For over 25 years, FIFA has become the most popular sports video game - but does the football series continue to hit the back of the net?
The latest edition in the best-selling franchise - FIFA 20 - is set to hit shops on September 27, and the first reviews are in.
It has been described as "entertaining, challenging and utterly absorbing".
However, some critics say it shows the beautiful game at its best - and its "most grotesque".
The Claim
The Evening Standard's Joe Krishnan calls FIFA 20 " a nostalgic throwback with a modern twist".
He says that the introduction of VOLTA football, a new street mode, is a "masterful addition" and "quite special".
Krishnan argues: "On the whole, it's fluid, fun and challenging in equal measure; precisely what you want to keep you on your toes.
"Like any game, it's never fun if it's easy."
He argues that the game "caters for nearly ever single FIFA player", from the beginners to the die-hards.
Krishnan concludes: "The perfect game does not exist, but in terms of producing something that is entertaining, challenging and utterly absorbing, FIFA 20 ticks all the boxes."
The Counterclaim
However, Wesley Yin-Poole says that the fun football game has been "foiled by a stubborn refusal to read the room".
In a review for Eurogamer, he argues that FIFA 20 is "the beautiful game at its most glorious, and its most grotesque".
He writes: "I find myself quite cross with FIFA 20. This is a game with meaningful, welcome changes on the pitch. This is a fun football video game made by developers who clearly love football and are well aware of community feedback.
"But FIFA 20 is also a video game made by a publisher that's seemingly incapable of changing some of the problematic stuff that comes with each and every FIFA game - at a time when the conversation has most certainly changed."
Yin-Poole attacks FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT), which he describes as a gambling mechanic with its loot boxes. He enjoys playing the mode, but say it is "shocking" that FUT "continues with its head buried in the sand".
The Facts
FIFA is the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world, selling over 260 million copies across all gaming platforms.
EA released the first game in the franchise, FIFA International Soccer, in 1993. It immediately topped the UK gaming charts and stayed at number one for six months.
There have been over 30 games in the series so far, including mobile, street football, and World Cup editions.
The first game in the series featured only international teams, but club teams from England, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands, and the United States were introduced in FIFA 95.
The football game is EA's biggest money-maker with FIFA 18 and FIFA 19 attracting 45 million unique players on PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One during the 2019 fiscal year.
FIFA 19 was the best-selling console game in Europe last year. It introduced the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Super Cup competitions to the game.
FIFA 20 will be released on September 27 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
