In football's incredibly unpredictable world, FIFA 17 Xbox One's common yearly launch supplies us with a pleasant bit of stability. But in essentially the most odds-defying 12 months of football I can keep in mind, can the latest update to the beautiful game's most popular sim nonetheless stand tall towards Konami's incredible PES 2017?
In many ways it’s a convincing yes, but FIFA and PES at the moment are more totally different than ever, and that’s a very good thing.
There are huge modifications to FIFA 17: the transfer to a model-new engine, Frostbite, and the focus on a story lead ‘campaign’.
It sounds odd at first having a single-player campaign in a football game that is not fully about management, however it’s hardly one thing new. 2K has been at it for years with its MyCareer mode within the NBA collection, with the mode becoming increasingly fashionable with each iteration. Spike Lee even directed last 12 months's version.
I too had misgivings about The Journey – FIFA 17's name for the story mode – when EA first introduced it. I immediately likened it to some crappy straight-to-TV football film, or the laughably bad but also fairly entertaining Aim! movie series. In many ways it’s just like that, but I've to present props to EA (and BioWare who assisted with the story) for the way effectively it’s been done.
The mode is broken down into three distinct sections: games, training and reduce-scenes. The games are self-explanatory, just typical FIFA matches with the odd tinker to make them fit into the story dynamic. You can either control the whole crew or, like in Be A Pro, just control Alex.
The way in which you perform in the matches, and training, helps determine whether or not you’ll be on the bench or in the starting XI. But I get the impression that typically it makes no difference, and this is the mode's downfall. In one game, I performed – if you happen to'll pardon my arrogance – an absolute blinder and bagged a hat-trick, however my crew lost. The cut-scene that followed was filled with dejection and disappointment. Next week, I scored one other hat-trick and my reward was to be sent out on loan.
There are reasons to stick with it, though. The blended bag of characters are very well voiced, but observe the most obvious stereotypes. The doting mother, the busy-with-work dad, the gruffled flat-cap-sporting grandad and slightly seedy agent – they’re all present. But they work properly, and the minimize-scenes are nicely performed and look fantastic.
On the most simple point, The Journey is solely a profession mode with some fancy performing and a simple story. That’s far from a bad factor, though.
The Journey is just one of the many modes in FIFA 17, however there hasn’t been that a lot added to the others. Ultimate Group is still as addictive as ever, and the profession mode is fun when you've got loads of time to put into it.
Related: Gears of War four overview
Of course, the sticking level for any football game is gameplay. For FIFA 17, EA has switched engines to Frostbite and while this could have signalled huge change on the pitch, it doesn’t.
For those who’re conversant in the slow pace, defensive focus and intricate button combos of FIFA 16, you’ll really feel right at dwelling with 17. For those who’re coming from PES, then things may really feel a bit complicated. In PES 2017, things happen naturally. The game cleverly is aware of when you’re attempting to dink the ball over the top of defenders with the outside of your foot. In FIFA, it's important to do all this for yourself.
It can be frustrating at times, particularly once you suppose your participant goes to twist the ball into the highest corner and he instead smashes it over the bar, but there’s nothing more satisfying than efficiently finessing a long-vary shot and have it nestle in the corner of the net.
Play is more physical this time round, with naturally stronger gamers now far more commanding. It makes issues much more realistic, but you’ll must get used to getting knocked off the ball rather a lot more than in earlier variations of FIFA.
Using Frostbite does rack up the number of animations, and this makes a visible difference. Gamers will drive a header downwards, curl a free-kick or twist their body to spray a ball downfield. These don’t make a whole load of distinction to overall gameplay, however they help things movement, and look, better.
One change I’m not so eager on is the set-piece system. Once more, there’s a load of new button combos to learn and corners and free-kicks are overly complicated. I often ballooned corners into the box and obtained increasingly frustrated.
Penalties are a different story, and I actually much desire the changes there. You can alter your run-up and there’s a lot more control. It takes some getting used to, though.
In many ways it’s a convincing yes, but FIFA and PES at the moment are more totally different than ever, and that’s a very good thing.
There are huge modifications to FIFA 17: the transfer to a model-new engine, Frostbite, and the focus on a story lead ‘campaign’.
It sounds odd at first having a single-player campaign in a football game that is not fully about management, however it’s hardly one thing new. 2K has been at it for years with its MyCareer mode within the NBA collection, with the mode becoming increasingly fashionable with each iteration. Spike Lee even directed last 12 months's version.
I too had misgivings about The Journey – FIFA 17's name for the story mode – when EA first introduced it. I immediately likened it to some crappy straight-to-TV football film, or the laughably bad but also fairly entertaining Aim! movie series. In many ways it’s just like that, but I've to present props to EA (and BioWare who assisted with the story) for the way effectively it’s been done.
The mode is broken down into three distinct sections: games, training and reduce-scenes. The games are self-explanatory, just typical FIFA matches with the odd tinker to make them fit into the story dynamic. You can either control the whole crew or, like in Be A Pro, just control Alex.
The way in which you perform in the matches, and training, helps determine whether or not you’ll be on the bench or in the starting XI. But I get the impression that typically it makes no difference, and this is the mode's downfall. In one game, I performed – if you happen to'll pardon my arrogance – an absolute blinder and bagged a hat-trick, however my crew lost. The cut-scene that followed was filled with dejection and disappointment. Next week, I scored one other hat-trick and my reward was to be sent out on loan.
There are reasons to stick with it, though. The blended bag of characters are very well voiced, but observe the most obvious stereotypes. The doting mother, the busy-with-work dad, the gruffled flat-cap-sporting grandad and slightly seedy agent – they’re all present. But they work properly, and the minimize-scenes are nicely performed and look fantastic.
On the most simple point, The Journey is solely a profession mode with some fancy performing and a simple story. That’s far from a bad factor, though.
The Journey is just one of the many modes in FIFA 17, however there hasn’t been that a lot added to the others. Ultimate Group is still as addictive as ever, and the profession mode is fun when you've got loads of time to put into it.
Related: Gears of War four overview
Of course, the sticking level for any football game is gameplay. For FIFA 17, EA has switched engines to Frostbite and while this could have signalled huge change on the pitch, it doesn’t.
For those who’re conversant in the slow pace, defensive focus and intricate button combos of FIFA 16, you’ll really feel right at dwelling with 17. For those who’re coming from PES, then things may really feel a bit complicated. In PES 2017, things happen naturally. The game cleverly is aware of when you’re attempting to dink the ball over the top of defenders with the outside of your foot. In FIFA, it's important to do all this for yourself.
It can be frustrating at times, particularly once you suppose your participant goes to twist the ball into the highest corner and he instead smashes it over the bar, but there’s nothing more satisfying than efficiently finessing a long-vary shot and have it nestle in the corner of the net.
Play is more physical this time round, with naturally stronger gamers now far more commanding. It makes issues much more realistic, but you’ll must get used to getting knocked off the ball rather a lot more than in earlier variations of FIFA.
Using Frostbite does rack up the number of animations, and this makes a visible difference. Gamers will drive a header downwards, curl a free-kick or twist their body to spray a ball downfield. These don’t make a whole load of distinction to overall gameplay, however they help things movement, and look, better.
One change I’m not so eager on is the set-piece system. Once more, there’s a load of new button combos to learn and corners and free-kicks are overly complicated. I often ballooned corners into the box and obtained increasingly frustrated.
Penalties are a different story, and I actually much desire the changes there. You can alter your run-up and there’s a lot more control. It takes some getting used to, though.
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