FC 24 First Impressions
I recently acquired the game on PS5 after not playing a FIFA game since maybe FIFA 21, it was whatever game where Juventus became Piemonte Calcio. I will preface this by saying I am a Juve fan and Serie A fan, and exclusively play single player game modes like Career Mode, Kick Off, and the Skill Games/Practice Scenarios.
Starting with my experience playing with Juve, I think it's overall nice. I like the authenticity of Allianz Stadium, from the fan chants to the contextual anthems that play, they're pretty true to real life. Tactically, it is fairly possible to play Allegri ball.
My only gameplay gripe is that the 3-1-4-2 formation doesn't compact my midfielders well like it does with the defense, leaving my CDM to do basically all the protection of the 5 at the back. In the Juve context, this isolates Locatelli a lot when out of possession even when I get the CMs to use the cover center instruction. Locatelli shouldn't be the only midfielder with defensive duties, and I'm still experimenting with how to involve more of the central midfield in defense.
In terms of Career Mode Team Management, a big criticism is the fact that LM/RM positions don't treat LWB/RWB players well. These guys get that yellow exclamation point for basically playing their position, since in modern football I'd argue LMs and RMs don't exist anymore; there are wingers, full backs, and wing backs. Using Juventus as an example, Cambiasso and De Sciglio's ratings suffer when playing in what is literally their position. The same is said for Chiesa at Striker, which is literally listed in his player info. Rabiot gets the exclamation point too when playing CDM; his info literally has that position too.
A big positive on the management side is that the tactical implementation is very engaging. Putting a plan on paper and executing it on the pitch has never been better IMHO. The coaching set up offers some neat micromanagement and the balance between fitness and sharpness is fun to juggle.
Onto Serie A as a whole, I think it seriously needs a big look. I know nothing can really be done about this point, but the lack of authentic Roman clubs Roma and Lazio is farcical. The same goes for Atalanta and champions Napoli. I'm happy my Juve are back and fully licensed, but this has to be sorted out next year if I am to be a returning customer. Stadiums would be nice too, I don't know who asked for Udinese's stadium but if you have that one, you've got to have Fiorentina's, Genoa's, and Sassuolo's stadiums at the VERY least. And of course with licensing the unlicensed teams, it shouldn't come as a shock that I'd like the Maradona, Olimpico, and Gewiss stadiums.
Another major issue I have is the rating of Serie A clubs. Inter and Napoli 4.5 stars? That is the biggest joke in history. Inter matched Manchester City in the Champions League Final, are rated 82 in all departments, and can't have a 5 star rating? Same with Napoli, who have an incredible starting 11 with only one real piece of it missing in defense, and walked to the Serie a title miles ahead of everyone else, and they aren't 5 stars? They destroyed Liverpool in the Champions League, had the second best average rating in the whole competition and had the joint top goals per game according to Fotmob. They are champions for a reason, I don't understand how you don't give that 5 stars, the same goes for Inter. Do the developers just not rate Calcio? Fix up, EA.
Onto the skill games, something I like to do is play the Champion Attacking Scenarios to warm up against the AI before continuing a Career Mode. The problem is that even though the menu allows me to select the player, it forces a midfielder and a CB as my attacking partners. Don't you think it'd make sense that my attackers should be the main unit in ATTACKING scenarios? Why are Gatti and McKennie aiding Vlahovic instead of Chiesa and Rabiot, or Kostic, or Kean, or literally anyone who would be forward against Inter's back 3? This has been a problem for MULTIPLE games as I've been made aware; it's seriously amateur stuff. I'm starting to think EA have maybe 2-3 guys stuffed into a closet to program single player game modes.
Onto gameplay on a whole, while I am winning most games through my tactics, sometimes the AI is blatantly unfair. I can do everything right in a defensive scenario, but sometimes they just don't fall over when tackled, or they instantly regain possession a quarter second after losing it, either way the AI's contextual reaction time is absurd when out of possession.
Overall, I am having a decent time with FC 24, but it's a 6.5/10, the issues I have hold it back in terms of a rating, especially when these issues haven't been a problem in past titles. I'll look forward to seeing how the game evolves, I'm happy that when I got the game, the first Pitch Notes said that it was harder to score on a keeper's near post which I know many players had issue with. I know my issues vary differently from the major player base, but I'd still like for them to be considered; they seem like easy fixes.
Curios as to other forum users thoughts, so feel free to reply and tell me some of your favorite parts of the game and your frustrations, too.
