My opinion on sports games comes down entirely to two factors: how good is the career mode, and how well does it represent the sport. And on both those counts, FIFA 18 delivers in spades.

FIFA 18 literally launches fireworks into the sky. The game is a real football holiday, and this year it's no less bright than before.

FIFA 18’s new additions and modes make it the most compelling FIFA experience to date, and the franchise continues to demonstrate why it’s the best football game in the business. Minor complaints aside, FIFA 18 is the biggest and most welcoming football game to date.

FIFA 18 has a great tempo and offers good field occupation that make new tactics and actions possible. FIFA 18 is a full package, especially thanks to the addition of female teams, Ultimate Team and The Journey.

By rebuilding the animation system the developers managed to significantly improve footballers’ responsiveness, which results in more fluent gameplay and lets you perform tighter maneuvers. That makes attacking a real joy, but in my opinion turned defense into frustrating chore that requires too much precision. [12/2017, p.42]

FIFA 18 is a solid entry into the FIFA series, but while there have been some changes over last year’s iteration, they aren’t so big that they make an essential purchase. Personally I found attacking smoother and defending a little harder to get hold of, while The Journey fun, if a bit dragged out. However where it matters FIFA 18 is a very good representation of the beautiful game, and Ultimate Team will have a firm grip on players over the next year again. Does FIFA remain the king of the pitch though? I’d say its pretty even nowadays.

Definitely solid in terms of presentation and game modes, even though The Journey is still far from perfect, FIFA 18 sadly feels like a FIFA 17.5 with a lot of emphasis on attack - which can please a lot of players but not those who are looking for something fresh and some football games with a realistic pace.