I’m not sold on this concept - and rest assured the traditional one touch shooting is still an option as timed finishing can be disabled at any time - but I will say it removes some of the frustrating luck associated with scoring in FIFA. The further you drift from perfect timing, the further your odds of scoring plummet. The first initiates your intention to score, while a perfectly timed secondary command executes a powerful strike almost guaranteed to make the keeper work for his pay, if not find the back of the net. Timed finishing is a fancy name for a second touch of the B or Circle button.
The timed finishing scoring bar, which determines the exact moment the ball is hit towards goal, is where you’ll need the most help, before it eventually becomes second nature that hasn’t happened for me yet. There are a few tiers of training to help guide you through the precision control, and while returning players will look to disable the button prompts immediately, leaving the movement and timing indicators on for a few hours is the best way to familiarise yourself with all that has changed. It’s really been a slow shift away from the magnetic passes of FIFA 12, each year passes have felt less automated, and FIFA 19 continues down the same path. It doesn’t take long to adjust, but there will be moments of desire for the comfort of FIFA 17 and 18.
As you come to grips with the timing, even Ronaldo will lose control of a loose ball on anything above Semi-Pro difficulty. The flip-side sees the ball get away more often when things don’t go according to plan.
Inside the penalty area, FIFA 19 finds space in the highest congestion, with pinpoint passes and centimetre-perfect crosses, which open up new avenues to goal. More precise and stable control over the ball allows for tighter passages of play and passes that previously would have been cutoff by the conquering predetermined paths of defenders. The shoot button has finally moved into the firing line in FIFA 19, and while timed finishing is destined to be divisive, the introduction of UEFA competitions, including the Champions League, is a surefire winner.īall control on the whole has been overhauled this year, but it’s scoring that’s most noticeable. FIFA has been bouncing between tweaking offensive and defensive gameplay with each iteration this generation, but it’s always retained its free-scoring foundations.