Good vs Evil. Light against Dark. God vs Man… The eternal struggle we face every year when there’s a new FIFA or PES game in stores. They look the same; they may even sport the same soccer star on the box… But this year they couldn’t be further apart. Discover The Journey of FIFA 17.
Welcome to FIFA 2.0
FIFA has come a long way since the early 2000’s. I remember playing the main screen in one of the earlier FIFA games because it had this awesome Gorillaz track about getting cool shoeshine. Back then the main title screen was the prettiest part of the game. But now things have changed and there’s a lot of fan-pleasing in this year’s FIFA 17. It’s worth mentioning that FIFA made the jump to the tweaked Frostbite engine and it was the right upgrade to consider. Especially the larger shots, and cut scenes look gorgeous on the new engine. The real difference is seen when watching a replay. Everything runs crisp and the blend of realistic lighting and physics is just as it should be. The players all look like their real-life counterpart and the addition of pretty much every major real life coach in this 3D world is just proof they are in touch with their fan base.
The Frostbite Engine is FIFA’s new tailored home
A hunter has arrived
FIFA is football, or soccer for most of you. And apart from the engine switcheroo and updated graphics what else has changed? What else could they even change? The answer is simple: “The Journey”.
The Journey is a new mode that is basically an upgrade of the old “Pro” mode. You follow the prodigious kid called Alex Hunter from kiddo to hero. His story is yours to explore. You start as a kid learning the basics of soccer and you’ll have to climb up the ladder to join a major team. There’s some layered storytelling switching ranging from daily family life and personality struggles under the fame and pressure to the life inside the team and gaining the acceptance of the team and coach you join.
The Journey does a good job at telling a story you can relate to and even believe. The characters look good and have some depth to them. There’s some weird forced scenes to justify some matches but overall this is a new and promising addition we would like to see in every new FIFA game albeit some more actual choices from the actual player. You can choose between what you say but eventually it doesn’t really matter for the endgame. We’d like to see some real hard consequences for the choices we make. Overall The Journey is a great addition and the focus in the field is always clear because of the star emblem. You can always see in real time how of an impression you’re leaving on the coach or audience thanks to a neat sleek bar in the top right of your screen. When you miss a pass or shot you’ll see the bar change in accordance and if you do good you’ll be rewarded in the end. This mode could go deeper and feels a bit carved out already giving you a false sense of choice but we do see the great potential it can have in the future. We look forward to The Journey 2.0!
Ultimate Team, Ultimate fun?
Now the real selling point for FIFA is and has always been Ultimate Team. And yes it’s still present and kicking in FIFA 17. You’ll have modifiers and challenges to overcome to gain coins and climb up in the ranks. You’ll have to balance your player chemistry and there are other criteria to meet so you can make the ultimate team (what’s in a name). Every major name is present and there are plenty of stats and tweaking to be done so you can again lose yourself in this mode and forget to go to work in the real world. Why would you? You’re in charge of a major league soccer team now! There’s FUT challenges and in-game prizes to win during the real life weekend leagues and so much more! We get why this mode appeals to so many fans and this improved version is the new benchmark!
The multiplayer is another selling point for the game. Especially when you know you could eventually meet one of the soccer athletes online, because that’s all these guys do when they’re not actually training or driving their hypercars into trees. The online modes still work great, it is fluid and everything we asked for. But let’s be honest; there’s nothing that can beat the local multiplayer with a buddy in your own sofa. The sheer satisfaction of pushing him out of the sofa and spilling beer all over your living room is just the best feeling between FIFA bros! Also note that we can finally kick those low balls into the goal! Only one of the small noticeable changes that really makes another big step towards realistic soccer gaming.
Conclusion:
FIFA 17 is another FIFA game, it takes the good things from the previous iterations and expands with The Journey which is not fully polished but it has a lot of potential to keep exploring in the future. It also helps to set itself apart from the other soccer games. The upgrade to the Frostbite engine seems unnoticeable at first but when looking at the larger cityscapes, cut scenes and replays you’ll notice this is FIFA’s new home engine. Ultimate Team is still the ultimate mode to manage and play with the world’s biggest names and whether you’re playing against the improved AI or your best friend sitting on your sofa, FIFA 17 will bring enough content to keep us happy until EA slams FIFA 18 in our gladly receiving hands!
