Luckily for gamers who don't have a PC or Console, EA isn't leaving any of their audiences behind ahead of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar this November.
It’s that time of year again in the footballing season when the largest global sporting showpiece takes centre stage.
The FIFA World Cup is slated to hold from November 20 - December 18, 2022 and EA Sports have already released the season updates for FIFA gamers on Mobile, PC, as well as Consoles.
With this FIFA update you also get the annual squad and kit updates too.
Like many annual games, the changes and improvements are bitsy and gradually incremental changes.
These changes would normally improve the quality of the game, adding a few new features as well as tweaks.
However, our primary focus in this article will be the review of FIFA Mobile’s 2023 Season Update.
FIFA Mobile: Season Update
EA Sports launched the FIFA 2022 World Cup Qatar update first on mobile before any other platform and is available for both Android and iOS users on the Apple store and Google Play store for free.
Now let’s be honest, you’re probably in for a long ride if you assume that FIFA Mobile is anything or anywhere close to the graphics on a PlayStation or Xbox console - well maybe apart from PlayStation 2.
Anyway, this is obviously because the game itself operates at an entirely different capacity compared to that of a mobile phone.
So if in any universe, you assumed or dreamed of such graphics on your mobile phone, now would probably be a good time to wake up.
But that’s not to say the graphics isn’t decent. In fact, FIFA Mobile 23’s graphics is just about the best it has ever been in any edition and honestly speaking, it’s everything you could ever desire on soccer mobile gaming.
Simply put - almost any player you’re currently thinking about right now is well characterized in the game when it comes to looks.
I can’t say the same about gestures, but that’s understandable because HyperMotion hasn’t come to the mobile iteration of the EA’s soccer franchise.
It’s unclear the reason yet, but one can only guess the processing capacity of a mobile phone as the biggest reason, being that it’s incomparable to how it works on the consoles.
I didn’t mention PC’s because HyperMotion only just arrived the platform in FIFA 23 after serious outrage at EA for not including it in the FIFA 22 version.
The company was forced to have a change of heart in their latest edition to avoid a repeat of the massive online protests.
Anyway, without further ado, let’s get into it on the new features in FIFA Mobile 23 Season Update
FIFA World Cup 2022™
The Mid-Season update of this year’s FIFA World Cup 2022™ will be available as a Tournament Mode.
Users will be able to play through the entire Tournament with all 32 qualified National Teams, as well as 15 non-qualified National Teams.
The update also features FIFA World Cup 2022™ National Team kits and crests, the match ball, and the ability to play in authentic FIFA World Cup 2022™ stadiums (Al Bayt and Lusail).
There’s Custom FIFA World Cup 2022™ commentary for the most immersive match atmosphere, available in multiple languages but you’ll still be able to hear the cringe commentary of Derek Rae with Lee Dixon being replaced by Stewart Robson who was in the previous version.
However, the beautiful obvious about the FIFA Mobile is the new user interface (UI) of the FIFA World Cup 2022™ Tournament user interface which would no doubt give you a feel of November’s showpiece while cruising through the gaming experience.
Now once you click on the World Cup tournament, you’ll need to select your preferred difficulty.
But an important note which you’ll see is that your difficulty level decides your potential rewards after matches - so the higher the better rewards and vice versa.
After selecting your difficulty, you can begin your FIFA World Cup 2022™ journey by selecting the nation that you want to lead to victory.
If you decide to chose a National team that isn’t going to this year’s World Cup but is included 15 additional National Teams, then your team will replace one of the 32 already qualified National Teams.
The star rating shows the OVR of your nation. Teams with higher star ratings will have higher OVR players and better stats.
After selecting your team, you can press the Team Overview button on the bottom left to view the team lineup and details before you finally make a selection.
Again, as stated earlier FIFA Mobile is not as comprehensive as its elder siblings at the console or PC level.
So apart from your formation really, there’s basically no power over each and every single member of your team in terms of player instructions as well as other tactical settings to your line-up. I guess EA already handed that job to their AI and software.
Actually , I don’t know if it’s just me but the new gameplay is a bit faster than the previous mode.
The gameplay feels to have been given better attention than in previous years, and even goalkeepers are much more reliable this time around, although it remains to be seen how they fare in the Live Head to Head Versus Mode.
Also, it seems like there will none of that intense counter attacking football that normally leave your defense flat-footed this time around, where wingers have acres of space to devour and punish your defense.
Ultimately, it depends on you as the gamer and how you like to play, but EA’s AI and software have done a good job with build-up play - which for me, is my favourite when it comes to starting attacks from defense.
Rewards
As I mentioned earlier, you can earn rewards based on your tournament progress and chosen difficulty by completing the Tournament.
Rewards can include World Cup Players and currency for the upcoming FIFA 2022 World Cup™ Live Event, which you’ll use towards your Ultimate Team™.
The live event begins from November 17th onwards, and you can earn special World Cup Players for winning the Tournament and equally add these hard-earned Players to your Ultimate Team™.
Live OVR
Live OVR is a feature where the OVR of base players can get an increase to their OVR and stats and EA has confirmed that it will be coming to their mid-season update when the World Cup starts proper in November.
Now at the time of writing, I haven’t actually seen how that works because this feature is currently only available in the FIFA World Cup 2022™ Tournament mode.
But it will be based on real life performances, and all players on a winning team will receive +1 OVR and +1 to all their stats for each match win in the FIFA World Cup 2022™.
This means that the performances of your favorite teams and players in the real tournament will directly affect their OVR and stats in FIFA Mobile. Yes. It will. So when or if someone like Chelsea star Kai Havertz has a stinker of a game for Germany in this year’s World Cup, there would be a downgrade in his already generous stats.
Also, the Man of the Match will receive an additional +1 to their OVR and stats.
EA has also hinted that there may be opportunities on social media to determine additional OVR and stats boosts for fan-favorite players.
In conclusion, despite some of the regular issues that come with a new FIFA title, the new season update of the FIFA Mobile has to be commended for their fresh ideas.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)