I'm an idiot...

I'm an idiot. An actual idiot. I've fallen for the trap that EA set with their promotional videos for FC26 and, if just one person reads this and decides against buying the game then at least the money I wasted on this product will have been offset somewhere else. 

Why did I think anything would be different? IT'S THE EXACT SAME GAME!! "everything you asked for...nearly" was the tagline of the adverts for this game. So I thought with that, and the early success of battlefield 6 that EA were finally taking off their headphones and listening to the casual gamers that build the foundations for their success. Even Madden looked like it had improved on last year (it hasn't by the way). 

I load up FC26 and, as always, I play a quick kick off game (Liverpool vs Everton) to see what's changed. Not only did the commentary feel stagnated and lazy (a short hop across Stanley Park separates these two... A line that had been in this game for several years now and is now, in fact incorrect since Everton have moved stadiums) but the gameplay feels exactly the same (ice skating simulator, passes going directly to opposition players instead of intended targets, players running away from ariel balls in big circles to 'get around' the ball etc). 

The UI is exactly the same. The mechanics the same. Even free kicks and corners are the exact same. There is ZERO progression. At all! 

I'm not expecting massive overhauls year in year out, but when I can load Fifa 20 and feel like it's the same game there's obviously something wrong. At this point it feels like extortion. My mates haven't even got the game, they're waiting for it to be reduced in price in a few months. I'm fortunate enough to have a good job where I can afford games on release, but now I feel like I'm being punished for that. 

I'm not an streamer or influencer so I'll leave the specific gameplay details to them. You can also look at reviews online (one gaming site has a link that takes you to the review of the previous edition to save them time, and each link goes back a year about 5 or 6 years). All I will say is that if you read this and decide to buy the game anyway, and encounter the same issues as me, join me next year by not buying the game. The only way EA will make changes is if their sales plummet and the game pans. Look at BF2042. Horrible launch, glitches throughout, player base all but dead. They had to do something. And BF6 looks like its chalk and cheese. Let this be a turning point for FC. Let it be a wake up call that enough is enough. We don't just want a change, we bloody well need it.