If you were to compare the EA Sports FIFA Franchise to a real-life football club, they would match up almost seamlessly with Spanish giant, Real Madrid.
Much Like Los Blancos, EA Sports' FIFA franchise strives to be the top competitor on the pitch year in, year out. But with every successful season, the bar is raised to astronomical heights, ultimately leading to new additions. Some of these additions work within the overall chemistry of the game, some of them don't. But when they do, the results are extraordinary.
(EA Sports)
Not content with simply holding the 'Galacticos' title, or with resting on the silverware that already resides in their packed trophy cabinet, EA Sports has gone for their own version of La Decima (Real's hunt for 10 European titles) and it all starts with Frostbite. By bringing over the Frostbite game engine from their popular FPS titles, EA Sports has not only managed to create the most beautiful soccer game to date, but the most complete one as well.
Frostbite
Once reserved for the battlefields of EA's shooter titles, FIFA has become the first sports franchise to incorporate the revolutionary and critically acclaimed Frostbite game engine. Players take part in matches anywhere from the rainy, overcast skies of North-East England, to the warm, sun-kissed pitches on the coast of Spain in FIFA 17. Thanks to Frostbite, you truly get a sense of the differing climates in the game. The new lighting system in the game is nothing short of exceptional, with the replay cameras providing breathtaking views off the ball.
The game environments aren't the only benefactors of the new engine, as the player models have received a noticeable upgrade as well. Players and managers who have had their face scanned into the game look a whole lot more like their real-life counterparts. Yes, you read that right -- managers. For the first time since the World Cup 2010 title, FIFA now features the likeness of managers. All 20 managers in the Premier League to be exact. You can really sense Arsene Wegner's disdain for Jose Mourinho just by looking at his eyes on the sideline. Now that's immersion! Soccer isn't all about beautiful sunsets, and detailed haircuts, though. From mud covered limbs, to scuffs on cleats, the way in which players interact with the environment has an effect on their visual appearance, as well as on the actual pitch itself, as grass gets accurately chewed up as the game moves along. Leicester City's ambitious groundsman gives this new feature 0 out of 10.
(EA Sports)
Improved player models and environments are great, but without the help of the Frostbite engine, the production of FIFA's newest, most-talked about game mode, the Journey, simply would not have been possible. Through the power of Frostbite, EA Sports were able to create the highly detailed interiors that are featured throughout the narrative of the Journey, as well as capture the dramatic performances of the actors that appear on screen.
The introduction of Frostbite to FIFA is absolutely brilliant, so it will be interesting to see when/if EA Sports plans on implementing the game engine into their other sports titles (NHL please!)
The Journey
(EA Sports)
"You don't know me, but believe me, you soon will." When Alex Hunter, the protagonist in the Journey, made that claim in the first reveal trailer for the brand new mode, we thought it was a rather bold statement. Well, EA Sports certainly put their money where their mouth was, successfully delivering one of the most engrossing 'Be-A-Pro' modes ever featured in a sports title.
In FIFA's first-ever story mode, players are given the chance to step into the shoes of Alex Hunter, a promising young English player. The story starts out at Hunter's exit trial with the Football Association, where he and his childhood friend, Gareth Walker, take part in a series of drills in an attempt to impress the scouts in attendance.
After selecting what type of attacking player you would like Hunter to be, players are thrown right into the exit trial where they must put in a strong performance to rank among the top of the class. Succeed and Hunter's journey in the English Premier League begins. Fail and Hunter is left to pondering 'what if?'
(EA Sports)
Once Hunter signs his first professional contract, you're immediately thrown into the high-pressure world of a professional athlete. Moving Hunter up the ranks from the reserves to the starting xi comes down to three things: Improving Hunter's stats in the weekly training sessions, impressing the manager by hitting performance goals during matches and not behaving like an absolute jerk when speaking with the media.
Much like in other Be-A-Pro modes, players are given access to Hunter's social media account, so you can get a sense of how fans, media members and even other pros perceive you. Perform well, and your mentions will fill up with positive tweets. Hit a run of poor form and you'll be seeing some not so friendly hashtags.
The cast of characters that star in the Journey nail their roles with their strong acting performances, and the moody score composed by Academy Award Winning musician Atticus Ross further immerses you in the drama of the story.
(EA Sports)
The Journey is not without its faults, though. The story starts out very strong, but hits a bit of a lull in the middle and never quite managed to engage me to the same degree as it did in the beginning. There is also quite a lack of options provided to the player. Even though on-field performance can dictate the overall direction of the story, you're never really presented with meaningful options outside of initially selecting what club you wish to join. The dialogue trees featured in cutscenes can lead to some entertaining lines, but have little to no impact on Hunter's path. This leads to the Journey feeling less like a 'choose your own adventure,' and more linear, like a traditional movie.
That being said, the Journey is genuinely an intriguing foray into the evolution of story modes in sports games. We cannot wait to see how EA Sports builds on this mode moving forward.
Gameplay Additions
(EA Sports)
The FIFA series has never been known for providing a sim-style soccer experience on-field, but rather for delivering highly satisfying, quick paced, box-to-box action. That hasn't changed in FIFA 17.
What has changed is that the advantage has shifted back towards the attacking side of the ball. This year EA Sports focused on improving teammate AI, completely revamping the set pieces systems, while also providing players with new shooting an passing options.
You'll be happy to know that with the addition of driven kicks, shots will no longer woefully fly towards the low corners at a savable height like in last year's game. AI teammates are also now far more intelligent when attacking, making creative runs to get open down field, while also adapting the speed of their run if and even stopping entirely if they sense a pass isn't heading their way. The improvement in the AI leads to less offsides and far better build-up play.
(EA Sports)
The physicality of play has also stepped up in FIFA 17, as players are now able to use their strength to gain a tactical edge over opponents. Whether you're a left back trying to prevent a winger from getting on the end of a pass, or you're a striker trying to muscle your way into space on a corner, players can now use their body as a shield, adding a whole new dimension to the gameplay when playing off the ball.
Freekicks, penalties and corners have also finally received a much needed overhaul. Players are now given the option to choose where they start their run-up from on freekicks, impacting the type of spin put on the ball. When passing on corners and long range freekicks, a target circle now appears on-field, finally allowing you to see where you're aiming. Say goodbye to randomly holding lob and hoping for the best. The new targeting system didn't really lead to an increase in goals off set pieces, but it did cut down on the frustrating guess work and is a welcome addition.
Penalties on the other hand just became unnecessarily difficult. Without the aiming indicator on the screen, it's incredibly hard to tell where the ball is headed. The only real positive to the new PK system is that it does lead to some tense moments from the spot, as it's now a lot easier to kick it 40-yards over the net. Prepare to miss a lot of freebies.
Manager Mode
(EA Sports)
With all of the positive changes and additions presented in FIFA 17, it has become glaringly obvious that Manager Mode should be next in line to receive a major overhaul.
The biggest addition to the mode this year is Total Club Management, a system in which arm chair managers are now provided with a set of goals broken up into five categories that are unique to each club's respective needs and wants.
Upon accepting your new role with any given club, the board will outline their expectations for you moving forward. The five areas that the board will look at is domestic success, continental success, brand exposure, financial and youth development. The degree of importance placed on each area is dependent on the size of the club. For example, if you select Chelsea the board will place a greater importance on both domestic and continental success, while allowing you to almost entirely ignore the finances of the club, as winning is first and foremost. But if you play as Hull City, managing your budget and developing young talent to later turn a profit on will both be considered vital objectives.
(EA Sports)
The problem with Total Club Management is that it really has little effect on how you will approach playing the game. If you are playing as a major club with a major war chest of funds, you were always going to spend money on new players and aim to end the season with as much silverware as possible. Conversely, if you're a smaller club, you don't have a lot of money to spend on transfers to begin with, so you will find it rather easy to play within the board's financial guidelines and likely will already be using the training mode to develop promising young players. Some of the goals are almost entirely superficial as well. While playing as Manchester United, I met the board's financial goals within the first 20 minutes of playing due to a high number of shirt sales stemming from the acquisition of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, two transfers I had nothing to do with.
Hopefully revamping Manager Mode will be in EA Sports' sights next year, as it is in sore need of an upgrade.
Ultimate Team
(EA Sports)
In the seven years that Ultimate Team has been around, the mode has gone from being a neat addition to becoming the main attraction and a large source of revenue for EA Sports.
Building on the already feature packed mode, EA Sports has continued to expand on Ultimate Team, adding two new ways to play in FIFA 17. In FUT Champions, players compete qualify for Weekend Leagues by competing in daily knockout tournaments. Players who make it into the Weekend League draw then duke it out for in-game prize sets that even the most jaded of FUT players would consider an absolute gold mine. We're talking 12,500 coins, a rare gold pack and a gold players pack. Not too bad for a weekend's worth of "work."
Also included in FIFA 17 is a new squad building challenge that puts organized, chemistry perfectionists to the test. Each challenge has players building a specific squad, essentially allowing you to create collection sets with your cards. It ends up being little more than a side distraction, but it's a fun way to make use of cards that players would've otherwise quickly sold or tossed.
Final Notes
(EA Sports)
FIFA 17 is the most complete entry in the series to date. When the game was first introduced at E3 back in June, all anyone wanted to talk about was 'The Journey," and while the story mode lived up to the hype, it's the Frostbite engine that is the true star in the end. Thanks to the brand new game engine, EA Sports has managed to make the beautiful game even more beautiful.
Whether you're guiding Alex Hunter to legendary status, building your squad on FUT or just admiring the environments, FIFA 17 will have you kicking on the digital pitch all year long.
(EA Sports)
OVERALL SCORE: 8.5
3 Positives:
1. The Journey is a well-crafted, entertaining experience
2. Frostbite engine has led to phenomenal environments/player models
3. New attacking techniques make for fun, fluid gameplay
3 Negatives
1. Manager Mode needs an upgrade
2. Would be nice to have more options in The Journey
3. New penalty-kick system feels clumsy
