After playing plenty of games in divisions (winning all but one so far) I can sadly conclude this is just full blown nonsense.
- Pace. Pacey pace pace pace. I've tackled Aubameyang/Remy/Ibarbo so many times, only for them to somehow get the ball straight back and keep running. Defenders let players run straight past, and if you try to tackle with O, more than likely they'll miss or give away a free kick. I think everyone knows about this pace issue though, so I won't dwell on it too much. Just sprint through with Mertens and bowl over Hummels like I did earlier, getting tackled three times only to get the ball back instantly, and you'll see the issue. Pace is the most important stat yet again, FIFA 13 style.
- Defensive AI. Oh lordy, the defenders in this game play like Ali Dia with a concussion, letting through balls past them, inexplicably falling over and taking ages to get up, getting knocked to the floor by any pacey player... not to mention full-on running away from the ball. I've scored so many awful goals where the ball bounces off defenders around the box, it's just not right. This AI issue extends to midfielders and strikers too. They just run around like headless chickens, stopping runs willy nilly and having no concept of positioning....
- Defending controls. Okay, contain is a bad thing. We all know it takes no skill. But containing in this game full on handicaps you, as it makes no effort to affect the player even if they run straight into them. It's almost completely useless. And the shirt tugging/standing tackles - the AI keep confusing the two, making my defender try a standing tackle from miles away when I wanted them to tug the player. Also, what is it with players going to ground so easily then being jostled? I liked the way, in FIFA 14, you could struggle a smaller player off the ball with a big defender - it's impossible now. Instead your defender will foul them, getting a red or yellow card instantly as well as giving away a penalty.
- Goalkeepers. How EA have managed to muck them up so badly is astounding. Their positioning is all wrong - the stand too far off their line most of the time, react awfully to shots (how many times have you seen a keeper watch a pearoller go in) and parry everything into danger zones. I let in a longshot from Luke Shaw, 35 yards out. It went through my keeper's legs. I also scored a peach of a 40 yard free kick with Guarin, but realised on replay it only went in because the guy's keeper didn't move. All this being said, occasionally they make wonder saves, but it's just so inconsistent.
- Shooting. When 1v1, wait until you are near the keeper and tap a finesse shot. It will always go in. On the other hand, power shots to the far post will miss incredibly often, even with good finishers. Definitely needs tweaking.
So EA have fixed headers, fixed lobbed though balls, but made everything else worse. I win games, but there's no skill on my part. Just through ball it, run up to the keeper and finesse it in. Fun fun fun. Not sure about the longetivity of this game mode unless a few drastic alterations are made. Give it a few weeks, when everyone realises how to exploit through balls and pace, and these forums will explode.
TL;DR: gtfo with your short attention span, read.
