'FIFA 15' UK Release Date Today: What Are Critics Saying?

The soccer game from EA Sports titled “FIFA 15” launches in the U.K. Friday; the sports title has been available since Tuesday in North America and since Thursday in Europe. The "FIFA" franchise is one of EA"s best-selling series and the U.K. in particular is an important market for the Vancouver, Canada-based developer.

As of 2011, the "FIFA" franchise has been available in 51 countries and 18 languages, and has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. The sales of the series place it amongst some of the best-selling franchises of all time, including "Grand Theft Auto," "Call of Duty," "Need for Speed" and "The Sims."

The game has already seen more than 5.5 million downloads since Tuesday across five platforms, but that’s only half of the story -- what are critics saying about the simulation title?

Here's a roundup:

“Perhaps more than ever, this year's ‘FIFA’ comes down to the little details,” GameSpot said, scoring the game 8/10. “If you played last season's game, then the visuals, game modes, on-pitch action, and means of interaction will be immediately familiar. As a result, the learning curve in ‘FIFA 15’ is almost nonexistent.”

The site also feels that ‘FIFA 15’ “makes you feel like a star” and that “if you’re looking for football that is exciting, exaggerated, and immensely entertaining, ‘FIFA 15’ is the game to get.”

GameInformer gave “FIFA 15” a 9.25 out of 10.

“The title's crown jewel is its excellent gameplay. Players' possession of the ball feels a lot less predetermined than in previous years,” the magazine said. “This goes well with the refined dribbling and defensive tackling, presenting a coordinated package that feels more organic and real, like you're playing by your own whims and not negotiating imposed constraints.”

GameInformer also called “FIFA 15” gameplay its “most notable distinction.”

“Improvements largely concern presentation over play, but they're crucial in making you feel closer to the game than ever. The best football game just got better,” Gamesradar said, awarding “FIFA 15” a 4.5/5. The site felt that “the presentation's been completely revamped, affecting everything from fully remodeled players, to authentic camera angles, to bouncy hair physics and turf degradation.”

Eurogamer gave the game a 7/10, calling the series “a franchise built on contradictions. A conservative, megabudget series that radically changes its engine on an almost annual basis. A boxed product that (one suspects) makes most of its money from an online spin-off. A game that improves on itself every year, but never really moves forward at all.”

Though the site felt that “EA can quite fairly claim to have again delivered the best football game ever made,” it also said that “every year the developers seem to have less of an idea what that means."

“FIFA 15” is currently available on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. EA is working on a Wii, PlayStation Vita and 3DS version of the game.