October2023
Review NHL 24 (Xbox) - Hopefully The Start Of A New Era For EA's Hockey Games
A meaningful stride forward?
When it comes to EA Sports' NHL series, last year's NHL 23 was one of the biggest disappointments we've experienced thus far. It wasn't a bad game (which is why we gave it a 6/10 here at Pure Xbox), but it still felt like it barely made any strides forward whatsoever, and we ultimately grew tired of it very quickly. NHL...
September2023
Review EA Sports FC 24 (Xbox) - A New Era Begins With An Impressive Result
The next chapter has kicked off
This year marks a major milestone for EA Sports and what used to be known as the FIFA series, now adopting the new name of "EA Sports FC" and embarking on a new era in the process. In the case of EA Sports FC 24 though, we're not looking at a massive overhaul compared to last year - instead, it's a subtle but...
April2023
Review EA Sports PGA Tour - EA Returns To The Fairways With A Slick Golf Sim
It's in the game
Well, we may be a tad late with our review of EA’s first foray into the world of golf in eight years but, as it turns out, our delay has rather worked in the game’s favour. Indeed, our biggest issue thus far with EA Sports PGA Tour, its rather demanding analogue shot system, has now had a classic three-click option added via a...
October2022
Review NHL 23 - A Fine Hockey Game, But A Disappointing Lack Of Ambition
A "not bad" follow-up to last year's effort
When we reviewed NHL 22 last year, we noted how the transition to EA's Frostbite engine had been a success, so we were happy to forgive the lack of major changes to its game modes. That said, we also mentioned that we were hoping for "some ambitious new modes and features in NHL 23", and unfortunately that...
September2022
Review FIFA 23 - EA's FIFA Franchise Hits The Showers On A High
The final whistle
Yes, after 30 years of EA's all-conquering FIFA franchise, it's finally time to bid farewell to a series that's been a constant companion to footie-loving gamers since all the way back in 1993 (as of next year, EA has confirmed its football games will be known as "EA Sports FC"). It hasn't always been top-flight stuff, there's been...
October2021
Review NHL 22 - EA's Hockey Series Finally Makes The Jump To Frostbite
It's an important year for virtual hockey
In many ways, the latest iteration of EA's long-running hockey series in NHL 22 marks a fresh and crucial new beginning for the franchise. For the first time ever, the game is now running on the company's standard Frostbite engine as opposed to the dated Ignite engine of years past, and the result is a game...
Review FIFA 22 (XSX) - FIFA's Best Outing On The Pitch In Years
An impressive year for the footie behemoth
Last year's FIFA 21 was the series' first outing on the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and while it proved a sizeable jump up from the Xbox One version in the visual department, there weren't too many comparisons to make from a gameplay perspective. FIFA 22, however, is marketing its next-gen version...
October2020
Review FIFA 21 - The Slightly More Beautiful Game
Heading in the right direction
It's that time of year again, as EA's never-ending FIFA franchise dribbles down the tunnel and out onto the pitch for another brand new season. It's an incremental update for the most part this time around, there are no really big marquee additions or modes to speak of here, beyond Volta's new story "Debut", but the...
September2014
The keeper fluffs it.
Here we are once again. It’s that time of year that - if you’re in the UK at least - the releases of EA’s annual Madden and NHL franchises are nothing but a precursor to. It’s FIFA time once again, and no matter what we say about the game here, it’ll undoubtedly be a massive success and sit at the top of the sales...
Skating backwards going forwards.
NHL 15 was supposed to be a celebration of hockey. A true coming of age that would have us flying banners and cheering EA’s name as they masterfully took the step up to the new generation and showed us their skills on previously untouched ice. When the puck dropped, it would provide the graphical and gameplay...
April2014
Review 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (Xbox 360)
Back of the pocket.
When EA announced that they wouldn’t be releasing their quadrennial World Cup version of their FIFA series as DLC – which is something they trialled with the Euro 2012 add-on for FIFA 12 – the gaming world sighed. It was an indication that we were going back to the bad old days of paying out the full retail price for the...
October2013
Top corner.
The football season is in full swing, and with the EA and Microsoft cosying up over the FIFA series this year, it looks like it’ll eventually be a big 2013 for the franchise on Xbox platforms. Sales aren’t what they were last year in the early going, but with the Xbox One version of FIFA 14 being bundled with preorders, some players...
Ice and simple.
The puck has dropped on the new NHL season and as sure as day follows night, that means that EA have been at work on their yearly update to the NHL game franchise. This year, the build-up to the game’s release seemed to focus more on who was going to be the athlete on the cover (it ended up being the Devils goalie Martin Brodeur)...
April2013
Review Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 (Xbox 360)
A Fair Way To Go
It’s that time of year again. The smell of freshly-cut grass is in the air, the birds are singing, the sun is in the…well, it’s mostly rainy and windy here in the UK, but there you go. Whatever the weather, its Tiger Woods PGA Tour time. This year, EA have provided a mostly iterative update to the series, with a couple of big...
