I have been playing FIFA / EA Sports FC games since their inception in 1993 and recently returned to Ultimate Team in FC 26 to see out the remaining seasons before the next game arrives. But, I'll be honest, while my UT squad is packed with 98 and 99 rated players, including evolutions I've built myself, I've not really been enjoying it.
That's because the gameplay has a number of issues that have resulted in opponents exploiting some poor mechanics, leading to the same tactics being employed time-after-time. There's little variety, with one of three goal types being scored over and again. And other players seem to be happy with that.
The number one issue is AI defending, which seemingly allows counter attacking teams to just run through your backline at will – unless you also adopt similar "rat" tactics. And believe you me, I'd rather spoon out my eyes with a Yop bottle that sit through match after match of counter attack after counter attack.
I try to keep my own team interesting and fluid, with a variety of attack styles and movements, but 70-80% of the time I'll just face the same scenario. And while I can beat them often, it's never easy and mostly unrewarding.
It's not other players' faults necessarily, they've found a cheat code of sorts and are just spamming it to earn better rewards. But boy is it frustrating.
Imagine my joy therefore when I learned that EA Sports FC 27 is to directly address this issue. Indeed, this one simple change would be enough for me to give the game more of my time (and my money) this coming season. However, there are others besides.
So here are my top five features coming with EA Sports FC 27 that could turn the tide for me. And yes, I have been playing the preview build.
1. Defending
To combat the counter attack and, perhaps more importantly, prevent those players from defending with just one controlled player across the lines of defence and midfield, manual defending is being overhauled.
While AI defending will still be a thing in FC 27, you will have much more control over your defensive players. You will be rewarded for taking control yourself.
For example, an AI defender will have shorter reach for interceptions than a manually controlled one, regardless of playstyles. Manually controlled defenders will also have increased jockey speed, while the range of manually-triggered stand tackles will be higher too.
And teammate contain functionality has been tweaked. AI controlled teammates will maintain a greater distance when pressing, so you'll have to take manual control to press harder.
These will hopefully prevent players from camping in their own half, relying on teammate contain to win the ball from you in order to counter attack. It could be a literal gamechanger for me.
2. Tokens
Even tokens were a great addition to FC 26 when they arrived shortly before the World Cup and it's great to see they'll be adopted permanently in FC 27.
Rather than just giving you packs or coins for doing well in competitions and objectives, you also earn tokens that can be redeemed for rewards in a dedicated section of the store.
It also allows those who don't regularly get tier one rewards in UT Champions or Rivals to save up their tokens for bigger packs or players.
3. The Grounds
We're yet to get the full rundown on The Grounds (watch this space) but its seems to be a welcome evolution of Volta or the old FIFA Street games, if you're ancient like me.
It'll allow you to play 1v1 or just have a kickabout with your pals in a more fun, free-flowing format.
I've been a big fan of Rush over the last couple of games, and am hoping this makes as much of an impact.
4. SBCs
Let's face it, Squad Building Challenges are rewarding – especially if you find your club and storage rammed to the rafters with fodder. But the actual technical mechanics of filling in SBCs and redeeming them is often laborious.
The new Ultimate Team system aims to make things much more simple. It'll only show you eligible trade-ins, and you won't need to fill squads – just select the players you want to redeem to fill a points objective.
Hopefully this will save die-hard FUT players hours a week.
5. FUT Gallery
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure I need to see my team in a 3D collectors room environment, but hey, each to their own.
The good part about the FUT Gallery is that it promises additional rewards throughout the game, for collecting sets of players. And you don't even need to keep those players at your club.
I'm always up for rewards that don't cost my hard earned cash.
EA Sports FC 27 will be available from 25 September, with pre-orders getting access seven days early. It will available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC. There will also be versions for Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One, but they will not carry all of the features and functionality.
