101There’sreallynoneed
fortheShrinking
CombatZonewith
mapsthisboxy. You know the drill by now:
online FIFA = Ultimate Team
= loot boxes = gambling.
Except it isn’t quite that simple.
The number of players drawn into
spending real money on shiny gold
digital packs is hugely concerning,
but it needs to be pointed out that
you can succeed in FUT without
spending any cash. Competition
rewards handed out every Monday
(for Squad Battles) and Thursday
(for Division Rivals) make these
packs easier to come by than ever,
and intelligent transfer market
work quickly racks up the coins.
Indeed, that’s the most fun part
of FIFA’s online side: wheeling and
dealing to complete Squad Building
Challenges proves even more
satisfying than the 8/10 onfield
action, and delivers often-juicy
rewardsintothe bargain.Putthecreditcard away and
Ultimate Team remains the best
mode in sports gaming – but it
feels like each year brings us
closer to an age gate. Ben WilsonINFO
FORMAT PS4
PUB EA
DEV EA CANADA
REVIEW ISSUE #168, 8/10Stop spending cash and
play your cards rightFIFA 20
VERDICTU
nlike the competition, PES
online doesn’t pressure
you to spend hard cash to
unlock star players. You can put
a decent myClub team together
using earned in-game currency.
The upshot is you feel like you’re
making progress all the time; the
down side is every five-star side
has the same players.
There’s also life outside MyClub.
PES 2020’s online leagues
matchmake quickly, though you
can be paired with higher-ranked
players. The best new feature
is Matchday mode, where you
back one of two teams team for
a week and help your side win
by accumulating points against
players supporting the other
team. The sense of community this
fosters is genuine, and there’s not
a lootboxin sight.Withtweaksand improvements
having been made to almost
every area, there’s something
for everyone in PES 2020’s
online modes. Ian DeanINFOVERDICTFORMAT PS4
PUB KONAMI
DEV KONAMI
REVIEW OPM #168, 9/10This time you’ve
met your matcheFootball
PES 2020
MEN AT PERK
Persist with Ghost War and
you’ll get PvP-specific XP
and other rewards. In
fairness, we’d rather play
its uninspired bouts than
Breakpoint’s campaign.
can level up as easily as someone who
focuses on story missions.
The presence of dedicated servers
for Ghost War is also appreciated.
While the actual matches are
uneventful, we never experience
any problems finding a game.
Server connections are
rock-solid, and thanks to a
reliable matchmaking rating
system – or ‘MMR’, for kids in
the know – rounds are usually
closely contested affairs.
That doesn’t mean we
suggest diving into Ghost War
for hours. Your time would be
better spent sweeping
leaves during a hurricane.
Still, Ubisoft deserves
credit for putting
together a PvP mode
where finding a game
is so easy... if very dull.Unoriginalanddrab, Ghost War offers
the sort of snoozeworthy online
‘action’ you’d expect from arguably
the year’s worst sandbox. Don’t waste
your time on it. Dave MeiklehamVERDICT