FIFA Ultimate Team 14 – Pack Rant

Packs, Pack, Packs. Packs are really the only way to get awesome players in FUT14. Is it luck? Can you increase your chances of getting rarer players? Is it skill? Is there some method to this madness? In my experience, the answer to these questions would its probably luck.

I have had no lucky opening packs and finding any legends, in form, or any of the special cards. I have opened countless number of packs, waited hours for happy hours, and trying there so called pack opening methods. All I have to show for it is maybe 2 players work a crap load of coins that I don’t feel like selling (one of these is a gold rare Neuer).

I am honestly starting to think that this is a waste of money. The time an effort it would take to earn enough coins to open these ridiculous packs doesn’t seem worth the effort. It will almost be like finding a needle in a haystack or like bobbing for apples only to find out that they were some oversized grapefruit (a premium gold pack that contains silver players that aren’t even rare, come on). EA show me some good faith and let me have one of these players. I would be happy with just one. Ive seen 5 or 6 get opened in minutes (with the aid of coin trader services which seems to be against EAs policy but what do they care. They are just taxing it and still making money).

Well EA, hopefully you will use my money to make a better game next year but don’t count on my rushing to buy it. As much as I love FIFA 14 and the wonders of FUT, I may sit another year or two before I flock back to game with the most unlucky pack luck I have ever had.


If you know how I can increase my pack lucky leave a comment or follow me on twitter @BWadTheGreat14
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EA Shield Cup Run

The cup window was open this weekend and it was time to make a run for the EA Shield. After a disappointing showing in Division 6 it was time to show some backbone after being relegated back to Division 7.

The ultimate goal was to win the cup. Seasons have been full of cheese lately (maybe I have been playing really poorly).

I choose to play as Real Madrid because honestly it just had to be done and there were on of the few in form teams I was playing well with. Here is the breakdown of the Cup run (check the photo for details).

Round of 16
Brilliant finish. CR7 went ham & cheese. 2-1.

Quarter Finals
After a wonderful cross and finish. Opponent conceded.

Semi Finals
It was a clinic. Enough Said

Finals
Overtime thriller. This game could have went to penalties. A free kick outside the box from CR7 opened the scoring and it was an absolute firecracker. The score was leveled shortly but a great play by my opponent. In the early overtime period, a bit of brilliance led to the dagger that put away my opponent and awarded me the EA Shield.

FIFA 14 SEASONS: Road to D1 Part 5

Division 7 was similar to Division 8. Many of my opponents either tired to cheese or the game was just full of cheese (enough cheese to make nachos). I will give you the run down of this division quickly since I have already advanced to Div 6 and need to practice before playing again.

Arsenal* vs Real Madrid
Starting another division with Arsenal and much like their season lately, no luck. 0-2 loss.

Real Madrid* vs ManCity
Annoyed at my first loss and took it out on this opponent. 4-1 win.

FC Barcelona* vs ManU
Are you upset bro? 4-1 win.

Chelsea* vs Bor. Dortmund
Honestly, I got pretty lucky this game. 2-0 win

Liverpool* vs Uruguay
I man not sure what I was thinking playing as Liverpool. I figured I should try them out and it was just annoying. 3-5 loss.

Ivory Coast* vs Some team I never heard of
I was trying to have some fun. 1-4 loss.

FC Barcelona* vs Real Madrid
Could do this all day. 3-1 win.

USA* vs Zent
Disappointing game. 1-1

FC Barcelona* vs Bayern
Not time for games 4-0

FC Barcelona* vs ManU
I got bored. 0-2 loss

Next Division coming soon.

FIFA 14 SEASONS: Road to D1 Part 4

Today was quite an interesting day of FIFA. Div 8 was full of people who just tried to cheese with Real Madrid (seriously I played them 4 times) and it made me sick (and by sick I actually got a stomachache but I didn’t lose to them so…keep trying). I, for one, went Ham & Cheese and served up sandwiches all thru this division (cept for the couple I had to throw out because either brunt bread or nuked cheese). Food puns aside 6-3-2 (12-6-7) on the day, here is the rundown.

Game 17 Arsenal* v PSG
Staying faithful to my team so I thought I start this Div playing with them and I wasn’t disappointed other than not scoring. 0-0

Game 18 Arsenal* v Real Madrid
First game frustrations turned into a well executed second game after having to play Real Madrid but who cares. 3-0 win.

Game 19 Real Madrid* v Real Madrid
Tried to see what was all the fuss about and I noticed that Real is one of the few better inform teams (which is why so many people are using them). Overall, this opponent tried to cheese way to much so it gave me a chance to work on defending (and defend I did). 2-1 win.

Game 20 PSG* v Real Madrid
Annoyed that I have to play Real Madrid again with an even worse opponent (actually played a few in a higher division that 8 which was interesting). I again was trying out new defending tactics and lets just say mistakes were made. 1-1

Game 21 Barcelona* v Real Madrid
At this point I am expecting to play Real Madrid for the remainder of the day so I was well prepared at this point (despite how out of from Barcelona is at the moment). Oh well 3-1 win.

Game 22 FC Bayren* v Dormound
Having not lost yet, I tried to get greedy and the scoreline only shows how sometimes you get lucky or in my case unlucky. 0-1 loss.

Game 23 Dormound* v Uruguay
Actually thought I could repeat what happened to me last game. Playing Uruguay is always fun but whatever. 1-2 loss.

Game 24 Barcelona* v Chelsea
Gotta go back to what works. 2-0 win

Game 25 Brazil v Barcelona
Thought Id have some fun by choosing Brazil and I don’t recall the score (probably like 2-0 or something). It was enough to secure promotion and the league title.

FIFA 14 SEASONS: Road to D1 Part 3

Alright, my trip through Div 9 was uneventful and there was much room for improvement (and improve I did). Anytime that you are projected to get regulated it really isn't a time to panic; It is time to get your head out of your arse and do what works (and by what works I mean try to cheese and stick to the basics). I gave it the old college try this time (instead of playing with too many settings…and by too many I mean a few) and this was the result (Ill keep these short).

Game #9 Arsenal* v Juventus
Tried to go back to playing with my squad but I pretty much got ran off the field. That’s all I'm going to say about this one. 0-4 loss.

Game #10 Chelsea* v Bayern
I always have fun playing with Chelsea for some reason and playing Bayern is annoying because there team is pretty stacked (agreed). Pretty tough match in this one but 2-2 result Ill take it.

Game #11 ManU* v Real Madrid
Normally I wouldn’t play with ManU but they are a good squad to play with. Plus, after having Hernandez on my FUT 13 team there is no way I'm not going to play with him (still have love for RVP which is who I started). As a result, 3-2 win.

Game #12 PSG* v Chelsea
Not sure why my opponent quit. Guess he got scared. 3-0 win.

Game #13 PSG* v ManU
Eh, ran out of time. 2-2.

Game #14 Barcelona* v Real Madrid
Couldn’t finish the chances I had. 0-0. Playing with Barcelona was great. I missed playing with this team and I usually avoided it because of how they were in FIFA 13 (cheese) and most time you end up playing a backline that owns the smaller Barca players (idk).

Game #15 Barcelona* v Man City
I'm holding off on playing as Man City because they really can be an OP (over powered) team sometimes and its just too much cheese for the nachos (if that’s possible). Anyways no worries, beautiful 6-2 win. Promotion.

Game #16 Barcelona* v Chelsea
Needed a point for the division title so yes, I'm using Barcelona again (if it aint broke don’t fix it and I'm playing well with this team). 0-0 was enough to get me to the Div 8 and the title.

Living to play again 7-4-5 is an improvement. Only one loss this today and I'm enjoying it. Cheers

FIFA 14 SEASONS: Road to D1 Part 2

Things didn’t really go my way today with some pretty heartbreaking losses. Im not really sure what possesses some players to just completely blow passes sometimes (mainly on the receiving in of a pass, as if I didn’t have the pass control set right or something). I made a few adjustments to my play style which lead to some better goals but I did blow some fairly simple chances here and there (annoying). Here is how I fared in the next 5 games (looks like I need some more practice).

Game #4 Chelsea* v Bayern
Chelsea is a team I like to play with from time to time and this game was pretty much a joke. My opponent was a prick but ill take the 7-0 win and the promotion.

Game #5 Bayern* v Real Madrid
Having not played previously with Bayren yet in the game I was kind of surprised. I didn’t play with my usual set up with this team (I guess trying new things are more fun than winning or losing sometimes…phst, yeah right). Played a disappointing game in the rain for a 0-2 loss (no division title just yet). No words for this one.

Game #6 Real Madrid*v Belgium
Honestly thought it was a joke playing against Belgium (not to say they are bad team because Ill probably play with them at some point).  I managed to score 2 great goals with Khedira and my opponent quits (not sure if this was a wise choice). Afterwards, I didn’t actually get the win recorded till a little while later. 2-0 victory and Im in Div 9 (Div 10 title finally).

Game #7 Real Madrid* v Real Madrid
Yes, I couldn’t believe it either being matched up against the same team but that is what I get I guess. 3-4 loss due to an unlucky touch and a well done finish by my opponent (still a prick).

Game #8 Real Madrid* v Man City
Playing as Real again because I felt a bit cheated out of the last game. In this game, headers are certainly cheese (maybe Im not giving my opponent enough credit for the well placed crosses he finished  with a defender close enough to lick the sweat off of him). I just don’t get it. 2-1 loss.

4-0-4 is not my best start overall and 2 early losses in this division has me thinking I need to go back to basics. Some time practicing a few things and planning certain attacks better might help me climb out of this division. I made some controller adjustments (because this is the first thing I look at when I don’t think I should have lost a certain way).

FIFA 14 SEASONS: Road to D1

Starting yet another series only because the changes they made to Fifa this year make the game way more fun. I am playing on current gen just because I havent gotten much justice playing on the Xbox One at all (and that I don’t have an Xbox One to practice so let just say it was fustrating). This most likely will put me behind on the other series or so that I was playing (Association Challenge) but I will be posting more consisteintly pretty soon.

Managed to get 3 quick games in but I will try to account for at most 5 in future posts depending on how many games I actually decided to play in a session (just so happens this one has 3). First thing to note is the tweaks I made to line-ups which I wont bother trying to explain (my strategy invovles a certain play style via what players are available or my mood at the time). In short, I probably spent too much time than I needed to setting up line-ups, plotting stratagey, and trying to figure out what do with out of form players (this def hurts you if you don’t plan for it). Second thing is the breakaways. These are a bit more difficult and I don’t know if they made the keeping better or im just getting the angles wrong in certain situations (its fustrating throwing away one of your own "bread n butta" scoring chances which just keeps your opponent in the game…sighs). A bit more pracitce and I got this. Lastly, the possession and ball movement is a bit spotty (meaning it either works beautifully or it can just be an annoying game of pong where you have no idea how or why the ball ends up where it does).

I cant say that my first 3 games were my best effort but Id like to think that I had a pretty good strategy and know which things I can work on (not throwing away scoring chances would be nice). Here is how I faired in my first 3 games (I am also trying to play with the team I faced next unless I don’t feel like playing with them…trying to keep it interesting and should be good practice for when the cup window opens up).

Game #1 Arsenal* vs Milan
Starting out, I have to play with my boys (Arsenal). Opened the game with a goal from Giroud in the 3^rd min and he just anchored me from there. Giroud's final minute heroics (completing the hat trick) sealed my first win (3-2).

Game #2 Milan* vs Liverpool
Nothing to say about this one. I played really well even though I was trying to use a new strategy. Milan has quite a few players that were out of form which certainly hurt me (not to mention the cheese) but no excuses, 0-2 loss.

Game #3 Milan* vs Chelsea
I did the best I could with my chances and tried to redeem myself from that last fustrating defeat. 5 shots, 5 shots on target, and a well done counter attack out of the back line led me to a 2-1 victory (disappointed there wasn’t a shut out here but a win is a win).

2-0-1 isnt a bad start (not happy about dropping a game early but those are the breaks). I will probably post about FUT (Fifa Ultimate Team) later on which I had so much fun with last year. Anyways, Cheers.

What am I playing right now?

Taking a bit of a break and playing some old school Pokemon.

I will have more posts and stuff coming this week. I am just busy at the moment.

Apologies loyal blog readers. Possible giveaway coming soon.

Batman: Arkham City Review

Batman: Arkham City seems to be a game that I somehow missed when it released but when it appears on XboxLive for under $5 it practically screams play me. The gameplay seems to be modeled after the previous title Arkham Asylum (whether this game is an actual improvement, I wouldn’t know because I didn’t play it). There are quite a lot of cool things in this game from the attacks you can pull off with Batman to the use of gadgets and other upgrades. Using these different tools to take out different enemies (who also have their own weapons) makes planning your attacks important and interesting (whether playing stealthy or going in to crack some skulls, surveying the area and planning some moves out doesn’t get boring).

Expect to do a lot of things in this game (a lot more than I actually thought would be in here). First is the fact that there are a lot of villains trying to destroy you and each other (yea, guess we all can’t get along). With all these villains, it makes the game less of an open world and more like a bunch of gyms or dungeons (don’t think GTA, think Pokemon or Zelda). Second, you are going to want to play this again and will probably be doubling back to a few places for Side Quests and Riddler Trophies (there at least 400 of these trophies...really? cannot wait to put that guy through a wall). Side Quests become kind of annoying and distracting than adding to the game but there is a mode where you can play as Catwoman (I haven’t tried any of those missions but seems interesting).

Boss battles are fairly easy once you figure out what needs to be done (thanks help menu). There were times that I was a bit confused (even in the game generally because I guess I have certain expectations when I get to a certain part of the story and surprised when some challenges aren’t just an annoyance but fun) on what course of action I should take (until the light bulb comes on and not only light up but explode because knowing what to do kind of makes you feel dumb for either it not being your first thought or extreme obvious…thanks help menu).

If you ever wanted to know what it is like to be Batman (one that kind of moves a bit stiff like because he is jacked up on steroids that some of his muscles hinder his movement) then play Arkham City (although the number of villains is kind of overkill and almost can be their own stories).  Living vicariously through Batman in this game is awesome and I have only played it for a few hours. Certainly gets two thumbs up from me, if you haven’t played  or think you have want it takes to be the Dark Knight, go get it now.