FIFA 18

This is always the time of year when I ask myself why I don’t just spend all of my time playing FIFA, and FIFA 18 poses the question more forcefully than ever.

EA mixes design ideas well in Career mode with team building elements and contracts. It is almost like an MMO crafting system on how you can structure your teams and build your players. These make for a much deeper experience and the player is at the controls the whole time. Enhanced by fantastic cut scenes and cameos of top world class players, you really get into building up your squad.

It's off the pitch that EA excels. From the variety of game modes on offer and how everything's presented, to the constant updates in FUT's Team of the Week, Daily Objectives, and discussion of real-world happenings in commentary, FIFA 18 captures the world of football and confidently translates it into a video game. On the pitch, however, EA's soccer series is still lagging far behind PES 2018's more fluid, satisfying football.