EA Sports FC 25 review: Best the series has been for years

In years gone by, EA Sports' annual football game promises huge updates which usually fall a little short and aren't quite enough to meaningfully change how the game is played on the pitch or entice gamers to try out different modes.

While FC 25 isn't perfect, EA has done a great job of improving how the game feels with FC IQ and a new Rush mode is integrated into the game well.

The menus are identical to FC 24 when the game starts up but the tactics overhaul EA has gone with for FC 25 works wonders for gamers who like to take a more tactical approach and set up a certain way.

A tactical preset can be picked, along with a build up style and defensive approach based on how high the line is and each player's role can be fine tuned in a similar way to Football Manager.

It's all well and good having this but it's just a list of fancy terms if it doesn't translate to the pitch.

Yet thankfully it does.

Sure, it's not perfect as pace can still be king, especially in online matches, but the ability to patiently pick an opening to send a player through one-on-one and then convert with your own custom tactics is very satisfying.

Rush is a brand new 5v5 mode replacing Volta and it's very much attack v defence.

It really tests gamers on their ball control skills and one-on-one play - it's really fun and integrated well but commentary and animations can get repetitive quite quickly.

Career has got some love in FC 25 and it's very welcome, with gamers able to develop academy players by playing Rush matches; scouting features are similar though and the fairly meaningless press conferences remain, just with a few new answers.

Live start points aren't available yet but that will be great once it goes live, allowing players to play alongside what's happening in the real world.

Strangely, although it's the most popular mode and the one players spend lots and lots of money in, Ultimate Team is very similar to FC 24 despite Rush being integrated into this.

There are loads more customisable options in Clubs too and it's as chaotic as ever, it's great that FC 25 has such a strong variety of game modes.

Is FC 25 better than FC 24? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Indy100 would say so, for both newcomers and returning fans. It's the best the series has been in years.

8/10

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