggernaut Madden NFL would do. For instance, when playing a season, before you start a game, you have the choice of getting other scores and news announced from around the league. It’s a nice touch to hear midway through your game that a player on a rival team has gotten a red card or was scored on via a penalty kick. And it happens frequently enough that you stay informed and infrequently enough that it doesn’t take away from the game. Even when a player gets hurt during the game, you hear whether or not that player will come back or is out. You even get to hear a full recap of scores post game as well as an announcement of upcoming fixtures.

Another nice and small touch is how much the commentary has improved.  Yes, eventually you will start hearing the same things over and over, but it’s a nice touch to hear how well or how bad a team’s form is coming into a game, or if a player is on the bench or up for transfer. But most surprisingly, how a new transfer may be playing against his former team.  For instance, in my Manager Mode, I picked up Holger Badstuber from Bayern Munich and when I went to play them a few weeks later, I was shocked to hear something to the tune of “We will see how this new acquisition will fare today against his old club.” I was pleased that someone thought long enough to put that in there. What I am waiting to hear is manager sackings!

And as mentioned earlier, there’s more interaction in the menus.  Big stories pop out which may prompt some action from you, audio alerts will pop up from time to time and so on.  You can really see that a clear effort has been made from EA this time around to make this year’s game a more polished game rather than a roster upgrade from previous years.

Graphically speaking, the game has improved; the Player Impact engine has changed the game giving an air of unpredictability to matches and the improvements in the Career and Manager modes has given more meat to modes that were suffering.

The downsides are few but in the Early Release version I saw:

• Weird day and night cycles especially when players are subbed.
• Every once in a while scoreboard results and audible results didn’t match
• Inconsistent commentary as the game opens, some games you get a mouthful from Martin Tyler and Alan Smith; some games they are deathly silent
• Game saves can get corrupted, so save often!
• More audible chants! I may make a real effort to get some this year and put them in game

There is still a great deal of improvement to be made and should EA gets complete rights in the future from PES in terms of tournaments, then it may eliminate PES completely (I hope this never happens as competition keeps game makers on their toes! .

One more thing to add. It is now theoretically possible to recreate specific tournaments. You have enough tools to replay the Euros and the World Cup but you don’t have all the bells and whistles to do so until those ‘add ons’ appear.

After having played a full weekend of FIFA 13 in anticipation of Tuesday’s disc release, I may not have a need to play PES this year.  I can only hope that these improvements carry over into the Vita version although it’s a downer that there is no cross play.

As an EA FIFA fan this is a must have. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Order FIFA 13 today and get it delivered to your home!

Although it’s only a demo, EA looks like it’s heading in the same direction as they did with their Madden series in an attempt to overhaul parts of the game so that it doesn’t feel so much like a roster update.

So, what’s in the game?

You get to play as Manchester City, Arsenal, Juventus, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund in the demo, and experience EA SPORTS Football Club Match Day, which is a really cool feature that will let you play with the ‘same experience’ as the real world news and gossip.  You will hear commentators talk about players who have been transfer listed, who are on the bench, injuries, and any other bits and pieces that can be reflected in-game. Also you will see players who are hot/cold and its effects on their gameplay. You do however have the choice to turn this feature off, but I would really encourage anyone playing to try this feature.

Graphically speaking, the player faces looks a little sharper this year in the demo and a little less plastic. But where the game shines is on the field.  The Player Impact Engine looks to be a bit more improved with better collision detection and little nuances such as players jumping over sliding opponents or more realistic falls when crashing into each other, and even players grabbing on to shoulders when jumping up for headers. So far, with the new animations, the game looks to be a lot more put together than last year’s version. My only minor gripe still has to do with the lighting effects on the field — something that Konami seems to have a better handle on.

Control-wise, it’s still familiar but the biggest difference I have seen is with the First Touch Control.  There really is a difference in feel as a player first gets a ball from a pass as they bring it in, attempts to change direction and keep control of the ball.  It’s definitely not like it’s been in years past where you just get a pass and go and it’s not a gimmicky trick added to the game. There really is a difference when you see a player in FIFA 13 get a ball from chest to foot and then running versus what you’ve seen before in past versions. Also, I’ve noticed that one has to be really careful when passing into space as you just can’t pass and hope for the best. If you aren’t careful, you can overpass your teammate, into a completely wrong direction.

There are many mini-games you can try prior to starting your match, which will go a long way into improving your game. Some include teaching you how to lob a shot into the goal with the objective of having you lob the ball over a few boxes and hit a target while getting the ball into the net. You get points towards doing these activities and I think when the game goes live, you can use these to your created player but I will revisit this when the game is released.

The game’s AI seems to be a bit better this year and one of the things I have noticed this year is how well the AI plays on the ball as well as playing near the ball. One of my biggest gripes with the last two iterations was how a player with the ball could run past opponents and, on some occasions, either that was too easily stripped or no attempt was made to take the ball. So far in the demo, I have noticed more times when the AI and my controlled player got into tussles trying to get possession of the ball as sometimes occurs in games as well as realistic challenges with slide tackles. I have seen players more aggressively step in front of other players to cut off passing lanes, block crosses and stop shots.  But the biggest difference is when shots are taken and balls that bounce off either the goalkeeper or the goal and go back into play. In previous versions my frustration was that when that happened, no other teammate ran forward to make another attempt to finish the goal. Everyone stayed rooted to the spot or started running back down field. This time (and I actually scored two different times because of this), I saw players rushing up to try and finish the missed shot and put the ball into the net.

So far, EA’s FIFA 13 demo outshines PES 2013’s demo and is doing a lot to show off the new features of the game itself. The Matchday will be a welcome addition to anyone that wants to replay the past weekend’s game to see if they can get a different result.

The demo is available on PC, Xbox, and PS3. FIFA 13 will be released in North America on September 25, in Europe on September 28 and in Australia on September 27. You can pre-order FIFA 13 today, so you’ll get it as soon as it’s released.

Stay tuned to EPL Talk for a full review when the game is released.

Now that we’re on an international break, it’s perfect timing to take a look at five apps that soccer fans should consider in order to get their footy fix on the go.

One is new yet nostalgic, one is revamped, two you may not even know about and one is a decent news source. These apps are sold through the iTunes Store, so check online for the latest version and prices.

20 Seasons Premier League

IMG, the official distributor of the Premier League archives, has produced an app celebrating 20 years of the Premier League. For $3, this app lets you relive 112 classic moments from the past 20 seasons. Of course supporters may agree or disagree with some of the selections, but the interactivity of this app is agreeable.

You can select different managers, different players and you also have the option to stream these moments, each lasting around 1 minute or download them to your iPhone or iPad to view when you don’t have a network connection. The moments are appropriately narrated and in HD. Also, you can take a quiz with each one. Some include: David Beckham’s debut, Coventry City’s 3-2 win over Manchester United in 1997, and yes, Manchester City’s 2012 Premier League title win.

Searching for some of these moments can be a bit tedious as you have to slide through the screen to find what you are looking for (that’s why it’s handy to save some as ‘Favorites’) and you only get one quiz question per moment. At least, if you choose to download some of the videos, they don’t take up a lot of space. There is also an option to build a ‘Favorites’ list so you can watch them over and over again.  It’s a pretty cool novelty app for the price and I am hoping that IMG and Premier League can come up with a newsy Premier League app which will let me keep up with current news and track my fantasy team, which would be a lot more useful.

3.5 out of 5 stars

ESPN FC

This is actually the ESPN Soccernet (discussed back in March) app with a new coat of paint on it…literally.  The app went from blue to green and while it’s still a great app to use to keep up with current scores and stats in the game with a great way to customize your alerts, one of the biggest problems still remains: ESPN still does not adequately update the ESPN Press Pass video segment (as of now, the most current show is from 22 August). And when it shows the stream, you lose video and the audio gets garbled after 10 minutes. If ESPN took the time to address this issue, this could be one of the best free footy news apps out there, hands down.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Sirius XM Radio

I discovered these two treasures this spring. Since I already had a subscription to Sirius, I decided to see if they actually had any shows devoted to soccer and I found The Football Show. It is a daily show that live broadcasts at 7am EST for 2 hours and if you miss a show, you can listen to it later via the archives and I always found it fun and informative. I also found out that you can also listen in on live broadcasts with this app. I have yet to try it because most of the time I am in front of a screen screaming at it.  If you have a Sirius subscription, you can’t miss out.

5 out of 5 stars

Talksport Radio

talkSPORT Radio is another gem I found actually during the winter and listened in every now and again. I had another app called TuneIn radio, which features almost any channel in the world you wanted you could listen to. And that’s how I discovered talkSPORT Radio.  Later on, I learned they actually had their own app and began using that as sometimes the TuneIn App would sometimes drop.  It’s very informative, real time information and best yet, no matter when you listen in, there’s always something going on. And yes, it’s free.  A must-have for sports radio fans

5 out of 5 stars

Goal.com App

This free app has so much potential. Imagine an app that aggregates nearly all of the world footy news into one app, stores pictures to allow adequate mobile viewing and frequent updates when connected to an Internet source. This app has it all in spades on the iPad and iPhone (and functions even better than the RSS feed in Flipboard) — except there is one big problem. No customization.  There is no way for users to change the app to get the news that they want from the leagues that they want. Thus users may find themselves sifting through articles before they get to one that they really care about and several times I have run across a few duplicate articles also. If this was fixed, then this would be a great go-to source for mobile news and information, especially when you are like me and on the Metro early in the morning wanting to find out what’s going on.

3 out of 5 stars

These are just a few apps that I looked at as the season started and I am sure more will be along. As always, check your provider for availability and pricing. And of course, be mindful that you get what you paid for! And as with any app, please be aware of your phone’s data transfer rates. Phone batteries will also drain with usage so set alerts wisely.

Manchester United has agreed terms with Robin van Persie to sign the Arsenal striker, the club announced today.

“The deal is subject to a medical and the agreement of personal terms,” said a Manchester United club statement. “A further announcement will be made in due course.”

Arsenal Football Club has confirmed the news. “Arsenal Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for the transfer of Robin van Persie to Manchester United. Van Persie will travel to Manchester on Thursday in order to agree personal terms and complete a medical ahead of the proposed move.”

Finally after much debate of will he or won’t he, Robin van Persie will come to Manchester United.

For the past few weeks since the end of Euro 2012, RVP was linked to Manchester City, Manchester United and Juventus after he made it plainly obvious that he wasn’t going to stay with Arsenal

The debate can now begin if this deal will be the cutting edge that the Red Devils need to keep Manchester City from winning the title this year.

Does RVP’s signing alter the playing field at the top of the table? Can he remain healthy this season? The bigger question still is how will he co-exist with Wayne Rooney up front?

I guess we will see come kick off on Monday if all goes well.

But, now that Arsenal has some pocket change and short of a striker…what will they spend it on, if anyone?

Ideas For Growth

In the past few days, I have had some deep conversations with a few friends, my orthopedist (who also works with DC United) and my father in law about the state of the MLS with the rest of the world.

As much as some of us have a love for the league, we all realize that as much as we would like others to get on board, there are some things that the MLS could probably do to make this a more viable sport to get more Americans to watch. There are many detractors both home grown and foreign that could care less about the MLS but I think that with some work, the MLS could be just as viable as some of the world powers. These are just some of my opinions of things I would like to see happen (some will take years, if ever, I realize) to hopefully one day, get the MLS competitive with the rest of the world.

Player Development and Throwing Out Traditional ‘American Values’

The MLS really hasn’t had a ‘homegrown’ superstar that made a splash since Freddy Adu and since his time, his star has fallen with each passing season. The MLS really needs to get serious about its approach to getting players to play at the same level as the rest of the world. An ESPN article about a year ago clearly laid out what needs to happen and why the traditional American little league approach just won’t cut it as traditional European and South American powerhouses already know the secrets to success on their own terms. Academies with pros that are willing to teach won’t be constrained by waiting for certain times of the year to play; academies play and train year round. A well funded academy can attract talent from all over the world and possibly offer some rising stars some stability as well as maximize their playing ability to perhaps one day rival their European counterparts. And hopefully that talent will stay here and play.

Translate Success to the USMNT and Open the Wallets.

While MLS Players may still be a long ways away from the payday that some of their European counterparts are getting (some of which may change with the new Fair Play rules in the EPL), one of the few ways to possibly keep talent here will eventually, open up the wallets and pay these rising stars to stay here. Not to mention as their skills develop, some exposure to the USMNT couldn’t hurt as well. There are many talented US players playing abroad who are successful while the MLS has somehow become a place for European stars on the other side of their careers to come and end their days. While I appreciate Thierry Henry and David Beckham’s contribution to the MLS, nothing still quite beats that ‘US kid’ we all can relate to. Who knows, a better more sustainable talent similar to Freddy Adu may be waiting in the wings but if the big payday is waiting in Spain or in England, we may never know about it.

Get the Word Out

I think the one thing that bothers me a bit about our press is that not enough news gets out about what’s happening in the sport. It never fails that after any given Saturday night a hard fought game by DC United goes almost unnoticed on the local news. Funny thing is, as long as they were in first, the news outlets here in DC may have blurted out a sentence or 2 about the games but so far hardly anything this summer even though the Washington Post does see fit to regularly report on the team so all is not lost. Again this is the problem with living in a market where you have teams from 2 cities all fighting for news at the end of the 111 o’clock news.

I have no hard suggestions what could be done except fans letting news agencies know that we count too. Just because the major sports of the US are playing, don’t forget us either. Also, don’t decide that the ‘best time’ to dip a toe into futbol is when the World Cup comes along or the USWNT makes it to the next round of the Olympics.

A few other issues I would like to see addressed would be:

– A change in the schedule to match the rest of FIFA competition. 2 of the issues keeping this from happening would be weather conditions and of course making inroads from revenues made off of the NFL and NBA playing during this same time of year.

– Making International friendlies mean something. While it’s nice to see some of the European clubs compete in the summer season, there is the stigma attached that there isn’t that much passion in those games because they are meaningless. If some sort of tournament was devised, some of this could change. Also means, referring back to the first issue to develop talent so US teams participating could generate serious competition.

– TV air time. While I am glad that NBC taking a step in airing MLS games, one cannot help but notice that there seems to be a lot of competition in the TV markets about who will be in control of the dollars generated from futbol broadcasts abroad. BeIn is a new channel that seems like will be a competitor to Fox Sports and their stranglehold of broadcasts, ESPN looks like they will be broadcasting more games this season while GolTV may be on its last legs. I am hoping that however this settles, there will be a clear winner who not only controls foreign rights as well as US right and be able to give viewers better access to the MLS than what we are getting right now.

There is so much more the MLS can and will hopefully do to make this a viable industry and I think as long as they make necessary changes to keep fans engaged, more fans will come on board. Although not specifically mentioned, with the US demographics changing, the MLS is at a point where in the next 10 to 15 years it can take advantage of that change to make soccer competitive with the rest of American sports. Talented academies and more lucrative deals to retain homegrown talent is just a start. By finding ways via multimedia outlets to lure in Americans to an exciting sport can go a long way to getting the MLS on par with the rest of the world.

Like others have mentioned, I too was at the Liverpool v Tottenham game. Although it was a quiet game in comparison to others I have seen, it was still a fun experience – especially being seated in a section of supporters for both sides. 

Next up was DC United vs. Paris Saint-Germain.  Originally scheduled was Juventus, but they withdrew from this fixture, whose start time was moved from 6 to 7:30 PM.  Thank the football gods for the change because the added hour and a half allowed me enough time to get home, eat a proper meal, and get to the game with time to spare.

Some may question the attendance of around 14,000 that showed up for the game. If you take into account the weather and the fact that this fixture changed in competitors, venues, and time slots a number of times, it stands to believe that more would have attended if things had been more static. I did note that, sadly, anyone hoping to get any PSG swag had to settle for the game shirts from the New York venue.  There were no commemorative game scarves made, nor were there any PSG kits sold on site due to the circumstances of the scheduling.

While a passing thunderstorm prior to the game helped cool the temperatures, the match opened up hot. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of the newest signings for PSG, opened up the game with a goal even before the game made it to the 3rd minute. As the 1st half went on, it was clear to see that DC United wasn’t going to roll over and die as they fought on. And then the rain came.  It was kind of funny how it happened, there was a shot taken by PSG which went wide, and then there was a loud BOOM of thunder and then we were told to head inside for shelter.

Walking around the perimeter, there was a nice mix of supporters for both sides in attendance, with La Barra Brava and the Screaming Eagles the loudest of the bunch leading the way. During my walkthrough, I also met many people who also attended the earlier match in Baltimore. We had shared the same brilliant idea: if there are 2 games in the region, why not enjoy them both? And of course, 2 fans who thought they could run onto the field and try to drink beers were immediately chased off by the police.

45 minutes after the weather stoppage, the game resumed and DC United slowly picked up the pace.  Before the half ended, many were disappointed to see Ibrahimovic leave the pitch, but PSG needs to protect their investment for the regular season. Everything that the crowd needed to see happened way back in the opening minutes anyway.

The rest of the game itself was exciting and fast paced and with the rain cooling down the temperature even more. The tempo for both sides picked up. The highlight of course for DC United was the PK scored by Dewayne Rosario right before the half ended.

In the second half of the game, DC United brought their game and although they were unable to finish most of their crossed and opportunities, they retained a huge portion of their possession and foiled many of PSG’s shots on goal.   Most impressive was Joe Willis’ ability in extra time to stop nearly 3 shots from PSG as the game wound down into a 1 – 1 draw.

All in all, this was a good effort from DC United which looked much better than they did when they faced Everton last year. Hopefully this will translate into a win over the Columbus Crew next week. Here are a few more pictures from a great evening at RFK Stadium. Enjoy!