If you don't own a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you can still enjoy FIFA 18 on PC as it's 99,9% the same game.

On the pitch, it's a real improvement of the usual strong FIFA package. Off the pitch, however, the innovations are missing.

An improvement in every area, including The Journey mode.

EA Canada gave their all to story mode. Even though there’s far less leeway for story writers in FIFA than in, say, an FPS game, they’ve managed to weave a compelling story that puts Battlefield to shame. [Issue#224, p.63]

FIFA did not go on the revolution path of this year, it took a perfectly thoughtful evolution. Thanks to a few small innovations game is funnier, and no one can curse it for only pulling the money out of your pocket. [Issue#280]

It's off the pitch that EA excels. From the variety of game modes on offer and how everything's presented, to the constant updates in FUT's Team of the Week, Daily Objectives, and discussion of real-world happenings in commentary, FIFA 18 captures the world of football and confidently translates it into a video game. On the pitch, however, EA's soccer series is still lagging far behind PES 2018's more fluid, satisfying football. This year's improvements are welcome, but more needs to be done in the coming years if FIFA is to be a world-beater once again.

There’s a fairly familiar (albeit shorter) list of things in FIFA 18 to sigh about and wish EA would use some of their ample resources to fix, even if you ignore my paranoid suspicions about bouts of idiocy from otherwise competent virtual footballers. But I must admit that this installment’s renewed emphasis on tricky defending and darting midfielders getting on the end of crosses makes it a fair bit more engaging than FIFA 17 felt on launch. It’s building on where that game left off at the end of its life-span, so if you’re already appreciative of the FIFA ‘feel’, and can cope with more involved defensive duties, you’ll find it suitably inviting. I complain, but another several hundred hours in FIFA 18 inevitably await.