FIFA 17 review and reaction: The king of football gameplay continues to reign supreme

For adolescents and adults alike, the annual return of the FIFA franchise is eagerly marked on UK calendars.

With such regular updates however, would EA be able to make sweeping changes, enticing millions of game players to reinvest once again?

With rivals like Pro Evolution Soccer delivering ever improving gameplay, EA may be feeling more  pressure to deliver, particularly to justify a price reaching north of £40.

With many of the FIFA updates, there is usually not too much to update on, however FIFA 17 has come with a raft of new features specifically designed to enhance the gaming experience.

The newest, and most exciting, change has come in the form of career mode sensation The Journey, where game players are given an insight into the rise of a young Premier League footballer. Playing with fictional starlet Alex Hunter, you’re given an opportunity to rise up the ranks with any of this season’s 20 Premier League teams.

It also allows you to make life decisions, with the ability to tailor your own personality. Too fiery, and you may miss out in the starting eleven, but too balanced and you miss out on boosting your fledgling Twitter profile, losing potential sponsorships.

The Journey is unprecedented in the fact it  immerses the player in off the field activities and realistic storylines, boosting an often neglected area of career mode.

Some people have taken to social media to complain against the fact the Journey only lasts for a season, nevertheless it is still a welcome feature, sure to be a huge selling point for FIFA fans.

FIFA also enhances its wildly popular feature, Ultimate Team, one of its key advantages over rivals like PES, with its online features and pro Seasons remaining the market leader in that area.

As for the gameplay, the whole experience feels much more streamlined thanks to the introduction of Frostbite, the graphics engine behind games like Fallout. Tackling is more effective and passing is crisp, yet with continued emphasis on pace. There is enough of a difference to adapt playing style from FIFA 16.

Overall FIFA remains top of the pile ahead of the plucky rivals, thanks to the revolutionary introduction of a journey pioneered by one young footballer.

4/5

 

With the game being released for a week, here’s what some of the public had to say:

Daniel, 16

“Pre ordered it, had it the day it came out, been playing Ultimate team, some aspects are a little dodgy, the goalkeepers on Ultimate Team might as well not be there. I haven’t played much of the Journey yet, but I generally play more Ultimate team when I have the chance.”

 

Sachin, 24

“Fifa 17 is really interesting, just because of how much it has changed from FIFA 16. The Journey is fascinating, because career mode is often very boring and repetitive. As someone who’s not a huge fan of Ultimate Team, then the introduction of the Journey is a huge selling point for me. I haven’t bought the last few FIFAs as they were all fairly similar but I’m glad I bought this one as I’m really enjoying it.”

Vinay, 22

“I usually buy FIFA every year, and it already seems that the Journey is impressive because of the behind the scenes action, the interaction with players and managers. I like the fact there’s more freedom with developing a personality, which is a huge jump from FIFA 16. The only thing I’m not a fan of is with the Journey you can only play with Premier League clubs, and it only lasts one season, but I’m sure EA are already planning improvements.”

 

Michael, 18

“I’ve had it for 2 days, I find the Journey boring and repetitive, but I think I’ll be worse at this compared to 16. Good graphics but the gameplay is a bit too fast for me.”