FIFA 18

FIFA 18 for PC, PS4 and etc. was developed by EA Canada, with support from EA Bucharest.

Mechanics

FIFA 18 introduces a series of changes in relation to what FIFA 17 had to offer. The Real Players Motion technology is the largest novelty here. It is a system governing the animations of the footballers; interestingly, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo was among those who helped to develop this technology. The system makes the virtual representations of top footballers look, move and behave practically the same way it happens in the real world. However, not only the most popular footballers are encompassed by the system, as the RPM technology takes different factors into account, such as a footballer's height or their attributes - as a result, the system affects the performances of other players. For instance, a big and strong defender almost always wins against a weaker footballer, though if the latter is well-trained, they also have chances against the opponent. Interestingly, such great and creative players as Lionel Messi are significantly better at handling the ball - they stick close to it and make a better job at feinting than the less talented footballers.

Game modes

Obviously, the game offers a series of licensed leagues and footballers. When it comes to the available game modes, many changes were introduced in this aspect as well. The story-driven career from the previous installment received a continuation here entitled "The Journey: Hunter Returns". In this mode, the player gets acquainted with further developments in the career of a promising footballer from the Premier League - Alex Hunter. This time, the campaign takes the player to different places in the world, giving an opportunity to get familiar with top footballers, such as Cristiano Ronaldo; additionally, choices made on the pitch and outside of it affect the course of this adventure.

The regular career mode (placing the player in control of one club), received certain improvements as well, concerning mainly the system of transfers. A new window appeared in the menu, and the player uses it to follow the interesting footballers. Negotiations also begin here - first, one contacts the club, then the particular footballer or their agent. In both cases, the player can do this on their own or ask for help of their assistant. During negotiations, the player sets the amount of money for the transaction and potential bonuses for the club. When discussing the terms of the contract with a particular footballer, one has to remember both about the basic payments, as well as bonuses for the scored goals, etc. The system is supervised by an artificial intelligence that dynamically reacts to the player's offers and tries to get as much as possible for its clients. Also, the career features cut-scenes now - those depict finalizations of transfers or handing the prizes for achieving the title of the footballer of the month.

Icons in the FIFA Ultimate Team mode constitute another change introduced in this installment (only in versions for XONE, PS4, PC and Switch). The Icons represent unique cards featuring legendary footballers, such as Pele, Thierry Henry or Ronaldinho. The cards come in three kinds, representing different periods in the footballers' careers. The kinds of cards differ in terms of statistics - for example, Pele from 1958 is worse at passing the ball than the same footballer from 1970.

Misc.

Cristiano Ronaldo - a representative of Portugal, and the famous player of Real Madrid, is featured on the cover of this year's edition. Moreover, the footballer cooperated with the game's developer when creating FIFA 18. A few days before its release, the game received a trial version created for subscribers to the EA Access (Xbox One) and Origin Access (PC) services.