Interactive Match Sim
A new way to play through a season in FIFA 21 that lands somewhere between playing through each match and using the simulation feature for instant result to jump through games you just do not like to play. It’s presentation borrows heavily from the Football Manager’s classic point of view of kicking circles sliding across the field from a bird ‘s eye view, but at a gameplay level is much closer to the Play the Moments option found in the Madden games since Madden 17.
The new Sim view of Interactive Match.
You can see how your matches are taking place at an increased pace, but crucially you can jump at any time during the match to take control of your players on the field. Whether this is such a short moment as trying to score a crucial penalty, or a full half when your team kicks after 45 minutes and the tide is needed to turn. There is no limit to how many times you can jump seamlessly in and out of each viewpoint and you need to provide a new level of flexibility on how to manage your fixtures.
More transfer options
New ways to sign players are introduced. Borrowing to buy options with both optional and mandatory fees will be available as these types of deal are initiated by AI managers. When you start a new career mode, new options will also be available. Authentic transfer mode can be enabled, leading to more difficult negotiations and less bizarre transfer treatments from other clubs. At the other end of the spectrum, however, you can choose to start with a financial takeover to instantly increase your transfer funds and play more of a fantasy football style.
Player positions change
This is the most exciting new aspect of career mode in my eyes and should allow for new levels of diversity in team building. The way you develop individual players in your squad once you have drawn them is also recounted. The new growth system lets you train players to learn in new positions. By selecting their new position and checking their attribute changes in training, you will be able to see how well they adapt and hopefully see how their stat numbers come up. However, there is no guarantee of success, the more the drastic change of position is, the less likely the player is to accept it. You’ll probably have a lot more fun converting Raheem Sterling from a winger to a center-forward because of his pace and finish stats as Alexander-Arnold in a playing midfield than you would if trying to turn Neymar into a rock from a center-back. However, it is these kinds of experiments that can lead to some fun results.
Sharp agreement
Match sharpness is a new attribute that indicates how likely your players are to perform in the most crucial moments of a game. You can increase the sharpness of your players by organizing group training sessions that focus on specific situations. Do you want attackers to take away their great opportunities? Do a closing drill. Do you think you might be on the back foot in the next game? Focus on getting your defenders sharp in advance. It is not very clear how much of a sharpness the impact match will have on the field, but adds a different dynamic to take into account instead of just jumping through all the training sessions to get to the next match.
Plan of plan
You will now have more flexibility than ever for what your squad does when you are not playing matches. Balancing rest days with training sessions will be important as you try to keep fitness, sharpness and morale in perfect harmony. It will be an extra level of challenge on top of playing the actual games that are re-related to the Football Manager series. It is not quite the level of depth gained for the systems found in Sports Interactive series, but is definitely a step in the right direction to take more account of the aspects of the role of a manager. It will be interesting to see if this system is really useful, or just becomes an annoyance to manage over time as the inevitable step-up program occurs.Although I can see myself interviewing using the new interactive sim option and having a lot of fun developing positions of players and them, career mode may not get the full redesign that FIFA fans have been wanting for a while now. However, I am excited to get my hands on it for myself and see just how much these changes will affect how I approach the mode. What changes are expected, and what features do you want to add to the career mode in the future? Let us know in the comments below!
Simon Cardy loves everything about football despite being regularly tortured by his Tottenham Hotspur season ticket. Post old Gareth Bale goals to him on Twitter @CardySimon.
