Three FIFA 13 game-play issues that should be solved in FIFA 14

As much as I love the FIFA video game franchise, there are still certain things that get on my nerves, things that prevent me from having the perfect gaming experience. FIFA 14 promises to be the best edition of this franchise, so we hope that they have done something about the below-mentioned gripes.

Note: These issues are limited to the Manager mode.

Rubber-band AI

If you are an avid gamer, you would what rubber-band AI refers to. For the uninitiated, rubber-band AI is when the in-game AI starts to pull you, the gamer, back if you have a big lead, so as to make things more competitive and interesting.

This works well in games that involve racing, so when you take a big lead and the AI car falls behind, soon enough it will again be back on your tail. This ensures that no matter how well you play and the size of the lead you take, the in-game AI will ensure that it covers up the distance to remain within touching distance.

In FIFA 13, rubber-band AI leads to many things when you are in the dying moments of a tight game – ridiculous refereeing, your best defender getting outjumped by the smallest player in the opposition, your team suddenly turning into Liverpool and hitting every shot on the post etc.

And the worst part is knowing that your game is being interfered by forces not within your control. Simply put, the in-game AI has a stranglehold on the match, and that’s takes a lot away from the entire experience.

If someone like Fabio Borini (with poor Jumping and Header Accuracy numbers) can outjump Sergio Ramos (with very high numbers) in the last minutes, especially after being outjumped all throughout the game, then there is seriously something wrong with the game!

Injuries in the higher difficulty modes

I am specifically referring to the following two difficulty levels: World Class and Legendary. If you are playing in these two modes, then you are already good at FIFA and know when to pass, when to dribble, when to shoot etc.

By now, you also know that you need a minimum of 22 players – two teams – to get through a season while remaining competitive (by which I mean winning everything).

Since player AI’s have been changed to include morale, it means that even with 22 players and a full season, there will still be players who will demand a move or bug you with complaints of not getting enough game-time. The solution is to have exactly 22 players, and rotating teams every matchday, so that everyone gets equal chances to play.

But in the higher difficulty levels, 22 players will not be enough, as there is another roadblock to your success.

Injuries! And not just injuries, evil injuries that seem to happen to your best players at the most crucial time in the season.

Sometimes there will be a double-injury to deal with. In the same game. What the hell? Not even Arsenal players get injured that frequently!

I understand that the higher difficulty levels are supposed to test your squad depth and ability to manage your team, but sometimes there is no option but to press Alt + F4 when your key player gets injured in the first match after coming back from an injury!

No high quality players after 10 seasons

This applies to those FIFA addicts that are in the manager mode for the long run. 10 seasons as manager means you would have probably won everything there is to win, and then did it all over again 9 times.

But being successful for so long comes at a price. Every season, as soon as the transfer window is open (which is half the reason people play the game and simulate matches in December), you want to refresh your squad by buying those superstars in the market. Millions spent, player signed, goals scored, trophies won – job done!

Well, not exactly. After 10 seasons, there are no more superstars left to buy. Your club legends have retired and the ink has run dry. Of the players available in the transfer market, the highest overall will be around 75-80, hardly what you would call superstar category.

Of course, the developers must have thought that by now the player would have invested money in the youth academy and must have youngsters ready and able to take the place of the superstars. But that is a simple way of looking at the problem.

PSG is the team I manage. Believe me, I have no interest in developing players, sending them out on loan to the right club and waiting for them to blossom into world-beaters. To quote a popular meme, Ain’t nobody got time for that!

If I wanted to do all this, I would go out and buy Football Manager download it via torrent software!

There needs to be a deeper player database than what is now. Earlier versions of FIFA would create mirror bots, players who would have the exact same ratings as say, a Rooney or a Messi. The only difference would be that by the time Rooney and Messi retired, there would be this mirror bot ready to take their place. At least that way, you could play out all the 15 seasons and retire with all the trophies your heart could desire.

Pre-order FIFA 14 (with free gifts) here -> http://s-k.cm/15Zyypj