Time was we posted an article about a new Xbox Windows Phone game (or games!) every week like clockwork. Those days are long behind us, never to return again. But I do get to write about the weekly Xbox console releases, which is almost as fun. And this week we actually do have a new Xbox Windows Phone game, on the unusual day of Friday: FIFA 14 from Electronic Arts! We hear a last-minute bug kept it from releasing on Wednesday.
FIFA 14 is the latest in EA’s extremely popular football/soccer sports series. Last year’s FIFA 13 was originally a Nokia exclusive, and only just became available to all Windows Phone users a month ago. Now all of us (with phones that have 1 GB or more RAM) can enjoy this year’s rosters and new features. And unlike FIFA 13 – which sells for $4.99, this year’s game is free to play. More details and Store link after the break!
Features
- REAL PLAYERS. REAL TEAMS. REAL LEAGUES: Welcome to the most authentic football game on Windows Phone 8. Feel the excitement of every pass, shot, and tackle with new touch controls. Plus, live every moment of real-world football mastery with EA SPORTS™ Football Club Match Day.
- FEEL THE PASSION: Featuring 34 leagues, over 600 licensed teams, and more than 16,000 players. From the English Premier League to La Liga and beyond. Plus, for the first time on mobile, listen to commentaries in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish!
- BUILD YOUR ULTIMATE TEAM: Earn and trade, or buy and sell FIFA players to create your own fantasy team. Choose your play style, formation, kits, and more. Compete in tournaments to earn coins, then spend them on new players and items to improve your team. Play for free or purchase packs. The choices are endless!
- FIFA FANATICS: Classic modes like Manager, and Kick Off are available for purchase in-game.
Good free to play or bad free to play?
Unless you have a conservative mindset, there’s good free to play and bad free to play. Gameloft’s Real Soccer 2013 is what we call the bad kind, a game that asks for money at every turn and is extremely difficult to enjoy without paying. Is FIFA 14 better then?
Yes! The main game mode is Ultimate Team Mode, in which players manage a team and play its games throughout the season. That’s all you get for free, but make the “Unlock All” purchase and you’ll get Exhibition, Tournament, and Manager modes. Pretty much the same as just buying the game outright.
During the normal Ultimate Team Mode experience, you’ll also have the option of buying packs of cards to use for managing the team’s roster, upgrading their skills, and more. But you never have to pay real money if you don’t want to – the cards can be bought with soft currency earned through playing games. So FIFA 14 sounds like the good kind of free to play overall, and worth a download.
- FIFA 14 – Windows Phone 8 (1 GB of RAM or higher) – 888 MB – Free – Store Link
