FIFA 17

The Frostbite engine has allowed FIFA to take the next step in gameplay, with better mechanics and smarter AI to create a bigger challenge. The Journey mode will suck in those wanting a new single player experience while Ultimate Team and Pro Clubs will give all the online players the fix they want. This is a must have for fans of the beautiful game.

“Who are ya? Who are ya?” chanted the opposition fans. It was my debut game as Alex Hunter for the defending Premier League Champions, Leicester City. The stadium was rocking, and the atmosphere was electrifying as I went up against Paris SG in a pre-season tournament. FIFA 17’s new mode, The Journey, is everything I wanted it to be and even surpassed my expectations on a number of occasions with unexpected cut-scenes and star appearances. Having watched the Goal movies as a child, I’ve always wanted to play that experience in video game form and go through the journey of a young kid trying to...

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For all that FIFA promises something for every football fan, from the casual observer to the full-kit fanatic, I still find myself wishing that EA Sports would spend a little more time focusing on the basics. You could probably create the perfect football game by letting Konami handle everything on the pitch, with EA Sports responsible for everything off it. But FIFA plays well enough that the gains elsewhere – in terms of licensing, authenticity, and big-match atmosphere – more than compensate for those shortcomings. For my money, PES is still ahead where it counts most, but The Journey gives...

What do you expect though? The Journey was the biggest move in the FIFA franchise for years and expecting more than a new mode is wishful. The fact remains that FIFA will continue to sell ridiculous numbers of copies with nothing more than updated rosters and stats. So having something, even a short-winded and underdeveloped new campaign mode, is somewhat worthy of praise. Truthfully, FIFA 17, to me, is one of the stronger entries in the last few years from the EA Sports guys and it’s a pretty great game if you’re relatively new to proceedings. It’s just difficult for ragged veterans such as m...

EA introduces FIFA's best new mode in years and delivers an excellent game on the pitch. The Journey may well bring back lapsed fans.

It’s a phrase expectant football fans around the globe chime annually. That the start of a new season – and hopefully, one or two star signings – will pave the way for fresh hopes, dreams, and tantalising possibilities.

The Journey is an almost unqualified success, but in terms of on-pitch action FIFA 17 is comfortably outclassed by PES 2017.

FIFA 17 is a very good football game that does a lot of things right, especially when it comes to presentation. The Journey provides a good story mode for FIFA, introducing the trials and tribulations of a young professional footballer, and when it comes to the action out on pitch, FIFA 17 continues to be a well rounded experience, even if it feels bogged down in midfield compared to PES 17. FIFA 17 will not disappoint fans of the series with the new things to try out, but when it comes to football games this year, there’s no clear winner.

The thing about football games, indeed any sports game, is that they tap into the drama of the sport. They allow fans to live out their dreams and their nightmares, their hopes and their fears. Forget cut-scenes and set-pieces and all that stuff for a minute, this is where some of the best stories in the medium are told.