For a few days we had the opportunity to try a build of the highly anticipated FIFA 22 on the Next Gen PlayStation 5 platform. Pad in hand, we were able to appreciate the evolution of the new renewed gameplay also thanks to the use of HyperMotion Technology.
This new technology, which revolutionized gameplay, is a first for the EA SPORTS FIFA series and will be used exclusively on the next generation PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S and Stadia console.
During the presentation the Gameplay Line Producer, Sam Rivera, Some videos showed how this technology was implemented in FIFA 22. The amount of news provided was enormous and made us understand the amount of work and the amount of resources used in the development of the new football simulator.
The Advanced 11v11 Match Capture made it possible to collect all the details of every single movement made by 22 professional footballers who have collaborated with EA Sports. All the animations acquired were then inserted into FIFA 22.
With the simultaneous use of the Machine Learning algorithm, every single movement recorded through the Advanced 11vs11 Match Capture was captured using over 8.7 million frames. This allowed us to introduce new animations and recreate an unprecedented degree of realism in every area of the pitch. In this way, players will be able to adjust their pace and stride of the race as they approach the ball and will be able to control it with greater precision.
Thanks to these new technologies, every collision, shot and control of the ball has been enriched with new animations. In fact, in FIFA 22 we will find over 4,000 new animations compared to the predecessor FIFA 21. To give a more precise idea, the gaming experience has been enriched with three times the animations compared to the previous version. In this way, the developers were able to reproduce a realistic movement of each individual player in as much detail as possible. All this has also produced in game a greater humanization of the 22 players, even with the ball far away, we will be able to notice some more charismatic players giving directions to their teammates, or observing facial expressions more contextualized to the phase of the match.
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Artificial intelligence, thanks to the computing power of the new generation console, is now more elaborate. In our test, we noticed that every single player manages to cover various areas of the pitch by evaluating the placement of both teammates and opponents. This turn into a greater number of offensive game situations as players can now make a greater number of decisions based on the positioning of the defense deployed and therefore choose the space to be exploited more intelligently.
But that’s not all, the offensive phase has also been enhanced by 4 new skills Scoop Turn Fake, Four Touch skill, Skilled Bridge and First Time Spin, which will allow you to have a greater number of solutions both in case you opt for an assist or you decide to shot.
Obviously, the defensive phase has also been rewritten and the feeling is that the team is able to defend in a more compact and intelligent way. We have been able to observe in the game changes the movement in block of the defensive lines but in some cases it has not been totally convinced. Sometimes, in the game situation described above, if the trajectory of the ball is very close to one of the halfbacks, it is pushed up to get close to the line of the side foul, leaving a hole that the teammate (controlled by the AI) should have covered. We remember that we are talking about an early state build and that therefore will continue to be developed and perfected.
At the end of each match you will have the opportunity to analyze in depth and detail all the statistics of the match and all the players who played. The number of information compared to past editions is considerable, you will risk getting lost among all the statistics that can be consulted.
Even the “Kinect Air Battles” have been revised, now for the possession of the ball we will see a number of thrusts or hand-to-hand clashes where height and physical strength will have a greater value on the possibility of getting into possession of the ball. The more structured defenders will be able to overtake more agile and faster attackers with greater ease, while they will have a harder life against very strong and physically attackers. All this turn into game with a consistent increase in the importance of air battle for the development of offensive actions and in defensive situations.
One of the absolute novelties introduced in the new FIFA 22 gameplay thanks to HyperMotion Technology is the Composed Ball Control. With this features, ball control can now be more elaborate but at the same time more precise. Unlike what we have seen in FIFA 21, in FIFA 22 controlling the ball will be more natural and fluid thanks to the fact that we will have the opportunity to manage the ball with more touches. For example, players with greater technique will be able to maintain possession of the ball after having “blocked” it gently with the chest and will be able to direct it in such a way as to ensure more accurate control during the next run or before kicking at goal.
Goalkeepers have been totally rewritten with the introduction of three new features: 1 – Greater realism of saves and bounces. 2 – Each goalkeeper will have a more or less strong personality based on charisma, 3 – An expanded number of animations. During our test we were able to see a good general improvement of the goalkeepers, but in some cases they have not yet fully convinced us, especially in Finesse Shots from outside the area. Even if the trajectory of the ball was very close to the hands of the goalkeeper and there was the feeling that he could save without particular difficulty, this did not happen.
The contact with the ball, pad in hand, now gives a feeling of greater realism. There is a sense of “weightness” when kicking the ball. The ground friction affects the trajectories especially in long balls to make a change of game from one side of the field to the other. In the relaunch situations made by the goalkeeper we noticed a greater number of rebounds and changes of trajectory without any interaction with the players.
Explosive Sprint completes the countless introductions made to FIFA 22 gameplay. A new game mechanic that changes the dynamics of one-on-one situations that guarantees greater control over acceleration during dribbling or during the defense phase. During our test we were able to appreciate the greater accuracy in possession of the ball during the execution of a dribble, at the same time it seemed equally effective in the defensive phase even if less precise and timely. Sam Rivera in his presentation stated that this mechanic during the final stages of development will be calibrated in such a way as to prevent it from becoming OP ( Over Power ) in the offensive phase.
Considering that the tested build is still in an early state, we can be very satisfied with the countless innovations introduced in FIFA 22. The sensations of realism pad in hand have pleasantly surprised us; some minor issues at this stage of development may be negligible. If EA Sports continues to focus on realism and does not change its ideas until the end of development, FIFA 22 could become the most long-lived and satisfying title of the last years of the series.
FIFA 22 is available from October 1st on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Steam and Nintendo Switch. Keep on following us also through our social Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for other news and information.
